Page 48 of Fool Me Twice

Shari ignored him.

“I think it was pretty fair. I’ve given in to every one of your demands just to get this whole thing settled as soon as possible, so what’s the problem?”

“Leland hates me. He talks to me like I’m nothing.”

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

Shari ignored his comment and reached for her glass.

Peter also reached for the glass, sending the contents spilling over the white Persian rug.

“Look what you’ve done.” She scowled at him. “Do you have any idea how much that rug cost?”

“Of course I do,” he said. “I paid for it.” He drew in a deep breath through his nose. This was getting them nowhere. “I’ll have a word with Leland.”

“And that daughter of his is so disrespectful to me. I heard her roll her eyes at me on the phone last week.”

“For God’s sake, Shari, how can you hear someone roll their eyes?”

“It was implied in her tone.”

“I’ll speak to Regan,” he said, trying to pacify her. “Now, about the custody agreement.”

“I’m not signing.”

“What? Why?”

“Because I want us to raise our child together, not me here and you, God knows where.”

“We’ve been over this a thousand times. You being pregnant doesn’t change anything. I’ll always be there for my child, but as far as I’m concerned, this marriage is over.”

“Over?” she screamed. “It’s not over until I say it’s over.” Peter ducked as the whisky bottle flew past his head, just as Shari stumbled and crashed to the floor.

“The baby.” An icy shudder ripped through him as he dropped to his knees beside her.

“That’s all you care about, isn’t it? The precious baby,” she spat out, before passing out.

Grabbing a cushion, he placed it gently beneath her head and called for an ambulance. The stench of alcohol filled his nostrils as he leaned over her. He quickly scanned the room for any tell-tale signs that she’d been drinking before he’d arrived. But once the ambulance arrived, everything moved so quickly that he didn’t have time to think about it again.

The paramedics checked her over before lifting her onto the stretcher and into the ambulance. Peter followed in his car, swerving recklessly in and out of the lanes as he tried to keep pace with the ambulance speeding through the traffic.

Please, God, he silently prayed, if you have to take one of us, then let it be me.

Chapter twenty-six

When she’d found out about Shari’s pregnancy, Evie had managed to keep it together in front of Jaxon, barely, but Anya hadn’t taken it quite so well, ranting and raging about how unfair it was bringing a baby into such a toxic relationship. It wasn’t Jaxon’s fault Evie had tried to reason. He was just the messenger, but it hadn’t stopped Anya from being angry with him. Maybe her own guilt about keeping Evie’s secret also played its part.

By the time she finally stopped crying, Evie knew she’d made the right decision not to tell Peter about her pregnancy. And why was she crying, anyway? She hated him, right? Wouldn’t even care if she never laid eyes on him again. She blinked back the fresh tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. She and the baby were going to be just fine without him, she told herself, right before her body convulsed into heaving sobs. Stupid hormones.

Evie tossed and turned for hours, but sleep was proving very elusive. Maybe a cup of tea would help. She got out of bed and headed for the kitchen.

Flicking on the light switch, she saw Anya sitting at the kitchen table, hunched over a steaming cup.

“Couldn’t you sleep either?” Evie asked, as she waited for the kettle to boil.

“No.” Anya’s voice was barely audible. “You have to tell him. I can’t stand all this secrecy.”

“He’s got what he’s always wanted now, so I’ll probably never hear from him again,” she said, trying to sound like she didn’t care.

---