I was an innocent bystander in all this.
“What do you mean? I’ve never been here.” Ty had sworn to me that my sister had never gone to Jeannine’s house—or any of the other girls’ homes for that matter. So her statement had truly caught me off guard.
Jeannine focused her attention on Serenity, studying her like she expected her to grow a second head at any moment. “Yeah, what are you talking about? We just moved in three months ago. We haven’t had any guests over other than family. This is our first gathering here.”
With wide eyes and gaping mouth, Serenity placed a hand over her chest and feigned innocence. “Oh, my apologies. One of my good friends lives just down the street, and she said she’s seen Tiffany’s car here several times.”
My heart sank. If Jeannine had just moved in, and Serenity’s friend had seen my sister’s car in the driveway as recently as right before her trip to Mexico, that meant the affair wasn’t quite as old as Tiffany and Ty had said it was.
“Maybe it was a car that looked like mine.”
She laughed and gently held my bicep, as if holding onto me had somehow prevented her from falling over in hysterics. “Yeah, maybe. Although, to be fair, you are the only one in this area who drives a Bugatti, much less the Bugatti Chiron. I highly doubt she confused another car for yours.”
I purposely avoided eye contact with Jeannine. Heck, I didn’t even cut my eyes to my right, unsure if she was looking my way or not. So instead, I kept my attention on Serenity and her smug grin that gave me the creeps.
Last week, I had wanted to out my sister and even brainstormed with Jacoby on ways to do just that without it backfiring on me. In theory, it was the right thing to do. She shouldn’t be able to get away with the heinous things she did. However, now that I was here, on the cusp of Tiffany’s dirty little secret getting exposed, I wanted to shut it down.
I didn’t care what my sister thought of Jeannine, or what she had to say about her. From what I could tell in the short amount of time I’d spent with her, she was a good person who didn’t deserve any of this. Granted, she definitely didn’t deserve to be married to a man who’d sleep with someone else, but that was between them. It was not my place to potentially ruin her life. Then again, there was a small chance that she already knew but had made the decision to keep it quiet.
However, if that were the case, I doubted she’d give me such welcoming hugs.
Before I could say anything else to dismiss Serenity’s claim, Jeannine rolled her eyes and waved her off. “I don’t know what your friend thinks she saw, but it wasn’t Tiffany’s car. Okay? She said she hasn’t been here, and I know I haven’t had her over. So just drop it.”
The one thing I had on my side was the fact that I’d truly never been to this house before. Which meant that when Jeannine took me on a tour of her eight-bedroom mansion, my awe and amazement were genuine and believable.
“Isn’t it gorgeous?” Lauren asked once we made it back to the group.
All I could do was nod; gorgeous didn’t even begin to describe the opulence I’d just seen.
“Well, it took a lot longer to complete than it was supposed to, but we can’t complain. It’s everything we’ve ever wanted—in a great neighborhood, near terrific schools, and offers the kind of security a mother needs to feel safe at home with her kids. This is our forever home. I’m just happy it’s finally finished and everything’s settled.”
“We’re so happy for you,” Lauren said for all of us with a sincere smile on her face.
Just seeing the pride on Jeannine’s face and the love in Lauren’s eyes twisted my stomach into knots. And the more the night dragged on, the worse the feeling became. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore and excused myself from the dinner table. I found the nearest restroom and immediately began to type out a message.
Me: In case you were wondering how my night’s going…I’m currently locked in a bathroom.
I put my head in my hands and took several deep breaths, hoping it would calm my racing heart and uneasy stomach. It might’ve worked, had my phone not vibrated in my lap. Even though I had pretty much expected a response, it startled me anyway, making my heart beat faster and my stomach clench tighter.
Jacoby: Did you lock yourself in there, or did someone else?
At least he was able to inject some humor into the situation.
Me: I did. Everyone’s eating, but I’m too sick to my stomach to eat anything. Which totally sucks because it looks like really good food. And it smells really good too.
Jacoby: What happened? You’re being too vague.
With a sigh, I began to give him the shorthand version so far, not having enough time to go through it all. He’d have to wait until I got home if he wanted the full story.
Me: Serenity definitely knows who my sister was sleeping with. But Mike (Jeannine’s hubby) isn’t here, so if Serenity spills the beans tonight, all it’d do is hurt Jeannine. She doesn’t deserve that. I don’t know Mike, but if he’s been sleeping with Tiff, then he deserves to pay the piper, but either way, Jeannine is innocent in all of this and shouldn’t be the
