Page 67 of The Truth in My Lies (Secrets of Suburbi 1)

“It’s okay.” But it wasn’t. It was as if he wanted me to be miserable. But that shouldn’t have been a surprise. The man loved seeing me cry. I needed to change the subject. “What was your good news?” I bit the inside of my lip. Why had I asked him that? I didn’t want to know.

“I got that promotion. I’ll be working from home now.”

“Congratulations.” Could he hear the anguish in my voice? When was this happening? I needed more time.

“And I thought maybe a change of scenery would be nice. Since I’ll be around more and we can really focus on your health. Maybe somewhere down south? Florida perhaps?”

“I don’t want to move.”

“Adeline.” He squeezed my hand again. “I spoke to Dr. Nash on the phone this afternoon after I got the news. And she thought a move would be very beneficial. New scenery. A fresh start for both of us. Maybe we can try to have another baby.”

I pulled my hand out of his. Way too fast. Too brash.

His eyebrows lowered.

“You talked about your promotion with Dr. Nash before you told me?” It was irrational for me to be upset, but why would he tell good news to that woman before he told me? I shook away the thought. I never told him anything.

“I was excited to tell you about the move. I wanted to make sure it was in your best interest first, though. I didn’t want to see you get your hopes up only to squash them later.”

Didn’t he, though? “Is Dr. Nash so eager to be rid of me?”

He laughed. “No, I don’t think that’s it. We both think this move would be best for your health.”

My health? Yeah right. He was running from something. I didn’t believe this promotion shenanigan for a second. People in his line of work didn’t get promotions. Unless there had been a lot of death and destruction.

“What do you say, Adeline? We can start looking for houses this weekend. I already have a flight for us that leaves tomorrow morning.”

This weekend? I thought about Ben. I didn’t want to move. Yes, I was mad at him, but that didn’t mean I didn’t still like him. I couldn’t move away from him. Just the thought made

me feel like I was being strangled. But what did it matter? Ben didn’t even like me. I tried to swallow down the lump in my throat, but I couldn’t. My whole body was starting to feel sweaty. “Can’t we look at houses online?”

“You need to feel the air down there. See how much of a difference this will make for us. We can fly down there, pick a house and stay. We’ll have movers send our things. We can be out of Delaware by the end of the weekend.”

What?! “That’s not how these things work. We need to pack. And we need to find a buyer for this house.”

“We don’t need to sell before we can afford to buy a new home. We’ll put it up for sale once we’re out.”

“But buying a new house takes time. There are inspections and…”

“We can stay in a hotel until closing.”

My fingers fumbled with my purse. I needed to text Ben. Not to tell him that everything was fine. But to tell him that I had moved up my plans. That my husband needed to die tonight.

“Adeline.”

“No!” My eyes got round as soon as the word fell from my lips. A few people at nearby tables turned their heads toward us. I leaned forward and dropped my voice. “I’m not moving.”

“You haven’t even seen…”

“You can’t make me.”

“Darling.” He reached out and grabbed my arm because I refused to give him my hand. “We both know perfectly well that you have to do as I say.” His fingers dug into my forearm.

“You’re hurting me.”

He didn’t let go.

“I don’t want to leave. I’ve finally made friends. Charlotte and the other girls are coming over on Wednesday.”

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