3. Clementine
CHAPTER 3
Clementine
W here is my husband? Why isn’t he back yet?
“The show is about to start,” I said nervously, craning my head around his boss to look for Grayson.
“I’m sure he’ll be back soon,” Mr. Thomas said, smiling kindly at me. “Nothing to worry about.”
“Wait, Vivi’s gone too,” I noticed, and I felt my stomach suddenly plummet in a sickening drop.
The last thing I want to be is the stupid jealous wife stereotype, always suspicious of her husband just because he’s tall and broad-shouldered and incredibly handsome.
I can’t let my insecurity get the better of me, even when it comes to Vivi.
Grayson has always worked long hours at his accounting firm, sometimes well into the evening or on the weekends, but it’s been even worse lately. Whole days when I can’t get ahold of him. Business trips on the weekend where he won’t text back for hours.
“Oh, Clementine, you have nothing to worry about with Vivi,” Williams said.
“Of course not,” Nakamura chimed in. “It’s all strictly professional.”
“They’ve been friends for a long time,” Williams added.
Oh god, was this my immature jealousy getting the better of me again?
I chided myself for how my mind had gone way too quickly to suspicion. What reason did I have to doubt my husband’s fidelity? He didn’t even have a password-protected phone!
Men and women can be friends , I told myself fiercely. I was just being old-fashioned and insecure.
But my anxiety was still spiking, my pulse pounding like crazy.
I was just wondering if I should try to go find him when Grayson slid into the seat next to me.
“What did I miss?” he asked, putting an arm around my shoulders.
My pulse should go back down to normal. My husband was back.
But something made me glance up, past where he bent to give me a soft kiss on the forehead.
And my eyes met Vivi’s.
Her lip was curled contemptuously as her eyes met mine and for a second my heart skipped a beat, even as my husband’s lips were on my forehead and his strong arm around me.
What did that expression mean?
She looked like she fucking hated me!
But why should she hate me?
I had known her for as long as Grayson and I had been married and had never spoken a cross word to her in my life.
And there was a lot of venom in her look, way more out of proportion than could be due to any way I might have unwittingly insulted her.
He’s going home with me, I reminded myself, snuggling into the crook of his arm to watch the play.
But, for once, I couldn’t talk myself out of my fears.
Was my husband cheating on me?