Page 76 of Always Beth
‘How do you know that? James, tell me, how do you know he wanted to keep it quiet?’ Her words tumble out one after another and I can’t think fast enough without confessing about the golf heist.
‘I just, you know, guessed.’
She studies me for a few moments and her face falls, and I know that keeping this from her has been the biggest mistake I’ve made.
‘You’re lying to me,’ she cries.
‘Beth—’
‘No, you knew she was pregnant all this time and you didn’t say anything.’ She points her finger at me and forces me back along the path.
‘It wasn’t like that,’ I plead.
‘Oh sorry, please tell me what it was like?’
‘Lauren and I we just couldn’t let him get away with it, he was going to deny it all, we sort of behaved unethically.’
She pauses, staring up at me. ‘How unethically?’
‘Covertly recorded him and stole the data from his phone. It was better if you didn’t know.’
She drops her head to the ground in disbelief. I can barely work out her feelings on the matter. Her mouth sets into a hard, pressed line and she clenches her fists at her sides, if anyone was trying to contain their anger, this is how they’d do it.
‘Was it also better that I didn’t know she was pregnant? So I had to face that today, blindsided by it. The one thing I’ve truly wanted, given to another woman without a second thought.’
‘Beth, I…’
Shit.This wasn’t how this was supposed to go. I feel like the biggest prick on the planet.
‘What?’ she snaps.
I reach out to her and she pushes me away, the strength from her like nothing I’ve felt before. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t want to hurt you.’
‘Well you have! I thought you had my back, I thought…’ She laughs and runs her hands through her hair, forcing herself to stare into the early evening sky. ‘I thought you cared about me.’
‘I do, I l—’
‘No you don’t, you only care about yourself and what’s on James’ agenda, and to hell with the consequences.’
‘That’s not true.’
‘Well, I don’t believe you. You’ve hurt me, really hurt me.’ She turns and storms back into the cottage. ‘Get Caroline to send me the bill.’
I stand defeated as the door slams closed in front of me. In my attempt to bring us closer together, I think I’ve pushed us further apart.
* * *
‘You did what?’ Lauren cries across the kitchen.
‘I never told her.’
‘How could you do that? She needs honesty, James, not someone else lying to her.’
Her words hit hard. It’s as bad as hearing it from Beth’s mouth. I’ve not only upset the woman I love, I’ve upset my closest family.
‘You could have spared her that shock today, but you let her walk into it like a lamb to the slaughter.’
Holding my hands up with indignation, I glare at her across the kitchen. ‘I didn’t know he was going to bring his mistress, did I?’
