Page 9 of Just Desserts

"The truth?" He spit out, barely restrained hate brewing within him

"Yes. The truth. That we are hopelessly in love. It's terrible, we tried to stop ourselves but we just couldn't." I put a sad look on my face, bravely wiped a fake tear before smiling at Jonathan's horrified face.

"Isla's divorcing you, that’s a fact. You need to keep up a certain image and true love can't be argued. Either that's the story, or I send pictures and videos of us out to anyone who might need to see them. Isla, your parents, what about the partners and the board? It's time to choose your side Johnny." With that last blow, I grabbed my belongings and headed out.

Before I closed the door behind me, I turned back to look at Jonathan. He was standing where I left him, a shell of the man he was just a few days ago. I shook my head in disgust and stepped out of the house. The cool air was a welcome reprieve as I slowly walked over to my car.

Once inside, I sat for a minute, enjoying the silence and stewing on all the moving parts that were currently in play. I needed to prepare myself for the next round of confrontations.I would make this work, I would figure out how to use this to my advantage. Jonathan never would have left Isla, now he has no choice in the decision. In the end, I would be the one standing by his side while Isla was left in the past.

Isla

Once again, I found myself lying in the middle of a strange empty bed contemplating the new direction of my life. After the meeting with my family, I couldn't stomach the idea of being around any more people who knew what was going on. Even though both my Mom and Jen offered their guest rooms, I needed to be alone. I couldn't stand the pitying looks and worried brows.

Checking myself into a local Inn, I made sure to park in the back to try and keep my location under wraps. My lawyer texted me a few hours ago to let me know that Jonathan had successively been served, and like clockwork he had been calling me repeatedly since then. Wes had tried to call me as well but I was too tired. I replied with a text that I just needed some time.

I was meeting Aidan tomorrow to look at apartments, getting out of my house and into a fresh space was an urgent need for me. I couldn't stay in a place where memories haunted me at every turn, seeping out of the walls like ghosts. I needed to shed my skin, cut all ties to Jonathan and anything frombefore.Before I knew the truth. Before my world exploded.

In theafter,nothing looks the same. All that house does is dig up questions and insecurities. When did it start? Why did they do it? How could I be so blind? Even if I had the answer to these questions nothing would fix the fissure in my life this has created. It was an endless loop of what ifs. The truth is though, there is no answer that would save my marriage or save my relationships with my family.

Sighing, I blindly aimed the remote at the tv, skipping through channels until an old familiar movie came up. I snuggled under the blankets and leaned my head back on the mountain of pillows I had piled against the headboard.

I had hired some extra helpers for Thanksgiving and Christmas season and was infinitely grateful that they were ready and trained. I called out of work for the week claiming the flu, making sure the staff had everything covered. I was hiding out but I didn't care. The real world would come soon enough.

Chapter 9

Alyssa

I pulled into the driveway of my parents house and took a minute to prepare myself. I checked my reflection in the rearview mirror. I wiped off my lipstick and eye makeup, there was a time and a place for that type of warpaint. I wasn't an actress but I definitely knew how to cry on command. I spent a few minutes working up a good sniffle and entered the house with just the right amount of water in my eyes.

When I opened the front door and walked in, I was greeted by silence. My mom was in the kitchen, frozen just looking at me. Wes was on the couch and stood up as soon as the door closed behind me. My father, well he had his back to me sitting at the dining room table and hadn't even acknowledged my presence.

"What the hell Alyssa? Why would you do this to Isla? How could you!" Wes was the first to start in. So high and mighty, he always liked Isla more than me. I looked at my mom hoping for someone on my side but she was just wringing her hands looking between the three of us.

"It's not what you think. I don't know what Isla told you but I never meant for this to happen!" I wailed, my fake tears turning to real ones as I was faced with my family's deference to Isla, like always. My dad, still not looking at me, replied from the table.

"What does that mean, you never meant for this to happen? You are not having an affair with Jonathan? A married man?"His voice was so cold. Why wouldn't he look at me? I headed to the small island that separated the kitchen and dining room table so I could be in the middle of my parents.

"Mom. Mama please look at me. It was an accident, we're in love, I didn't mean to hurt anyone."

I walked towards my mom and tried to grab her hands but when she heard the word love her head whipped up. I had never seen her this angry, not even when she found Wes's weed and condom stash when we were kids.

"In love? IN LOVE?" She yelled.

"How can you love that man? A man who doesn't understand the sanctity of marriage? Who could disrespect your cousin, your blood like that! And you're in love with him? Is that supposed to make all of this better? Make us forgive you for what you've done?" She seethed.

I took a step back, shocked at the level of venom in my mother's voice. I heard a chair slide back and my father came up to comfort my mother. Finally, he looked me in the eyes and disappointment was written all over his face. Wes came over to stand by them and gave me a bewildered look.

"So what, you thought you would come over, tell us you all are in love and it would be ok? That we would just have to change up the seating arrangement at Christmas?"

"Hey Aunt Laurel! Make sure you remember to put Jonathan next to Alyssa instead of Isla this year!'" He mimed yelling over his shoulder then turned his gaze back to me.

"Are you fucking MENTAL?" I flinched.

"Wes enough." My father snapped. I looked at him, pleadingly.

"Daddy, please let me explain." I begged.

"I'm trying to." He cut me off. "Alyssa girl, I want you to listen and listen closely. This is your last chance to give your side of this story, and you better really think about what you're going to say and what that means for our future as a family. I am hoping, from the very pit of my soul, that there is some bigger meaning behind this. Tell me you went crazy, you have amnesia, that you lost all control of your mental facilities. Just give me SOMETHING to somehow make what you've done OK. To make us accept that not once, did you stop and consider how you were hurting this family, how you were hurting Isla!" My father’s voice rose as he continued speaking, working himself up.

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