Cassie was having none of it.
“Ryan, what the hell is going on? Your wife just arrived back from an overseas trip. Your wife. Not your ex. Your actual wife. She said she lives here. You didn’t tell me about any of this. I had no idea you were still married, or that she was coming back here. Do you know how much of a fool I felt when she explained?”
Cassie could feel herself hyperventilating. She feared she would explode from the emotions boiling inside her.
“It’s OK. It’s OK. Calm down, Cassie,” Ryan said.
“Calm down? You want me to calm down after she walked into your bedroom and put her bag in there, and told me she travels overseas a lot, and the rest of the time she lives here? What the hell am I supposed to be calm about?”
“She—” Ryan began, but Cassie was unstoppable.
“And there is a wedding ring on her finger. A wedding ring! I saw it, right there on the third finger of her left hand. Ryan, you need to tell me the truth now. I am not accepting any more lies.”
Her voice was rising to a scream.
“Cassie, please. Don’t be upset. Come here.”
Ryan spoke gently.
“Please, come into the lounge. Sit down.”
Cassie didn’t feel like sitting. She was far too angry. But Ryan shepherded her into the family room and somehow she found herself on the couch, remembering that this was where they had first kissed, and where he’d first told her that he wanted her to be a part of his life.
“Cassie, listen to me. Please.”
He sat next to her, his knee touching hers. Angrily, Cassie pulled her legs away. She didn’t want to touch him, ever again. It was all she could do to look into his handsome, lying face.
“We are separated. The divorce is pending. The only step that has to be completed is that some of the documents need signing. You are right, and I must apologize because I didn’t tell you how badly Trish was taking all of this.”
Cassie glared at him, challenging him to make her believe his version.
“She has been acting very erratically since we started the process. Coming back on short notice like this is just one example. There have been a few others.”
Cassie was going to demand that he name them, but Ryan continued.
“She suffers from depression. It’s been a problem for a while. Remember I said how demanding, how needy, she was becoming?”
Reluctantly Cassie nodded.
“It was symptomatic of what she was suffering, because I do understand it’s an illness. It meant I had to proceed very slowly with this. Even though our relationship isn’t what it was, I still feel responsible for her. I couldn’t even make a start on the process until her medication was right. That took months, and Cassie, they were not happy months.”
She stared at Ryan and no matter how hard she looked, she could only see truth in his eyes.
Then she remembered that Trish hadn’t looked like a depressed person. She knew herself what depression was like, how anxiety was the devil on your shoulder that never went away.
Although, perhaps Trish was able to hide it well, if her meds were finally in balance.
“She’s the mother of my children,” Ryan continued. “I would never forgive myself if my actions, my own selfishness, caused her to harm herself. So I have been patient. More patient, and more accommodating, than you’ll ever know.”
He sighed.
“This is just the latest hurdle but it’s the final one. I didn’t want her to come back here—but if she has had a hectic business trip and wants somewhere familiar to lay her head while this whole process wraps up, I can’t say no. Would you say no?”
“Where’s she been living?” Cassie challenged him.
“She has been renting an apartment close to Heathrow Airport. It makes sense for her to be there because she travels so much, but the problem is she has no friends or support structure nearby. I told her she should rent within the village until all this was finalized, but she refused. I guess she was worried that people might talk.”
Cassie shook her head.
“You didn’t even tell me. Do you have any idea how upset I felt when she walked in?”
Ryan leaned closer and she thought he wanted to take her hand, so she pulled it away and bunched her hands together in her lap.
“I didn’t know she was arriving now. She told me she was stopping by work first, and would get here after supper. I intended to sit down with you before we collected the children, and explain what was going to happen. I see she’s had a look at the timetable and has gone off to pick up the kids herself.”
“Yes,” Cassie said.
She suddenly felt like bursting into tears because she’d been longing to catch up with the children and to find out how their big performance in Canterbury had gone. It would have meant a lot to her to have been waiting when the bus arrived.
“Please, Cassie, help me get through this. It’s not going to be easy, but it hopefully won’t be for too long. If you want proof of my feelings toward you, I brought you a present. As a thank-you for being so special, and to remember the amazing experience we had while away.”
To Cassie’s astonishment, he produced a small velvet box from his pocket and handed it to her.
She opened it, realizing her hands were shaking.
Inside was a pair of gold earrings, with beautiful green jewels set in the shape of flowers.
“The stones are emeralds. When I saw them, I thought how beautiful that color would look on you. It’s a gift from the heart, because you’ve brought so much joy into my life, but it’s also a promise. We have a future together. We just have to get through the next few days. You are strong enough. I hope I’m strong enough.”
Cassie stared down at the earrings.
Did they make a difference?
She decided they did. Ryan’s calm, logical words
