Chapter 0029
BAILEE
It had taken several days for Brinley’s fever to break and a few more for me to feel comfortable enough to send her to daycare.
I had resisted when Caleb demanded we get a nanny instead of sending Brinley to daycare, but I lost that argument. Now, I finally had the chance to do what I thought was best for my daughter and allow her to be around other kids her age, even if it was just for a few hours a day.
Lifting my large iced coffee to my lips, I took several long pulls before sighing in relief.
“That kind of a day, huh?”
The familiar voice made me turn with a large smile as my gaze landed on my best friend. “Lacey! I thought you weren’t getting back for another month!”
“Yeah, well, when I found my boyfriend balls deep in our ski instructor, I decided it was time to come home.” Lacey’s mouth pinched in disgust, but I could see the hurt in her eyes.
“That’s little…little cockroach!” I exclaimed, struggling to find a good enough word for him. “Did you confront him?”
Her eyebrows lifted in amusement as if confronting the woman sleeping with her boyfriend was amusing.
“Oh, no! Did you fight her?” My eyebrows rose, excited to hear every detail, especially since Lacey looked as stunning as always. She had a tall, slender build with long blonde hair that she liked to keep in a bun or ponytail so it would be out of her face.
There wasn’t a blemish or bruise on her.
She had the most symmetrical face I had ever seen and rarely wore makeup.
“No, my momma always told me not to hit a man unless you were willing to get hit by a man.” Lacey tilted her head to the side as she glanced around the office.
It was a mess from the past few months of chaos in my life and my lack of motivation to organize and clean it, but I knew I would
need to.
If I didn’t, Lacey would get frustrated. She liked things to be tidy when she was working. She said it made her more productive because it was easier to focus.
“Wait, what?” Realization dawned on me. “Oh my God. Your instructor was a guy? I did not see that coming!”
“Yeah, well, neither did I.” She moved to my side, placing her purse on the desk before crossing her arms as she scanned over the latest design I had on the mannequin in my office. “I wasted thousands of dollars I didn’t have to go on this stupid six- month retreat with him, thinking he was going to propose, only to find out that for the past two years, he didn’t even think we were exclusive, let alone ready for marriage!”
“Ouch.” I winced. “I’m sorry that happened.”
“It’s no big deal. I came back early, moved all of his stuff out of my apartment, and changed the locks, but do you think when he gets back, I can stay with you for a few days so I don’t have to listen to him bitching and banging on the door?” Lacey had always been welcome to stay with me in the past.
She would sleep in the guest room, and Caleb would whisper-yell at me in our bedroom about how inconvenient it was to have someone in his home when he just wanted to relax.
“Um, I’ll have to ask Ben.”
“Why Ben?”
1/2
I quickly moved my hand under a pile of fabric when she glanced at it.
“Wait, where’s your ring?” She reached forward, grabbing my hand and pulling it up as if my ring would appear if she held it
closer to her face
“It’s probably at Caleb’s house or a pawn shop.” I shrugged. I didn’t care where it was or what he had done with it after I left. I hated it anyway.
It had been a drunken purchase from a sketchy jewelry store on the strip, the night we eloped in Vegas during spring break during our freshman year of college.
“You guys split? What happened?” Lacey gasped, shaking her head. “I called you every week for the past five months, and you never thought to tell me?”
She looked genuinely offended, and guilt hit me again.
First my family, and then my best friend….
They didn’t like that I hadn’t told them, but I don’t think they would ever understand how embarrassing it was for me. It shouldn’t be, as I hadn’t been the one to destroy my marriage, but it still felt shameful.
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