Change of Heart (10 page)

The elevator opened, depositing them on the eighth floor, and without thinking, she marched toward apartment 813 and knocked. Hard.

As they heard the lock turning, Whit stiffened, then looked at her. “You okay?”

She nodded, but inside, she felt anything but okay. Christopher appeared in the doorway wearing jeans and a white T-shirt. Whiskers covered his usually clean-shaven face, no trace left of the well-groomed rich kid she’d married all those years ago.

At the sight of her, though, something shifted. His face brightened. “Evelyn?”

She didn’t move.

Confusion skittered across his face. “What are you doing here?”

She choked back the tears she’d wadded up and stuffed at the base of her belly. “I came for the truth.”

He glanced at Whit, then back to her. “How are you holding up?” He spoke in gentle tones as if not to upset her.

“My husband has been arrested. My home has been invaded. My innocence has been questioned. My dignity has been stolen. And you couldn’t even be bothered to call me.”

He sighed. “You don’t understand, Evelyn. I’ve been working on something. I’m handling this.” He reached for her hand, but she yanked it away.

Anger smacked across Christopher’s face. She wasn’t behaving the way he wanted, and that never went over well, but she couldn’t pretend. Not this time.

“Come in. Let’s talk about this.”

Evelyn swallowed, but her throat was dry. Did she really want to see where he’d been living? Did she want to know what kind of existence he’d chosen over the beautiful life she thought they’d built back home?

Slowly she took a step into the apartment. There was nothing lavish about it, though it did seem to have all the required amenities. He certainly didn’t want for anything, in spite of his circumstances.

They stood awkwardly in the foyer; then Christopher looked at Whit. “Can you give me a minute alone with my wife?”

At first, Whit didn’t move, just glared at Christopher like he wanted to rip his throat out. But after a few long, testosterone-filled seconds, he moved farther into the living room while Christopher led her toward the kitchen. The open floor plan allowed her to see that even though Whit was no longer within earshot, he was still watching as if somehow he could protect her from Christopher’s weapon of choice: manipulation.

For once, she was prepared for him. Or so she thought.

Evelyn caught a glimpse of Christopher’s tightened lips, but he quickly recovered when they were alone.

“You look good,” Christopher said, motioning for her to sit down at the kitchen table. How had she not noticed it before? The way he switched emotions so quickly to get what he wanted? He was a master at it
 
—she could see that now.

Sadness hovered above her, waiting to descend. Was she so foolish to think there was any possibility of a positive outcome to this meeting?

Evelyn set her jaw. “What do you have to say for yourself, Christopher?”

He waved her off. “It’s going to be fine. You’ll see. No way they can prove I did anything wrong. I’ll be back before you know it.”

She stared at him, his arrogance spilling out on the table and driving a wedge between them.

“How many were there?”

A dumbfounded look washed across his face. “How many what?”

“How many women?”

He snapped his mouth shut. “I can explain.”

“No, you can’t. There is no possible way to talk yourself out of this. I saw the photos. The videos. You made a complete idiot of me. You weren’t even careful about it.”

Christopher leaned forward in his chair and reached across the table to take her hand. “Evelyn. I love you. I never meant to hurt you.”

She blinked back fresh tears. “How many were there, Christopher?”

He looked away. “I’m ashamed of myself. I’ve got a problem. A legitimate problem, but you can’t leave me now. I need you at my side if I’m going to recover from everything.”

She swallowed.

“I planned to call about this, but now that you’re here . . . My lawyer said I should ask you to come to my hearing. It’s tomorrow morning. Please. It’s going to be a long road, and we have to show a unified front. Having you there would send a huge statement to the judge.”

She swiped at a runaway tear, angry with herself for letting it fall.

“Don’t cry, babe. You know we’re going to get through this.”

She leveled her gaze. “Christopher, I know you cheated on me, but did you steal that money?”

He stared back at her, a slight, condescending smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. “How can you even ask me that?”

“The evidence is pretty strong. The FBI has questioned me twice now. They’ve shown me things
 
—some I don’t understand, but they think you’re hiding money. They think you took it from the state and you’ve got it somewhere in some secret account. And they think I know where it is.”

He didn’t look away, but a calculated look came over his face and Evelyn knew.

He closed his eyes, lifted his jaw, and opened his mouth to spew a lie that she would’ve believed only two weeks before.

Closed eyes. Lifted jaw. Lie told.

That was his tell. And in retrospect, she realized he’d used it countless times. The knowledge sickened her.

“I’m innocent, babe. I promise. You’ll see. Just don’t give up on me yet.”

“How am I supposed to forgive you for all those women?”

He squeezed her hand. “They meant nothing to me. You are the only thing that matters. This is our year, remember? Our year to finally become a family. Don’t forget everything we’re working for.”

It chilled her to realize how easy it was for Christopher to lie to her. He hadn’t even apologized for what he’d put her through. Did he have any idea how upside-down her world was right now?

Still, she’d been raised to believe that marriage was sacred. It wasn’t something you just threw away. Didn’t she owe it to him
 
—to herself
 
—to at least try to make it work?

Her mother’s words rushed back at her.
“It’s a wife’s duty to support her husband
 
—no matter what.”
How disappointed they would be if their daughter ended up divorced and penniless. What a mess she’d made of things.

“I think we’re going to have to see a counselor,” she said, pulling her hands into her lap.

He stiffened. “You can’t be serious.”

“How else are we ever going to recover? Are you even sorry?”

“I can be sorry without spewing my feelings to some moron sitting behind a desk,” he said. “You know that’s not an option for us. I’m a public figure. Besides, I don’t need help, Evelyn. I just need you.”

She leveled her gaze. “You had me all these years, and it’s pretty clear I wasn’t all you needed.”

His eyebrow rose ever so slightly. Had she dared to challenge him? “I’m not going to counseling. And neither are you.”

She paused. “It started again,” she said, not wanting to see if there was an ounce of concern on his face. He knew about her panic attacks. Her anxiety disorder. He knew she’d battled them since she was twelve, the last time her whole world fell apart.

“Shut it down, Evelyn,” he said, his voice stern. “There are eyes all over you right now.”

“Whose fault is that?” She raised her chin and focused squarely on him. For years she’d sat there like a clod, believing every lie he told, or not wanting to admit the truth about the man she’d married
 
—or that she might be partially responsible for the state of their marriage. She’d been pretending. Doing what was expected out of some misplaced sense of duty. And for what?

“What did you say to me?” Christopher shifted in his seat.

“I came here for the truth, and I see it now.” Tears rose up again, and it embarrassed her to realize that a part of her had actually been hoping he would give her a reason to work to save their marriage.

Instead, he’d made it clear he had no intention of working for anything.

“What is it you think you see?” His expression turned irritated.

“I see the real you,” she said. “You broke my heart. And you don’t even care.”

He scoffed. “You’re so dramatic. You know how important it is that you keep it together right now.”

She met his eyes. “Can you promise me you’re done with the other women?”

Closed eyes. Lifted jaw.
“Of course, Evelyn. There’s only you.”

Lie told.

She stared at her folded hands in her lap. She had her answer.

And somehow, she wished she could plunge back into the depths of oblivion.

“So you’ll come tomorrow?” Christopher’s tone had changed again. He thought he’d gotten what he wanted. Thought he’d convinced her he could be faithful. As if a single lie was all it took. How many of those had she fallen for?

He took a strand of her blonde hair and tucked it behind her ear, then leaned toward her and kissed her cheek. “And wear that gray pantsuit I bought you.” He gave her a once-over. “You look like you’ve forgotten who you are.” She’d chosen dark jeans and a simple blouse for her meeting with Christopher. She thought it was presentable, but he always had something to say about her appearance.

She said nothing.

“Now go wait outside. I’ve got to talk to Whit.”

Evelyn inhaled deeply, her anger bubbling under the surface. She hadn’t felt this kind of hate for over twenty years. Not since she was twelve. The day she realized the world wasn’t full of rainbows and unicorns.

She took the elevator down to the waiting area, where she promptly melted into a puddle of stored-up tears.

Life as she knew it was over and she had no idea what to do about it.

CHAPTER

T
REVOR HATED THAT
he couldn’t hear what Chris was saying to Evelyn. The expression on her face gave nothing away. She’d become harder to read the older she’d gotten, but maybe that was because he didn’t know her anymore.

After she left the apartment, Trevor stood and stared at Chris, who hardly looked like an acquaintance, let alone an old friend.

What would he do if Trevor clocked him square in the nose?

“Kind of you to bring Evelyn all the way here to see me,” Chris said, sitting back down. “A heads-up would’ve been nice.”

Trevor sat across from him, where Evelyn had been sitting only moments before. He could still smell the faint scent of her, like clean linen.

“Just trying to be a good friend.”

“Thanks, buddy.”

“Not to you. To her.” Trevor clenched his teeth tightly.

“Oh, I get what you’re trying to be to Evelyn.” Chris sneered at him. “Quite the opportunity you have here.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Chris. I’ve known you both too many years not to be involved in this, and you know it. Besides, you’re the one who asked me to keep an eye on her.”

“Took that advice to heart, did you?” He glared at Trevor across the table.

“You left her out there alone
 
—do you know what this is doing to her?”

“Her? What about what this is doing to me?” Chris pushed himself away from the table. “Look at me, man.”

“You made your bed,” Trevor said.

Chris ran a hand over his chin with an irritated huff. “You were always such a Boy Scout.”

“That’s me, Chris.” Trevor wouldn’t apologize for believing Chris should reap what he’d sown.

Chris shifted, then leaned toward Trevor. “You know they’re after Evelyn. They think she knows where I hid the money.”

“You’re okay with that?”

Chris shrugged.

Trevor inhaled the stale apartment air. “What makes you think you’re going to get away with any of this?”

“I’m innocent, man.” But the smug look on his face said otherwise.

Trevor rubbed his temples and let out a sigh.

“I know you’re in love with my wife.”

He looked at Chris, whose eyes seemed to drill a hole right through him.

“Can’t believe you’ve still got a thing for her after all this time.”

Trevor knotted his fists under the table, willing away the desire to reach over and wring Chris’s neck.

“You gotta admit, I chose right.” Chris leaned toward him as if daring him to lose his composure. “I mean, she is some kind of prize.”

Trevor pushed away from the table and swore.

“Nothing pushes your buttons like Evelyn.” Chris laughed. “It’s been fun watching you squirm. It’s like we’re right back in high school and all you ever were to her was a really good friend.” He punctuated the last three words with a sharp staccato tone. “Wonder how she’d feel knowing you knew about me all along and didn’t say a word?”

Trevor’s gut twisted. Chris had nicked an old wound
 
—one that Trevor wasn’t willing to attend to. He had known about Chris’s unfaithfulness, but worse, he’d helped keep his
friend
’s dirty little secrets.

Chris met his gaze. “I’m not going to lose her over this, Whit. Got that?”

“Maybe you should’ve thought of that before you slept with half the women in Denver,” Trevor spat at him. “What is wrong with you?”

“Someone like you could never understand.” Chris leaned back in his chair. “These women, they just throw themselves at you. It’s impossible to say no.”

“I don’t know how you can stand to look at yourself, Chris. You’re worse than I thought.”

“And a whole lot richer too.” Chris smiled.

The man had no remorse. No concern for anyone else. He was completely self-absorbed, and the only things that mattered to him were money and power.

“Try not to get too close to my wife, okay?”

“Let her go, Chris. She doesn’t deserve this.”

“Not a chance.” Chris’s smirk was enough to make Trevor’s blood boil. “I know Evelyn. She loves to save me, to make me a better man. It won’t take much to convince her she’s the only hope I have at rehabilitation.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I don’t want you to get any ideas. Evelyn belongs to me. You remember that.”

Trevor had heard enough. He headed out the door without another word, wishing he’d never agreed to come with Evelyn in the first place. Chris was right. Evelyn was his wife, whether Trevor liked it or not, and this whole visit had reminded him of why he’d removed himself from that world in the first place.

He wanted to do the right thing, but from now on, if Evelyn needed anything other than a landlord, she was going to have to talk to someone else. He had to move on with his life or be completely consumed by this situation.

On the other side of the door, he pulled out his phone and found Maggie’s number in his contacts.

Dinner tonight?
he texted.

Definitely.

Meet me at Barb’s at 7?

I’ll be there.

Great. It was past time to move on with his life and remove himself from Evelyn’s for good.