“Hi, Liv.”
I froze at the sound of Emily’s voice, and I almost threw my phone out into the street. How dare she call me right now? Was she calling to rub salt in my wounds? To laugh at me and remind me of my current situation?
“Before you hang up, please listen to me,” she said quickly. “I know you’re upset, but I just really need to talk to you.”
“I don’t want to hear a fucking word from you, Em!” I snapped. “You psychotic bitch! You ruined my life!”
“Yes, I did,” she said. “I know I did, and I’m not even going to dispute it. I wish I could stand here and tell you that I’m sorry for how things turned out, but I would be lying to you and to myself if I did. I’m not sorry for what happened, Liv. I wish I was, but I’m not. I’m actually glad it worked out this way.”
“Fuck you, Em,” I spat. “Seriously, fuck you. How could you do this to me?”
“I didn’t do anything to you, Liv,” she said. “You brought this on yourself. You can’t seriously tell me you don’t know the exact moment when your entire marriage fell apart. This did not come out of the blue. Marcus was hurt, and he came to me to console him. You knew I always liked him, Liv. You knew it. And when he came for you instead of me, I didn’t argue with him. I understood that it was his wish, and I respected it. But when you threw your marriage away, I simply picked up the pieces.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I asked.
“Call me when you figure out where it all went wrong,” she said. “In the meantime, I just thought I should let you know that Marcus is coming for you. I owe you that much, at least. If not for anything, then simply for the fact that we used to be friends. I know it’s a lot to ask, but if you could be happy for me, then perhaps we could find a way to rebuild our friendship. I truly miss my best friend.”
“I will never let you into my life, Emily,” I said. “You took everything from me. I treated you like a sister, told you things I never told anyone else. I gave you a part of my soul, Emily. And this is how you repay me?”
“Don’t you see your problem?” she snapped. “You always act like you’re better than everyone around you. Little Miss Perfect. It’s always so suffocating being around you. Our friendship could only work as long as you were shining brighter than me, and I stayed in my lane. You could never live with the idea of me being happier than you. But now it’s my turn. You’ve looked down on me my whole life, Liv. But not anymore. I’m going to make Marcus happier than you ever could, and I’m going to heal all his wounds that you couldn’t.”
I didn’t even know what to say to her anymore. The betrayal was so painful that I almost couldn’t breathe. I hung up without another word, then curled up on the windowsill and started to cry once again.
Everything I thought I knew was a lie. Emily had never been my friend. She’d always hated me, and she was simply hanging around because she couldn’t leave. Did I really make her feel that way? Was I always trying to outshine her in everywhere?
No! Absolutely not! I wasn’t going to sit there and allow her to make me feel guilty for what happened. Why didn’t she say anything sooner? Why didn’t she have a simple conversation with me? Did she really need to have an affair with my husband? I was the victim, not her.
At least she’d given me a heads-up. Marcus was coming for me. I needed to be prepared for when he did. And the best way to do this was to get ahead of him. I needed to make the first move, before he did anything drastic. I wasn’t going to sit there and allow him have the upper hand. It was like a game of chess, where everyone knew that the winning chances were higher if you were white, because you got to start first. I needed to make the first move, and strike him where it hurts. I wasn’t just going to sit here and lick my wounds.
Grabbing my phone, I quickly scrolled through my phone until I landed on the person I was looking for. I muttered a silent prayer before I dialled, and he answered on the first ring.
“Hello?”
“Hi, David,” I said. “Is this a bad time?”
“Not at all, Mrs Reynard,” he replied. “I just finished in the courtroom, and I’m about to head out for coffee. Is this about the appointment Marcus made? I thought we still had another thirty minutes before that.”
So he hadn’t spoken to Marcus yet? Great!
“No, it’s not that,” I said. “Although it might be related in a way.”
“I’m listening,” he said.
“David, I need a favour,” I said. “And it’s urgent. I need to know that I can trust you. Marcus cannot know that I’ve spoken to you.”
He paused for a moment, before he said, “Attorney-client privilege, remember?”
“Well, I know you’re the Reynard family lawyer,” I said. “Your loyalty is to them first.”
“You’re getting a divorce,” he said. It wasn’t a question.
“Yes,” I said, the words hitting me for the first time. “And I want you to represent me.”
I heard some rustling in the background, like he was checking something. And then he said, “I’m at the coffee shop on 5th Avenue. Meet me in ten minutes.”
“Thank you so much, David,” I said, relief washing over me. “I’ll be right there.”
As I hung up, I felt optimistic for the first time since yesterday. I grabbed my purse and quickly left the room, a small smile on my lips.
The game had begun.
