“That’s not important,” she said calmly. “What matters is that I know where you’ve been.”
His pale brown eyebrows knit. “What are you talking about?”
“I saw you last night, Todd.” She kept her voice void of emotion, and it wasn’t difficult—she suddenly felt so indifferent toward him. She couldn’t believe she’d ever agreed to marry someone who clearly held her in such little regard. “I saw you at Club Venus.”
His mouth dropped open. He ran a hand back through his hair, took a moment to think. “Okay, yes, I was at Club Venus last night. A little happy hour with some guys from work—no big deal. We finished the project we were working on, so decided to reward ourselves. I was going to tell you when I got home, but you weren’t there.”
Liz released a tired sigh. What a liar. She’d have to be more direct. “Okay, how about this? I saw you pay a woman to dance naked in your lap. And I know that two nights before—and probably every night for the last two months—you indulged heavily in that particular pastime. I know because I thought you were having an affair, so I hired someone to follow you.”
Now his eyes were as round as plates, gaping at her blankly. She decided to take the opportunity to press onward.
“I’m breaking off the engagement, Todd.” She’d taken off her ring before last night, but she’d worn it to work today specifically so she could return it to him. Slipping it off her left hand, she laid it in the center of the table.
“Let me get this straight,” he finally said, sounding a bit manic. “You’re breaking off our engagement because I’ve gone to a strip club a few times to unwind after work?” He said it like she was crazy and unreasonable, as if he hadn’t lied to her, as if it had indeed only been a few times. And as if getting lap dance after lap dance without having mentioned it was a perfectly acceptable way to run an engagement.
“Well, actually, there’s more to it than that,” she said. “For one thing, I’ve realized I don’t love you, and for another, I’ve met someone else. But neither of those things probably would have happened if you hadn’t started lying about working late so that naked women could wiggle around in your lap, so I guess that going to a strip club to ‘unwind’ did indeed lead to this.”
Todd looked absolutely livid. “You’re seeing another man? Cheating on me?”
She gasped her disbelief. “Not before I found out what you were up to, so don’t act as if you’ve been wronged.”
“Who the hell is it? I’ll kill him.”
She rolled her eyes. Compared to Jack, Todd was scrawny. “That doesn’t matter,” she said, getting back her composure. “The important thing is that our engagement is over.” She looked at the ring she’d placed between them. “You’d better put that in your pocket before it gets lost.”
Todd began shaking his head. “No, I won’t accept that ring, Elizabeth.” She cringed—she’d always hated that Todd insisted on calling her that, and she suddenly hated it even more now; it sounded so Puritan. “Because we’re not breaking up.”
Another sigh of exhaustion escaped her. “We just did.”
“No, you can’t break up with me, I won’t let you. We’re going to have the perfect life together and I still intend to have it. We’ll be fine, you’ll see. You’ll just have to be patient with me.”
She had no idea what he was blathering on about. She shook her head. “What? Patient with you?”
He nodded. “Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m having trouble not wanting other women. But you’ll just have to be patient while I get those feelings out of my system. That’s why I’ve been going to Club Venus, darling, for you. So that I can go into our marriage with a pure heart and won’t ever have to cheat on you.”
“Dear God.” She almost laughed. Did he actually think that explanation would make things better?
Then again, maybe he was so accustomed to the old, complacent Liz that he’d thought he could get away with anything.
Well, she was tired of arguing with him about whether or not he “accepted” her breaking up with him. She’d hoped they could have a civil discussion about this, maybe work out living arrangements over lunch, but clearly she’d been too optimistic. “Look, Todd, we’re through. Understand?”
He shook his head vehemently. “No, we’re not. We’re going to have the perfect life, you and I. You’re supposed to be my perfect wife.”
“What?” she said, confused by his rambling.
“The first night I took you home to meet my parents, my dad pulled me aside and said, ‘She’s the one, son, the one who’ll make a perfect wife for you.’ And I realized he was right. You’re going to make a wonderful mother to our children, Elizabeth, and you always handle every situation appropriately, and you listen to what I say and do what I want…” His eyebrows knit tightly again. “Or at least you used to.”
God, he’d wanted to marry her because she was a doormat. And because his daddy had given her his seal of approval—probably because he recognized what a Stepford Wife she would make, as well. Liz let the tiniest smile leak free, wondering what Todd—or his father—would think if they could have seen her last night. Would they have found it “appropriate” for her to get a lap dance? Would they think it was “appropriate” for her to get fucked on an open balcony for anyone to see while she begged her lover for more?
“You know what, Todd?” she said with a knowing smile. “If you knew the real me, you’d never want to marry me. So trust me, I’m doing us both a favor.”
His eyes clouded with bewilderment. “The real you?”
She simply laughed. “Goodbye, Todd,” she said, and
