Page 8 of Best Served Hot
Alex took the phone and opened her messages. ‘Go for it,’ she said, handing it back over. ‘But it’s going to hurt you,’ she warned. While the thread wasn’t particularly graphic, there was no way Nicole wasn’t going to be destroyed by reading the messages of her husband and his ‘mistress.’ Alex couldn’t believe that term could now be applied to her.
Nicole sighed at the phone and relocked it. ‘I don’t want to read it. I…’ she took a pause. ‘I believe you.’ She looked at the ground. ‘It was all him.’
Alex didn’t know exactly how to respond to that. She was trying not to be selfish in this. Her life hadn’t been blown up. It was a brief relationship that was never going anywhere. But she was feeling this rage bubbling inside of her, anger she didn’t recognise.
Even when Jen had left, when it all came out, Alex hadn’t had the strength for anger. Sadness had sucked her dry of the emotional energy to be angry. But she was furious now. She could feel it running through her body. Her arms were tingling, her head was light, her hands were shaking, and her heart was banging. It was as though this anger had been hiding in some dark chamber of her heart. Now, it had found a way to break free and was coursing through her. It was rushing toward freedom, toward the light. And it was aimed at Ethan Pine. ‘Itwashim. And I want you to know that I will do everything in my power to make this as hard and painful and embarrassing for him as it can be. That fucker deserves tosufferfor this.’
Nicole looked shocked. ‘Jesus. I thought I was angry. But you look…murderous.’
Alex took a deep breath. ‘Because I’ve been exactly where you are now. And I just took it. But you shouldn’t. You should ruin him.’
Nicole blinked. ‘I should?’
‘Oh my, yes.’
‘But I’m the, what’s that word? Cuckold,’ she said tearfully. ‘I’m the ruined one.’
Alex heard a dark laughter bubble out of her mouth. ‘No.No. You didn’t do anything wrong. I mean, haveyoubroken your vows?’
‘No,’ Nicole muttered.
‘Exactly. And you could have. I bet you’ve had offers.’
Nicole shrugged and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. ‘I don’t know about that.’
Alex examined Nicole. She was certainly dishevelled and needed some sleep. But it was clear that underneath the shock and pain she’d been plunged into, there was a petite brunette with soulful eyes and a kind face. Even a lack of sleep and personal grooming didn’t cloud the fact that she was a subtle knockout.
‘Ofcourseyou have!’ Alex said. ‘I mean, you'remuchyounger and more attractive than him—’
‘Notthatmuch younger,’ Nicole broke in. ‘A bit, but not exactly—’
Alex paused. ‘Wait, how old are you?’
‘Forty.’
Alex gaped. ‘I thought you were my age.’
‘Why? How old are you?’ Nicole asked.
‘Thirty.’
Nicole rolled her eyes. ‘Of course you are.’
Alex decided not to take offence at that. ‘That only proves my point. You could have done better. Iknowyou must get flirted with. But I bet it hardly registers for you. Because if I were a betting woman, I’d lay money that you never even entertained it, did you? You shut any attempt at seduction down before it could be anything at all.’ Alex might have been projecting a bit here. But Nicole looked like it was clicking. ‘You were married! And it mattered to you. And then people like Jen…’
‘Who’s Jen—’
‘They just do as they please,’ Alex rolled on. ‘And the people who are left behind, they take the shame. Why does it always go like this? Why do the shits get to behave this way and then walk off without any consequences? They just get another girlfriend who doesn’t know any better. I’m fuckingsickof it.’
‘Alex,’ Nicole said tentatively. ‘Are you OK?’
Alex realised she had gone a little bit off-piste. ‘Nicole, I’m sorry. This isn’t about me.’
Nicole took a long pause. ‘I think maybe… I can’t believe I’m saying this, but maybe it’s about both of us,’ she said philosophically.
Seven
The clarity of hatred was gone. Nicole was kind of sad to see it go. But the longer she stood here, the more she saw someone just like her. Alex was a casualty, too. And she was the angry one now, the self-hating one.
