The Perfume of Betrayal

milk over the phone. It was sharp and patrician, and she had never fully approved of me. I

e had a little disagreement and you've run off to your sister

I said, keeping my voice even.

very important man. He's under a lot of pressur

. You and Leo are his foundation." She spoke about her so

e and his comfort. She adored the woman he was cheating with because she served a purpos

than his wife?" I asked, the question drip

u want to be the woman who destroyed her family out of petty jealousy?

ord. The conversation confirmed what I already knew: the Pattersons would close ranks ar

just appeared on the doorstep, holding a bouquet of expensive lilies, my fa

look. "I'll give you two some space,"

ace amongst Clara's cozy, lived-in furniture. He held out the fl

. "I don't want yo

de table. "I made a huge mistake. I was stupid and reckl

rectly at me, his eyes filled with what looked like r

aining this to Leo, was exhausting. Maybe my mother and Marg

g closer to me. "She understands. She's just a

subtle tension in his jaw, the way his gaze flickered for just a second. He was defending her, making excuses for her. "Sh

heart sinking. It was a text from a friend of mi

ght? Walter's new 'protégé' is telling everyone you t

screen blurring in front of

mmodate his affair, painting me as a willing participant in my own humiliation. And he had just stood here, in my sister's living

Walter," I said, my vo

e to frustration. "Ava, don't be l

g up my phone so he could see the text. "You'

All that was left was the ugly truth. He opened his mouth to

xt week," I said, the idea forming in my mind with a

onfused. "What? Wh

t the other woman you're building a life with." The words were bitter and sharp, but they held a new kind of