What sort of man cheats on his wife with another woman on their wedding night?
I contemplate that question in my head as I watch Adam sleep beside me. As handsome as he is, he’s even more attractive when he’s asleep. He has this sexy stubble on his chin and his lips blow air softly in and out. After reading Victoria’s story about what happened on their wedding night, I didn’t want to come to his room. But he was so nice and charming, it was hard to say no. He said all the right things, just like he said all the right things to Victoria to get her to forgive him. And here I am.
I need to stop. I need to tell him I can’t do this anymore. I can’t do it to Victoria. No matter what he says, I know she knows.
But it’s harder than I thought. After all, look at what he did to her— and she stayed with him. My situation is much worse. At least she had a good job. If I left, I’d have nothing. Not even a place to live. Of course, Freddy would let me stay with him, but no, I can’t.
I don’t know what to do.
While Adam is still asleep, I slip out of the bed and quietly leave the room. I had hoped to get back to my room without anybody noticing, but I nearly collide with Maggie, who is vacuuming the hallway. When she sees me sneaking out of Adam’s bedroom, her eyes go wide.
“Oh,” she gasps.
“Maggie.” I feel the heat in my cheeks. I did not want to run into Maggie, but it’s better than running into Eva. “This isn’t how it looks…”
She cocks her head to the side. “Really?”
I let out a breath. I’m not going to stand here and insult Maggie’s intelligence. “Fine. It is how it looks.” I glance at the closed door to Adam’s bedroom. “I didn’t mean for it to happen though. It’s just… I mean, I’ve been living here and… the house is so empty… and cold…”
Suddenly, I feel like I’m about to burst into tears.
“It’s okay,” Maggie says quickly. “I mean, I sure don’t mind. I sort of suspected, to tell you the truth. I didn’t want to say anything though.” She smiles wryly. “And it’s not like I can blame you. He is pretty hot.”
“Please don’t tell Eva.”
She throws back her head and laughs. “Yeah, that would involve me having a conversation with Eva. No way. Don’t worry, Sylvie. Your secret is safe with me. I swear.” She hesitates and looks down the hall at Victoria’s bedroom. “Just make sure Victoria doesn’t find out.”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
Maggie lowers her voice a notch. “Adam thinks Victoria has no clue what’s going on, but he’s wrong. Her speech is messed up, but she knows exactly what’s going on around her.” She squints at me. “You know it too, don’t you?”
I nod slowly.
“I’ve been working here since Victoria and Adam first moved in,” Maggie says, “and let me tell you, Victoria is a very jealous woman.”
I get this sick feeling at the pit of my stomach. “She is?”
“Yes, very.” Maggie hesitates. “This is just between you and me, right?”
“Of course.”
She leans in very close to me so that she’s nearly talking into my ear. “So we used to have this woman here who did gardening and cooking. Irina. But Victoria was insanely jealous of her. Almost obsessed. She thought Irina and Adam were sleeping together.”
Irina. The one who used to live in Glen Head. The place Victoria mentions every few days, with what seems like increasing urgency. This can’t be a coincidence, can it?
“Were they sleeping together?” I ask in a voice that’s barely a whisper. Maggie doesn’t answer right away. She glances around the hallway. “I don’t know for sure, but I don’t think they were. But on the other hand, it wouldn’t have surprised me. Adam and Victoria… They did not have a
good marriage.”
This isn’t entirely a revelation based on what I’ve been reading in Victoria’s diary. But hearing it from an outsider just confirms what I suspected to be true.
“Anyway.” Maggie straightens up and brushes off her jeans. “I shouldn’t be gossiping. Every marriage has its problems, right?”
Right. It’s not like I can talk. The closest thing I ever had to a husband was Freddy, and that was a disaster.
“Thanks for telling me,” I say.
Maggie winks at me and gets the vacuum started again. “No problem.
Just… you know, be careful.”
I’d feel a whole lot better if people would stop warning me to be careful.
