Inner Circle (35 page)

“This is getting a little too heavy for me.” Eve stepped backing smiling. “I’m the girl! I should be the one creating the Hallmark moment,” she teased.

“Oh, you got jokes.” Chase swatted Eve on the ass. “Go on! I’ll finish packing my bag.”

“How about we go to dinner tonight after my association meeting?” Eve started out of the room. “We’ll call it a good luck and farewell dinner.”

“You act like I’m going away forever,” Chase responded playfully.

“Any moment away from you seems like forever to me, babe,” Eve laughed, making her way out of the room and down the stairs.

Eve was on cloud nine by the time she made it to the kitchen. She’d never imagined her life could be this good. With all the drama the last few months had brought, Eve was thrilled to know that happily-ever-after actually did exist.

She skimmed through the hundreds of e-mails that awaited her on her iPad, making a mental note of the ones she absolutely had to respond to while deleting the ones that didn’t require a response. She’d always enjoyed the quietness of her house in the afternoon, especially on days like today. The stillness and calm gave her a peace that
was beyond words, and she enjoyed every minute of it. The past few months had taught her not only about having better balance but also about her need to better prioritize her own life and responsibilities. No longer could she afford to put the needs of others before her own. From now on, she and Chase came first, and everything else would have to get in where it fit in.

The ringing of her BlackBerry startled her, and for a moment, she’d forgotten the sound of her own ringtone. Amber had had her BlackBerry for so long that she wasn’t used to having to account for both of them anymore. She laughed to herself, then answered on the second ring.

“Hello,” she greeted the anonymous caller.

“Hi, this is Celebrity Cruises inviting you and your family to partake in this year’s biggest offer to date—”

“Damn telemarketers,” Eve said as she abruptly hung up the phone. It didn’t matter how many times she entered her name and number on the Do Not Call list that was supposed to protect people from unsolicited calls, they still managed to get through.

She placed her BlackBerry down on the table before noticing the message icon on her homepage indicating she had four messages. Knowing her mother would never call her on her home phone, she figured that at least two of those messages were from her with the other two being more telemarketers. Rather than wait in suspense, Eve dialed into her voice mail and checked her messages.

MESSAGE #1: EVE, IT’S MAMA. JUST CALLING TO SEE HOW YOU ARE AND TO MAKE SURE YOU’RE OKAY. I’LL TRY YOU ANOTHER TIME. LOVE YOU.

Message deleted.

MESSAGE #2: THIS MESSAGE IS FOR EVE LANDON. THIS IS AT&T CALLING TO INFORM YOU THAT YOU’VE BEEN
PRESELECTED TO RECEIVE A FREE UPGRADED PHONE. TO ACCEPT THIS OFFER, PRESS ONE.

Message deleted.

MESSAGE #3: AMBER, IT’S SEAN. I WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT I JUST LEFT DR. COLEMAN’S OFFICE WITH THE RESULTS FROM THE PATERNITY TEST I TOOK A FEW WEEKS BACK. I KNOW SA’MYRA DECIDED NOT TO KEEP THE BABY AND THE FUNNY THING IS, EVEN IF SHE HAD, IT WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN OUR PROBLEM BECAUSE THE TEST CAME BACK NEGATIVE FOR ME BEING THE FATHER. YOU’D THINK I’D BE RELIEVED, RIGHT? BUT YOU SEE, DR. COLEMAN INFORMED ME THAT I CAN’T HAVE CHILDREN. SOMETHING TO DO WITH A MEDICATION MY MOTHER TOOK WHILE SHE WAS PREGNANT WITH ME. I TOOK EVERY POSSIBLE TEST, AND THEY ALL SAID THE SAME THING. WHICH MEANS, IF I CAN’T FATHER KIDS, THEN WHO IS OLIVIA’S FATHER?

Eve nearly dropped the phone as the message cut off. She gasped for air as she fumbled for the correct phone key in order to save the message. She pressed the save key and quickly moved on to the next. She was hoping the fourth call was Sean calling to finish his message and was relieved to hear his voice again . . .

MESSAGE #4: IT TOOK ME A MINUTE TO THINK ABOUT WHO THE FATHER COULD BE, AND THEN IT HIT ME. AND ALTHOUGH I DON’T KNOW WHETHER TO BELIEVE ANYTHING YOU’VE EVER TOLD ME UP TO THIS POINT, I DO REMEMBER ONE THING. I REMEMBER WHO YOU MESSED AROUND ON ME WITH JUST PRIOR TO YOU GETTING PREGNANT. SO, HERE’S THE DEAL! YOU WILL
BRING YOUR ASS HOME TODAY AND DO EXACTLY WHAT I SAY, WHEN I SAY IT. OLIVIA IS NEVER TO KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT ME NOT BEING HER FATHER. I LOVE HER, AND SHE DOESN’T DESERVE TO BE HURT IN ANY WAY. IF YOU HESITATE EVEN A LITTLE BIT WITH ANY OF MY DEMANDS, I’LL RUIN YOU. IT’S NOT ENOUGH THAT YOUR GIRL EVE WILL FIND OUT WHAT KIND OF LYING BITCH YOU ARE, BUT IF ANYONE EVER FOUND OUT THAT OLIVIA IS REALLY CHASE’S DAUGHTER, IT’LL DESTROY BOTH OF OUR FAMILIES FOREVER.

Eve sat motionless in her chair as she tried to stop the spinning in her head. Her chest tightened, and a sharp pain shot down her back. Grief, anger, and confusion struck her like fists to the face as she became drunk with emotions. Surely she hadn’t heard Sean’s message correctly. Her heart pounded as she replayed the message again . . . and again.

Exactly six minutes later, Eve had listened to Sean’s message seven times. There was no mistake; she’d heard right—Olivia was Chase’s daughter. Eve replayed over ten years of conversations she’d had with Amber in her mind, trying to figure out where she’d missed Amber’s confession to sleeping with Chase. For the life of her, she couldn’t recall Amber even mentioning being with anyone else while she was at USC.

“Oh no!” Eve said aloud as she immediately remembered Amber’s brief encounter with her mystery man. “No wonder Chase and Sean didn’t get along! All these years, their argument had been over Amber.” She shook her head. “Son of a bitch!” Eve said, trying to make sense of it all.

Eve buried her face in her hands. She didn’t know what to feel first. Rage was the only thing that came to mind. What she couldn’t understand was why neither of them had the decency to tell her the truth. It wasn’t as if Chase had cheated on Eve with Amber. When
they hooked up Eve wasn’t even in the picture. Eve racked her brain for a logical excuse but couldn’t come up with one. As far as she was concerned, there was no reason for them not tell her. The fact that for eight years the two of them had held on to this lie enraged her. She made a mental list of all the events in their lives that the two of them allowed her go through knowing full on that they had been together and had a child with each other. There was Amber’s baby shower, Olivia’s christening, as well as her wedding to Chase where Amber served as her maid of honor.

There were seven years of birthdays, anniversaries, Christmases, Thanksgivings, and every possible holiday in between. If you could name it, Eve could promise you that she and Amber had probably done it together. Hot tears burned down her face as she struggled to breathe. If there was one thing that Eve hated the most it was a liar.

All of my dreams came true the moment you agreed to be my wife,
Eve recalled Chase saying to her just a few moments earlier. She wished those words still rang true yet after hearing Sean’s message on her voice mail. Now she knew the reality of her marriage was no longer anyone’s dream come true, but yet, something that was slowly becoming a very real nightmare.

Eve didn’t even remember climbing the stairs when she found herself standing on the opposite end of her bedroom door. Her hands shook as she gripped the doorknob. She tried desperately to control the actions that would soon follow.

As if in a trance, Eve snapped and burst through the door with a flurry of obscenities and fists landing blows on Chase.

Her strength was supernatural as she thrust every inch of her body at him in a wild, uncontrollable attack.

Her cries came from the belly of her soul as she interrogated him about why he never told her the truth about him and Amber. Every doubt, every suspicion, every insecurity she’d ever had about dating an athlete smothered her as she begged Chase to tell her that what Sean had revealed in his message was all a lie.

When her plea went unanswered, she flung herself to the floor weak from both the beating and mental battle she’d just discharged.

“Eve!” Chase cried out, blood dripping from his mouth, neck, and arms. “I . . .” He struggled to find the right words.

Eve lay on the floor, her face wet from the puddle of tears that rested beneath her. Her sobs were heavy and hard. Through a blur of tears she saw Chase making his way to her. She managed just enough energy to peel herself off the floor. “Don’t you
dare
touch me!” she uttered, her screams now a mere hoarse whisper.

Eve rose to her feet not allowing herself to look back at Chase. Her steps were heavy as she walked out the door, down the stairs, and to the kitchen. Although she could hear Chase calling out to her, she ignored him and instead, gathered her purse, keys, and cell phone, then walked into the garage and got into her car. As far as Eve was concerned, there was nothing left to say. Her fairy-tale marriage, just like her twenty-year friendship with Amber, was officially over . . .

Eve drove slowly down the hill from her house with only one destination in mind. She wasn’t sure what she was going to say to Amber when she got to her. I mean, how could anyone even begin to explain ending a twenty-year friendship? Although she wasn’t sure of the words, she knew a confrontation was necessary. Amber had been a part of her inner circle long before a real circle ever existed. Yet after keeping a secret of this magnitude from her for so long, as of this moment, Eve knew that Amber would be out of her muthafuckin’ circle . . . forever!

32

Eve
waited at the bottom of the hill for the light to change. In sheer frustration, she gripped the steering wheel and repeatedly banged her head against the headrest. She realized it wasn’t helping the ringing in her ears or the pounding in her head, but try as she might, she couldn’t stop herself. Finally, from exhaustion, her body went limp and her head fell forward, resting on the steering wheel. She couldn’t breathe, and she fumbled for the window switch, gulping in the sudden flow of air as if returning to the surface after nearly drowning.

Was this really happening? This kind of shit only happened in the movies, she thought. Chase and Amber had slept together! Olivia was Chase’s daughter! Her best friend and her very own husband had betrayed her! The thoughts rained down like hail, stoking her fury. As the light changed, Eve floored the gas pedal. She knew she was headed for Amber’s house, but she had no clue what she would do once she got there.

Eve drove relentlessly and with reckless abandon. Unfocused and blind with rage, she drove through two red lights as a cacophony of car horns blasted in her wake. She was unfazed. At this moment, she had only one objective, one goal, and that was confronting Amber.

Eve arrived at Amber’s house feeling even more enraged than when she had left her own. Pulling to the curb in an effort to parallel park, she felt her tires and rims scrape the cement, bringing the car to an abrupt stop. She was confused to see Jackie, Jai, and Callie’s cars parked in the driveway and suddenly remembered that there was an association meeting scheduled for today. In the midst of her confrontation with Chase, she had completely forgotten!

Undeterred, Eve grabbed her purse and snatched the keys from the ignition, tossing them into her purse as she exited the car and made her way to the front door. She didn’t bother to use the slate walkway, opting to take the shorter distance across the front lawn. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably as she tried to ring the doorbell. After two unsuccessful attempts, she used the palm of her hand and pressed, leaning forward and causing the bell to ring incessantly.

“Okay! Okay!” Jai swung open the door, recoiling at the sight of Eve.

Seeing the shocked look on Jai’s face, Eve paused, realizing that she must look a hot mess, a fact that was immediately confirmed by Jai.

“What the . . . Eve, what happened? Are you okay?”

Eve stared at Jai but could not make a visual connection. She looked straight through her. In her mind, Jai held no more significance than the furniture Eve could see in the room behind her. She felt Jai grab her elbow, but Eve pulled away and stormed past her and headed for the family room where she knew the meeting would be held. Entering the room, Eve came face-to-face with Callie and Jackie. She could tell by the stunned and perplexed looks on their faces that they shared the same sentiment as Jai about her appearance.

“Eve, what’s the matter?” Jackie exclaimed, hurrying to her side.

“Oh my God!” Callie covered the short distance almost in stride with Jackie.

“Eve, say something! Tell us what’s wrong!” Jai persisted.

Eve felt her chest as it rose and fell. Each breath was an effort. She felt her head swivel like a gun atop a tank as she surveyed the stunned trio standing before her, but none of them registered as her intended target. She caught a glimpse of herself in the reflection of a picture hanging on the wall and was shaken by what she saw. Her hair was so severely tousled that one could only assess that she had been in a fight. As if on skis, her makeup had ridden down her face on a stream of tears, leaving a trail of mascara that ended at the corners of her mouth.