Page 63 of Little Bitter Truths
“Were you ever going to tell her?”
“I swear I was going to do it.The longer I waited, the harder it became.”
“Lies tend to snowball like that.”
He looked up at me, his expression pained.“At first, I just wanted to meet her, to know more about the woman my brother considered to be the love of his life.But as we started getting to know each other, I started to develop feelings for her.I tried to push them down, to ignore them, but I couldn’t.I know how wrong it must seem to you, falling for my dead brother’s ex-girlfriend right after his death, but I won’t deny it because it’s the truth.”
“I’m not sure if I believe you because you’ve been lying this entire time.Were you aware of the text message he was typing right before the accident?”
He cleared his throat.“Yeah.I’ve thought a lot about it, and how he must have been feeling in that moment.The breakup was hard on him.It’s clear he never got over her.”
“And that didn’t bother you, that he died texting the woman who broke his heart?”
He raised a brow.“What are you implying?”
I crossed my arms, waiting for him to stop acting like a naïve teenager.
“I didn’t kill Wren,” he said.“When Mia confessed someone broke in the other night, all I could think about was how I could protect her.And you know the rest.”
If he was trying to get up the courage to tell Mia the truth, I guessed he’d thought about the way to go about it several times.He may have even thought about what to say if she found out beforehand.
“You lied about who you are,” I said.“Why should I believe anything you’re telling me?”
His shoulders sagged.“I don’t know what else to tell you except that everything I’m now telling you is the truth.”
I leaned against the wall, trying to decide what needed to happen next.“Here’s what you’re going to do.Send Mia a text message and tell her that the plans for tonight have changed.Instead of making dinner for her, you’re going to take her out tonight instead.”
“And then what?”
I held his gaze.“Ask her to come here and pick you up.When she arrives, you’re going to tell her what you told me.”
He hesitated, and I reached for his cell phone sitting on top of the dresser, tossing it over to him.
“Do it now,” I said.
I watched as he typed, and before it was sent, I asked him to show it to me.
A few minutes passed, and his phone buzzed.He looked at the message and said, “She’ll be on her way in a few minutes.”
“Good.”
I sent a text message of my own, and then we waited.A half hour later, there was a knock at the door.
I reached for the handle and pulled the door open.
Mia stood there, her expression shifting from expectation to confusion the moment she saw me.
“Georgiana?”she said.“What are you doing here?”
I stepped aside and swung the door open wider.
“Come in,” I said, thumbing at Jeremy.“I’m sorry it needed to happen this way, but there’s something he needs to tell you.”
26
Mia stood just inside the doorway, her eyes locked on Jeremy.He remained still, his hands hovering at his sides like he didn’t know what to do with them.
Mia moved a hand to her hip.“Say something.What’s going on?”
