Page 58 of So Close to You
“The communications director has warned me that the Manchester Evening News already has the photos,” Elliot continues, his voice growing increasingly hoarse. “There are reporters putting together a full story on ‘the sexual scandal behind the year’s most important healthcare merger.’ Do you understand what that means for us?”
Seraphina looks down at the floor. Not because she doesn’t understand the consequences, but because she understands them all too well. The merger is off. Investors will pull their capital immediately. The stock will plummet as soon as the markets open. The board will need a figurehead to save the company, and that figurehead will be her.
Nausea rises in her throat. Not because of the money or her career. But because of Nerissa. Because Adrian has exposed her too.
“This has nothing to do with work,” Seraphina says, trying to cling to a last shred of dignity. “A personal mistake shouldn’t affect the deal.”
Elliot looks at her with utter disbelief, almost horrified.
“Are you still speaking like the CFO?” he asks, deeply disappointed. “Are you really serious?”
Seraphina looks up at him and, for the first time since she entered the room, allows fear to show clearly on her face.
“I’m just thinking about everything that’s just blown to smithereens, Elliot. You, me, the kids… everything.”
“No,” he replies, shaking his head as he takes a few steps back. “You’ve been thinking only of her for months. Of that woman who’s taken the place I no longer had.”
The silence that follows is unbearable. The wall clock ticks away the seconds with cruel precision. Outside, the wind gently sways the branches of the trees in the perfectly manicured garden of the housing development. The normality of the house makes the disaster seem even more ruthless.
Elliot looks back at the photos on the screen and swallows hard.
“Are you in love with her?” her husband asks suddenly.
The question pierces Seraphina like a spear. There is no strategy left. She can no longer hide behind work fatigue, pressure, or a vague emotional crisis. Everything has been torn out by the roots.
She swallows hard.
“Yes,” she admits, and the word burns on her lips. “I love her.”
Elliot closes his eyes. The confession seems to hit him hard in the chest. When he opens them again, there are restrained tears glistening in them, but also a deep resentment that Seraphina had never seen directed at her before.
“So all this time…” Elliot murmurs bitterly, “while I was trying to fix our marriage, while I was taking you to hotels to reconnect, while I was looking for therapists and wondering what the hell I was doing wrong… you were already in love with someone else. How could you?”
Seraphina feels a thick pain rising in her throat, making it hard to breathe.
“I never meant to hurt you, Elliot. I promise. I tried to resist, but…”
“Well, you did,” he cuts her off flatly. “And in the worst possible way.”
The answer comes clean, irrefutable, and laden with pain. Elliot walks over to the minibar and pours himself a whiskey. The liquid spills over the rim of the glass and splashes onto the wood, but he doesn’t even notice. He takes a long swallow and rests his hands on the counter, as if he needs to steady himself.
“Who else knows?” he asks without looking at her.
Seraphina takes too long to answer. She thinks of Maeve, of Nerissa’s brother, of Daphne. And, of course, of Adrian. Too many people. Too many eyes on something she thought was protected in the privacy of dimly lit rooms and messages she carefully deleted.
“I don’t know exactly,” she confesses. “But more people than I imagined.”
Elliot lets out another broken, bitter laugh.
“My God, Seraphina. How naive and stupid I’ve been.”
Seraphina feels the tears finally welling up in her eyes, but she forces herself to stay upright. She no longer has the right to break down before he does.
“I wanted to tell you,” she insists. “I’d decided it was time.”
“And would that have fixed anything?” Elliot retorts, turning toward her with reddened eyes. “Would it have erased the months of lies? Would it have restored our trust?”
Seraphina doesn’t answer. Because no, it wouldn’t have fixed anything. It would only have turned the destruction into her own decision rather than a public and humiliating explosion.
