“I can’t,” I moaned.
“I know. I guess tonight didn’t turn out as bad as you thought,” he murmured, planting a kiss on my cheek and another on my forehead.
“I guess not,” I whispered.
He held my face in his hands, looking me over. “Alright. What’s bothering you?”
I batted my lashes. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, other than Izzy and Trixie being here, there’s something bothering you. What did you need to talk to me about with that Sterling kid? I’ve been wondering all day. I can tell when something’s wrong with you.”
“Oh… yeah…” I sighed. “There’s something you should know about Mrs. Black… something I found out just yesterday night.”
In an instant, Theo’s body went stiff, his face going hard like stone. He didn’t like me mentioning Mrs. Black… not when it involved something he may not have known about. “What are you talking about?” His question came out hurried and discouraged.
My throat worked harder than usual to swallow. He stared at me, and at first, I was willing to tell him, but when I spotted the raw concern—the cold, dead look—I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to be the one to break the bad news to him. I didn’t want to be the one to ruin Mrs. Black’s reputation as a good wife. He deserved to hold onto the goodness of her. Who was I to taint it with black?
“Chloe?” Theo demanded.
Just as his voice bellowed, the front door shot open, and Izzy rushed back in with Sterling trailing behind her. “Forgot my towel!” she said, but she was too buzzed to wonder why we were standing so close. I pulled away, tucking my hair behind my ear, and Sterling walked closer, brows raised as if it were a close call.
“Thanks for the heads up,” I snipped at him.
“She was going too fast.” He looked away. “I thought you were going home?”
“I am.” I gave him a look, one that was plainly telling him to leave me alone. Theo had his eyes fixed on Sterling. His look was cold and cruel. Furious and heated. And then it hit me—the reason he’d gotten so livid. Sterling… he had no shirt on. He’d taken it off most likely when he was on his way to swim. He was oblivious… but only because he didn’t know.
“Holy shit,” I breathed, and Sterling heard me.
He looked confused. “What?”
He pointed his gaze on Theo next, but when he caught the fury in his eyes, he took a minor step back, one eyebrow furrowed. “What the hell is that?” Theo’s voice boomed even louder than before. Storming out of the kitchen, he wasted no time gripping Sterling by his throat and pinning him to the nearest wall.
“Theo!” I shouted. “Stop!” I darted around the counter, grabbing his arm, but he pulled away.
“What the fuck is that on your shoulder!? Huh? You still with them? Did they send you to kill me!? Fuck with my life!? MY LOVE!”
In the heat of the moment, Theo turned my way and glared down. “Chloe! Who the fuck is he, huh?”
“That’s what I wanted to tell you!” I wailed. “I was trying to explain!”
“Explain what?!” he barked.
Thick tears lined the rims of my eyes. God, I was so tired of holding it in. I hated all of these secrets—all the lying and holding back on how I truly felt, so I let go of everything. I put myself first, knowing deep down that I was truly selfish for doing such a thing. “You think Mrs. Black was innocent, but she wasn’t who you thought she was!” I exclaimed. “She was cheating on you with Sterling!”
Theo blinked rapidly, eyes still broad as he released Sterling. Sterling clung to his throat, looking at me with wide, confused, grey eyes. “What?” he wheezed. “No—no I didn’t even know she was your wi—”
“What did you just say?” Theo moved towards me, shutting Sterling up and acting as if he never even existed. His eyes were on me. The spotlight was on me, but I didn’t want to shine. His hands went to my upper arms, and he held me. His grip was tight and rough, but he made sure he wasn’t hurting me. “Chloe, don’t fuck around with me! Don’t make shit up about her! You didn’t even know her like I did!”
“I’m not.” My voice broke as I looked at his red-rimmed eyes. “That night, when Mrs. Black was murdered, it was because of The Union. Remember when you said there was more than one guy—well, there was. A whole gang. You never told me they didn’t allow love, but Sterling did. He used to be a part of their gang, and as his punishment, they robbed him of his love, killing the woman he was in love with. He loved Mrs. Black, Theo. And she loved him. She was with him on those nights she’d work late. She stopped at that run-down gas station because she was most likely on her way to see Sterling.”
The room—the entire condo—went absolutely still. If a pin dropped on the hard surface of the floor it would have caused all ears to rattle. Theo released me and staggered back, staring at me as if I had a demon on my shoulder. He shook his head back and forth, muttering the word “no” over and over again.
“No,” he growled. “No. You’re lying!”
“I wouldn’t lie to you! Sterling!” I rushed for Sterling. “Tell him! Tell him what her name was.”
“No, Chloe.” He scowled in my direction. “He’ll fucking kill me, damn it!”
“Just tell him! It’s the only way he’ll know this is true—that I’m not making this up.”
Sterling’s damp eyes turned on Theo. He dropped his hands from his throat and stood up straight. “Her name was Janet Black… but I swear I didn’t know you were her husband when I came here. I knew she had a husband and a daughter, but I didn’t know who you or Izzy were… not until now.” He focused on me. “Chloe must’ve just been too afraid to tell me.” He dropped his head. “Shit.”
Theo looked both of us over with an incredulous expression, and in a matter of seconds, he spun around and barged through his bedroom door. He returned with a photo album in his hands, the same one that I’d gone through the first day they moved to Primrose. He flipped the pages, going to his most recent picture of Mrs. Black. Pointing a thick, angry finger, he gruffly asked, “Her? She was the one you slept with? This woman?”
Sterling looked down, and I could see the admiration quickly fill his eyes. I also witnessed the pain he held, how he’d constantly wanted to blame himself for her death. If he’d never met or fallen for her, she wouldn’t have died.
“Yes,” Sterling whispered. “Yeah, that’s her. That’s—that’s Janet.”
Theo watched Sterling’s reaction, how guilt swarmed him and ate him up. He caught the anguish, the same pain he felt when he lost Mrs. Black. They had both lost a good woman, but both of them felt betrayed. By the way Sterling looked at Theo, I was sure he could see all the love Theo had for his dead wife. He saw that she was most likely happy to be with him, but that she’d also given half of her heart to him. She couldn’t choose, so she kept both.
Seeing the two of them watch each other and not know what in the hell to do was hard to witness. I couldn’t block my tears or prevent the sniffling that came along with it. I wasn’t sure if they wanted to strangle each other or feel deep pity for one another.
“Is all that true?” Izzy’s voice cut through the turmoil, and everyone turned to look at her. She stepped forward with a towel in hand, eyes glistening. “Is. That. True?” she asked Sterling.
He looked down. “Yes.”
Theo started to lunge forward with the urge to attack Sterling, but something stopped him from doing so. Perhaps it was because he knew it wasn’t his fault for loving Mrs. Black. Sterling fell for her because she accepted him entirely for who he was, just as she did Theo. In a way, Theo was only looking at a younger replica of himself. I could hear everyone’s heartbeats, their minds racing with drama, chaos, and pain.
“Mom… cheated?” Izzy whispered. “That—she would never do that.”
“Oh, sweetie, it’s not like Theo really cares.” Trixie appeared out of nowhere, wobbling as she met at Izzy’s side. She was wasted, some of her makeup smeared, the edges of her hair frizzy as if she’d constantly put cold water on her face.