Page 90 of Games We Play
“Maybewhat?” The man had to choose his words carefully. He already had a resentful wife on his hands. The last thing he needed was to make her homicidal!
“That maybe you would’ve changed your mind if you were actually pregnant.”
There were times in a woman’s life when the air changed, the ground shifted, and colors that once held certain names now switched with others. Orange was green. Blue was purple. Apple pie was nothing more than a vat of vinegar spiced with cinnamon. Everything she once held true about the world came crumbling down as the truth was unveiled.
Did she have proof for this truth? Of course not. Nothing beyond “woman’s intuition,” anyway. Sometimes that was more than enough.
“You knocked me up on purpose.” Sloan blinked away the changes that had transformed before her eyes. Orange went back to orange. She no longer felt like she was going to throw up. “What did you do, Aaron? Or will you deny it?”
He scoffed, but didn’t deny it.
“My pills. What did you do to my pills?” That was the only birth control Sloan had been on.
“You don’t understand, Mags…”
“Oh my God.” Sloan propped her elbow up on the door and slammed her hand against her face. “You fucked with my pills. Then you knocked me up, thinking I would have this magical change of heart.”
He said nothing.
“You bastard,” Sloan hissed. “You want to know why I changed so suddenly? You know why I want nothing to do with you anymore? It’s because of this kind of shit! Who the fuck were you, to dictate what happened to my body withoutanyinput from me? You know? The woman who owns this fucking body?”
Aaron’s chuckle marched right down her spine. “Your husband. What more is there?”
“Well!” Thank God they were almost to their destination, because if Sloan had to spend five more minutes in this car, she would end up in jail for manslaughter. “Backfired on you, didn’t it? Instead of getting what you wanted, you ruined our marriage, because you’re a controlling sack ofshit!”
The car pulled up to the curb. Sloan grabbed her purse, but Aaron said, “Actually, I think it’s best if we get off at the separate drop-offs.” His door was already opened. “We’re not together anymore. It would look strange, yes? Thank you, Lyle.” He got out with the help of their driver. “See you inside, Maggie.”
The driver got back in his seat. The car lurched forward, and all Sloan could think was that the dirty bastard had basically given her everything she needed to take him to the proverbial cleaners in their divorce.
She fished out her phone to make sure it had recorded that whole conversation. Sloan never planned to say a damn thing the whole car ride, but if there was one thing Maxine Woodward had drilled into her head, it was to keep that phone recordingevery timeshe and Aaron were alone together. Who knew what the man would say to get to her? What he would reveal?
One of the most horrifying things Sloan could imagine, but it didn’t surprise her anymore.
“We’re here, ma’am,” the driver announced, before getting out of the car and coming to her door. She brusquely thanked him as she emerged from the backseat and immediately searched for her no-good shitstain of a husband.
Why wasn’t she surprised to see him already working the PR train to his advantage?How about that? I’m only surprised he got her in on it!Aaron didn’t want them getting off at different stops to keep the press cool about their divorce. He wanted to show off his new, public girlfriend.
Christie Yearwood had no problems ditching the nice young man her parents had chosen for her. Why would she go for some nobody like him when she could haveAaron Giles,a mega-rich fuckface who now cleaned out his closets – including the starter wife?
He thought we were having a threesome!
The press would ask her why she was laughing on her way into the venue. Why wouldn’t she laugh? Not only had Christie volunteered to get Sloan’s ex off her ass, but the man had walked right into his own funeral when he admitted he violated her body in more ways than one. How. Rich. Christie really thought she was moving up the food chain with a bloated crocodile like Aaron Giles… what would she think when he ended up divorced and practically penniless?
The only way this moment could be better was if Sloan had her own date on her arm. To be sure, half the reporters would ask about that mysterious woman in the pink dress.
Yes… Leah.She should’ve been here. In a way, this was her moment, too.
“Excuse me,” Sloan said with a smile, as she pulled out her phone and shuffled into the ladies’ room.
Good. The bathroom was empty.
She dialed her assistant and made sure her hair was acceptable in one of the mirrors. “Hello, Ayla? No, no, it’s nothing like that, but do you remember that plan I had? The one Ms. Mann suggested to me about getting into contact with Leah again? Yes. That one. Make it happen.” Sloan shut down her phone and took one last look at her reflection. Was she the spitting image of a woman about to make her huge comeback in the popular consciousness?
Yes, and the world would have no idea how to process the coming out of Margaret Sloan.
Ayla texted her back halfway through Mrs. Kingsley’s dinner.“It’s done. Let me know if you need anything else before I check out for the night.”The only thing Sloan needed was a good woman on her arm. Too bad the nearest one was two thousand miles away.
Chapter 29
