It’s inconceivable; I think that’s the word, to think that it could all come crashing down so easily at the hands of some punk who didn’t have anything better to do but meddle in some stranger’s life. So, what, I did what I did, anyone else in my situation would’ve done the same.
Why shouldn’t my kid have nicer things than her? She had a hard start in life while little Miss Perfect was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. So when I got the chance, why would I let my daughter suffer for someone else’s child’s happiness? Victoria’s self-esteem was never the best, and Gia, for whatever reason, only made it worst.
Now I have no idea what my poor child is going through out there without me, surrounded by people who hate us. She’s my last hope for getting out of this unscathed. Felix isn’t the sort to turn his back on the child he’d adopted and raised as his own. Once again, I can use that to my advantage.
I feel the way I did when we first got here, like an unwanted outcast—the one who, no matter how I tried, I could never fit in. I’d used my daughter’s connection to their kids to get a foot in, but that hadn’t gone as well as I’d hoped either. It’s because I wasn’t one of them, those bitches.
I learned only too late that their friendships were born not because of close proximity to one another but because they’d genuinely liked Adrienne and saw her as some glittering light who was always the go-to person for whatever ailed these pampered witches with brooms up their ass.
Not even my made-up background was enough for them. They weren’t interested in me as a person, not like they’d been with her. It’s like they hated me for living while she was gone and never gave me a chance. Some of them had even laughed in my face, some going so far as to accuse me of wanting to fill Adrienne’s shoes and not being able to fit.
I grew to hate them then and had encouraged Victoria instead of scolding her when I found out what she was doing to their kids. As far as I was concerned, we were killing two birds with one stone, ostracizing Gia from her support system, and gaining a foothold for my kid.
Do they know? Does everyone know that I’m in here? They must be laughing at me now. I can just imagine their next bitch lunch gathering; they’ll be nodding their heads and patting themselves on the back for being right about me all along. Would they approach Felix now that I was out of the way? Before that new horror could set in, the guard was calling out to me.
“You’ve got a phone call.”
“It’s about time. I’m going to give Felix Fontane a piece of my mind.” I have to keep up appearances here, so they won’t think I’ve been deserted by my wealthy husband and start treating me wrong.
“It’s not the husband.”
“Who is it? Is it my daughter?”
“No, some guy named Jimmy.”
GABRIEL
Like a kid in a candy store, that’s what watching her reminded me of. She took to the water on sight, and had I not dragged her out each day after giving her swimming lessons in the mornings, she’d have spent the whole vacation in the tropical paradise in the water. That worked out in some ways because she was so tired at night that there was no question of us making love.
She’d be asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow most nights, but tonight she’d worn me down, and I, of course, had given in. I hated the look of uncertainty on her face when I tried to gently turn her away. And since I didn’t quite yet have a ready answer as to why we should put the brakes on, I gave in, not that it was a hardship, except for the guilt I knew would follow.
Now she’s asleep, cuddled up to my side while I lay awake thinking about our future, both hers and mine. In truth, I was trying to figure out the best way to fix what I now saw as my screw-up. I’d made up my mind not to do this again, not to take any more from her than I already had.
The first time could be explained away; she’d needed me then, and though I should’ve known better, I can live with that. But still, I had taken things further, knowing that in the end, I’d just be one more person who disappointed her in life. That’s not the person I’ve trained myself to be, but I can’t see a way out that won’t hurt her, and dammit, she’s a weakness I wasn’t prepared for.