“How can you be so calm about all this? I just told you I was having an affair with your brother-in-law. I just told you that I’m really someone else. And you’re joking about it?”
She looked at me sadly and shrugged. “I love you. I’m not going to judge you for wanting to run away from a shitty life. And though I wish you’d told me, I’m not going to judge you for falling in love with Brody and acting on it.”
“Kinlee, what we did was—”
“It was wrong. Yeah, sure, I get that. But you’re wrong about all this too, you know.”
My head whipped to the side as I put the car in park. “Wait, what?”
“Brody. I don’t know what happened between you two last week. But he doesn’t love that woman. And what happened between the two of you, well, it’s never been an option for him before. Which means you have to be special to him. So maybe he made a mistake, and maybe he’s still in love with you. Don’t shut him out. Because if you’ve been shutting me out, then I know you’re doing it to him too.”
I rubbed at my aching chest. “It . . . it doesn’t matter anymore. He chose her, Lee. So whether I’m wrong or not, it’s over.”
Brody
July 15, 2015
“EVERYTHING OKAY WITH Kinlee?” I asked when Jace hung up and tossed his phone back on the table.
“Yeah, I couldn’t really understand what she was saying other than something was wrong with one of her friends and she was on her way home. She was just blowing up my phone with texts I didn’t understand, but there was loud music playing in the car. So, I don’t know, I guess we’ll find out when she gets here.”
“Do you need me to go?”
“What? No, she’ll be happy you’re here. She misses you just as much as I do. Anyway, sorry about that. So what happened with Olivia after that?”
I ran my hand through my hair and settled back into the couch. “Well, the tears stopped, and she turned into an ice queen in less than a second. And there was no argument or denying the picture I showed her. She just up and left, saying I’d hear from her dad’s attorney.”
“Bitch,” Jace huffed and drained his beer. “I’m proud of you, Bro. I know that must’ve been difficult.”
“A week and a half ago, I would have thought it would be too,” I said. “But as soon as it was out today I felt lighter than I have in years. I just don’t know why it took me so long to see that this was all bullshit. I mean, even at the end there were times when I knew she was lying but she’d do something to make me actually believe she was suicidal and needed help. I just don’t get why I couldn’t have realized long ago all of this was typical of her games.”
Jace stayed silent for long minutes as he rolled the empty bottle back and forth between his fingers. “I hate to say this, but it’s because of Tate. Because of your view on what happened that day, you weren’t able to see what she was doing to you. You just knew that your world had shattered and figured hers had done the same, so you weren’t seeing her clearly.”
“You’re probably right,” I said. And because of that, because I wanted to help a woman who needed anything but that, I’ve ruined everything with Kamryn.
“Did you at least get some of Olivia’s psychotic episodes recorded?”
“What?” I snorted. “No.”
“What about her dad’s attorney? You can take that shit to court and use it against them for this.”
I frowned and sank even deeper into the couch. “My attorney already mentioned that. With Olivia, half the time I wasn’t even expecting to see her, she’d just be home all of a sudden, or she’d rant at me over the phone. Now that it’s over, it’s easy to think I could have pulled out my phone and recorded it, but I know that’s bullshit. I was always so blown away with whatever was happening, and trying to keep my shit together, that it was taking all my focus. And besides, do you really think she wouldn’t have noticed if I started recording her? She would have stopped whatever she was saying immediately.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Jace sighed and stared straight ahead—seeing nothing for a few minutes before he stood up. “Do you want another?” He held up the bottle, and I shook my head.
Two days after Kamryn had left me in the hotel parking lot, I’d gone to see Jace and demanded to know everything he’d seen from the times he’d followed Olivia. Not only did he have stories of the handful of times he or my parents had followed her, but he had pictures. Olivia shopping with friends, on dates with other guys, out at brunch or dinner with her parents and one of the guys. One of the best pictures was the one of a guy who just happened to be Liv’s doctor when she’d “overdosed” on the antidepressants. And not once did she look like the emotionally unstable woman I’d grown to know over the last four and a half years since Tate died. Jace had been right—she looked like normal Liv.
“You know,” he said, “it’s a good thing you have those pictures, though.”
My forehead creased and I took another sip of my beer. “And why is that?”
“That way, if she tries to come after you in court, you can say she was unfaithful. We have more than enough pictures of her in . . . interesting positions with other men. You throw that into it, the judge isn’t going to rule in her favor, no matter who her ‘daddy’ is.”