Page 99 of I see you Beauty

I look at her with wide eyes before my gaze finds its way to the pool. It was… planned from the start?

I jump up from my stool and shake my head in horror.

“Cora, if he did this, go to the police! You mustn’t cover for him because next time he’ll kill you!” she implores me.

But I shake my head.

“No. It wasn’t Ezra. It was… my husband. Ezra intervened and saved me,” I explained to her.

“He split you up? And your husband is still alive? How long have you two been together?” she asks, and I can’t help but notice the insistent undertone.

I make a rough mental count of the weeks and months that Ezra and I have known each other.

“Maybe two or three months. Ezra did nothing to my husband. He threw him out and then took care of me. I never noticed him being violent or anything. The only thing… There were a few coincidences where he was suddenly just there. He… was always just there,” I whisper weakly at the end, and a shiver takes hold of me as I realize Jenny might be right.

But then these wonderful images flood my mind again. Moments when I felt so safe and secure with Ezra. It couldn’t possibly have been an act planned from the start. Or could it have been? Was every encounter, everything that happened between us, already planned by him so that he could seduce me and I would leave my husband for him? Is that why he was always so generous, patient, and loving toward me? Everything my husband wasn’t because Ezra knew that’s exactly how I would react. Was it like that? I have no idea what is real and what is not. My head spins faster and faster with all the thoughts until the dizziness that forms in it almost wrestles me down.

My heart contracts painfully, and feels like it’s about to jump out of my chest and shatter into thousands of pieces at my feet. It would never be repaired again, and in the future, anyone who tried to mend it would simply cut themselves on the sharp splinters, if what this stranger is telling me is true. Can I trust you? Is everything you’re telling me about Ezra—the man who has captured my broken and stunted heart in such a short time—true…?

My head spins incessantly, threatening to drown me in the swirling vortex of confusion within my mind. Suddenly, the sound of a motorcycle snaps me out of my stupor.

Chapter Sixty-Seven

“It’s Ezra!” Jenny gasps in panic and jumps off the stool to run out the back door. “Don’t tell him I was here! He’ll kill me if he finds out!”

“Wait! What am I supposed to do now?” I shout after her angrily and follow her.

But she just shakes her head and forms an “I’m sorry” with her lips. Then she’s gone, and I’m left completely confused and overwhelmed by all the information.

When I hear the front door being unlocked, I tense up, and my heart races like crazy. Where did he get a key from, and what the hell am I going to do now? But I’m out of time because Ezra enters the kitchen beaming with joy and comes toward me.

“Hey, Beauty. Why aren’t you in bed? Are you okay? You look pale. Do you want to sit down?” His questions come at me like little bombs because I have no idea if his concern is genuine or just a sick game. The only question is, what is he trying to do? Damn, was it really all fake? Or am I judging too quickly, and there’s nothing to Jenny’s stories? I don’t know what to believe anymore…

Ezra approaches me with a worried look and puts a hand on my cheek. I try compulsively not to shy away from him.

Where just a few hours ago, his closeness and warmth gave me an incredible amount of strength and support; I am now gripped by ice-cold fear. I can’t ignore everything Jenny has told me. She couldn’t possibly have made it up. Because yesterday, when she saw him, she was utterly shocked to have him standing in front of her. But Ezra’s explanation, words…, and actions… also speak for themselves. Who am I supposed to believe?

My head is spinning, and I’m unsure of the best course of action. Should I talk to him about it? Maybe there is a reasonable explanation after all? Maybe Jenny is the crazy one and is doing Ezra a complete injustice… Or should I listen to a stranger, throw him out, and call the police? But what should I tell them? All I know is a suspicion because he was—for whatever reason—declared innocent and subsequently released from prison.

“Baby?” comes Ezra’s deep voice, which I’ve always loved to hear. But now it scares the shit out of me.

I decide not to confront Ezra. I’m uncertain whether these terrible accusations have any truth to them or if she’s simply trying to harm him with her claims. I don’t know who or what to believe at this point.

Confronting Ezra now would be unproductive; he might think I’m losing my mind, deny everything, or, in the worst case, cause harm to Jenny. She left here terrified, fearing he might catch her. I can’t betray her trust—not until I have more clarity on whether her story holds any truth. Please, don’t let it be true…

So I just nod weakly and try not to let anything else show, even though I want to run away screaming from this bizarre situation.

“Yes, sorry. All this… it’s a lot, and June will be here soon. I have to cook something and get ready so that she doesn’t see me like this, and I have to talk to Thomas briefly on the phone about what we will tell June now and how we will stay… You see… my head is full, and I don’t know where to put all my thoughts,” I explain to him and give him a small, apologetic smile, hoping he’ll buy it.

Ezra looks at me with a furrowed brow, and the seconds he says nothing feels like hours. I hold my breath and continue to try not to let my fear show. After a moment, Ezra steps a little closer to me and presses a kiss to my forehead, which makes me shiver.

“Take it easy, okay? We’ll manage together. You get ready and call your ex to sort things out. He can’t do anything to you on the phone, but I’ll be there if anything happens. And I’ll cook something in the meantime, so you don’t have to worry about that too. When June comes, we’ll talk to her. How does that sound?” Ezra asks me in a soft voice.

“That’s so sweet of you. Thank you. But…” I start hesitantly and move away from him a little because I can’t stand being near him any longer, as it’s all getting too much for me right now. “I would like to have this conversation with June alone. I don’t even know what to tell her yet, or whether I should tell her anything at all. It would probably be very confusing if a neighbor sat at the table during such a conversation. Don’t you think? We need to take things slower if we want everyone to get on board with it. Can you understand that?”

I look at him with my head down, hoping he doesn’t see I’m trying to stall. But I wasn’t lying. I have no idea what to tell June. It wouldn’t be fair to her to drop the bombshell that her father and I had split up overnight. After all, June doesn’t know about our marital problems. She doesn’t think there are any major problems in our family, except perhaps her father can be a bit bossy when things don’t go his way. But she doesn’t know that her father can become such a monster, beating her mother around their safe home. She’ll be blindsided and probably won’t buy my little lie about falling down the stairs. June is smart. She’d put one and one together, and I don’t want that.

“So you won’t tell June that we’re together now?” Ezra asks, and I can tell he doesn’t like what he’s hearing.

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