Chapter 06
real friendship
Cecily
When the page refreshes, my eyes go straight to the picture.
The white shirt. The faint trace of my lips on the collar.
Looking back, I don’t know what came over me that day, when I chose one of his shirts and, with freshly applied lipstick still fresh, pressed a small mark into the fabric.
In that moment, it felt like the perfect counterpoint to the photo I’d received the day before.
My gaze shifts to the image, and my chest tightens at the sight of her hand on his chest at the San Jose airport.
That casual intimacy. That claim.
My eyes burn with tears I don't let fall. It's a kind of pain that never leaves… one that keeps digging deeper until there's nothing left inside me but emptiness. Like a bomb that went off in the middle of my life, leaving me forever picking up the pieces.
The day after Ethan saw a small part of what was on Mark’s tablet—things I wish he never had—I had a difficult conversation with him.
I went into his room carrying his favorite cookies and a glass of warm milk with honey, the way he’s liked it since he was little.
The moment he looked at me, I knew he understood exactly why I was there.
He already knew his father had cheated on me. But knowing that, and truly grasping the extent of that betrayal, were two very different things.
I tried to get him to talk, especially about the text he’d seen, the one from the day before his birthday. But Ethan refused.
“It doesn’t matter anymore, Mom. It’s in the past.”
His gaze drops, shoulders tensing as if he’s sorting through words he can’t quite say. I wait, silent, until he finally looks up again.
“Are you going to forgive him?” he asks, his voice barely more than a whisper. “Is this just temporary? Is he coming back?”
I rise from the chair and sit beside him on the edge of the bed. My hand finds his cheek, and the sorrow etched into his features cracks something open inside me.
“No, honey.” I press a kiss to his forehead. “Forgiveness isn’t something I can even think about right now. It’s just too raw. But it’s over. He’s not coming back. I couldn’t do that to myself, or to you and your sister.”
Ethan wraps his arms around me, holding on tight, and the tears spill before I can stop them.
“We’re going to be okay, Mom,” he whispers. “We don’t need him. It’s not like he’s really been here these last few years anyway.”
He presses a kiss to the top of my head, and that small, tender gesture makes me smile through the tears.
“I’ll take care of you and Alicia. We’ll be fine.”
That’s what makes me pull back, wiping my face.
“No, Ethan. I’m the one who’s supposed to take care of you.”
He starts to argue, but I don’t let him.
“I might be bruised, maybe even broken right now, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm your mother. And being your mother means I love, I protect, I keep going. Even when it hurts.”
I take his hand where it rests on the mattress.
“I know this will affect you. There’s no avoiding that.
But I don’t want you carrying responsibilities that aren’t yours.
I haven’t said anything these past few days, even when you barely leave the house except for school.
But next week, I want your life to go back to normal.
Go to your friends’ houses. Meet them somewhere.
Play your games again. Without hovering, making sure I’m not falling apart. ”
He draws in a deep breath.
“But I want to help you. I don’t want you to feel alone.”
“I’ll never feel alone,” I say, smiling as I press a hand to my chest. “You and your sister are always with me. That’s where my strength comes from. Seeing you live again will help me more than you know. Please?”
He nods and squeezes my fingers.
“When are you going to talk to Alicia again?”
I close my eyes, the pressure settling hard in my chest.
“Soon. I just need to find a way to help her understand it’s final… without shattering her.”
The knock on my bedroom door startles me. Alicia steps inside as soon as I answer.
“Harper’s downstairs, Mommy. She said she came to visit.”
I frown and grab my phone, checking to see if she texted me. Nothing. I haven’t heard from her or Felicity all week. I’m sure they already know, even if they haven’t read my blog.
I understand it, though. They were Colin’s friends long before they were mine. I won’t pretend it doesn’t sting. It does. But that’s adulthood.
I get up and head downstairs as Alicia slips back into her room. Harper is standing by the window when I reach the bottom of the stairs. She turns at the sound of my steps and smiles. I return it, even as a slight unease settles in.
She’s never dropped by unannounced before. And she doesn’t live close enough for this to be casual.
Which makes me wonder what she’s really doing here.
When she's near enough, she leans in to kiss my cheek, then steps back to look me over. "You look tired. Have you been sleeping?"
"Not much," I admit with a smile that doesn't quite reach my eyes.
I offer to make us coffee and bring out some of the cookies I baked for the kids, but she declines. As soon as we sit—her on the couch, me in one of the armchairs—she says, “I can imagine it hasn’t been easy. Even so, I was surprised you haven’t sent out the Thanksgiving invitations yet.”
It takes me a moment to process what she’s really implying.
“There won’t be any invitations or dinner this year, Harper. I thought you’d understood that by now.”
“Nonsense,” she says, waving a hand. “You can’t let something like this ruin a tradition you’ve kept for years.”
I meet her gaze without flinching.
“Harper, Colin cheated on me. For months. ‘Something like this’ would be him putting the wrong kind of gas in my car. Not having an affair with his assistant.”
She exhales, and I already know I won’t like what comes next.
“These things happen. Why do you think I always make sure Jonathan’s assistants are men?
” She arches an eyebrow. “Men cheat. I’m sure there’s a study out there proving it’s biological.
I’ll admit, Colin surprised all of us. He always seemed so devoted to you.
But throwing him out? Walking away from something you’ve built for years?
” She shakes her head. “That’s letting the other woman win.
Call him right now. Tell him to come home.
I guarantee he’d be here in minutes. That’s how much that man loves you. ”
I’ve always known Harper to be blunt. She’s never softened her words. I just never imagined that bluntness could turn into something this cruel.
I stand. When she doesn’t take the hint, I say, calmly,
“Thank you for stopping by. I hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving, full of gratitude and grace.”
Harper stays seated, legs crossed, watching me like I'm being unreasonable. "Cecily, you can't let this dictate your life—"
"No, Harper. I'm not letting it dictate my life, just like I won't let you tell me how I should feel or act. This is my life."
She finally stands, purse in hand. "When you've cooled off, we can talk again."
I smile, this time, it's genuine. "I've never been colder, Harper. Being betrayed by the man you loved and devoted your life to... it freezes you from the inside out. No heater can fix that. You've chosen your side, and that's fine."
“Oh, please. We’re not in kindergarten anymore. This isn’t about taking sides—”
I step aside and lift a hand, silencing her. “You know the way out. I won’t be escorting you. And next time, do me a favor. Call ahead, or don’t come at all if it’s only to say what I’ve already heard.”
Harper gives me a look of disappointment, as if I'm the one who's failed her, then turns on her heel and walks out. The door slams harder than it needs to, and I can't help thinking she's the one who never really left kindergarten behind.
I linger there, wondering if Felicity feels the same… if that's why she hasn't reached out. We were always closer, and the thought of losing her actually stings. But if holding on to her means letting go of myself, then it was never real friendship to begin with.
Colin
I take another sip of brandy and check my phone. No new messages. No missed calls.
Up until the very last minute, I kept hoping Ceci would call and ask me to go with them to her parents’ house. I stopped by earlier, just like we agreed over text.
I stay in the living room with Alicia while she shows me a school project she’s working on. Ethan sits at the kitchen island, and I don’t even have to look to know he’s listening to every word we say.
Alicia gets up to grab something from the kitchen, and then I hear the familiar click of heels on the stairs. My head turns before I even realize it.
She’s mesmerizing.
She’s wearing a simple navy-blue dress with long sleeves. On anyone else, it would fade into the background; on her, it is elegant and poised.
When she reaches the last step, she goes straight to the kitchen.
“Can you zip me up, please?” she asks.
My chest tightens. That used to be my place.
“Is that good, Mom?” Alicia asks. “You look so pretty.”
“It’s perfect, sweetie. Thank you. And you look beautiful too,” Ceci says. “As soon as you say goodbye to your dad, we can head to your grandparents’.”
I don’t move. I just stand there, watching her, missing her with an ache so deep it feels unbearable, even with her only a few steps away.
Alicia had promised to send photos and videos from the dinner. It’s almost ten, and my phone is still silent. They must be laughing, eating, caught up in everything I’m no longer part of… too busy to remember me. Even my little princess seems to have forgotten.
There are three knocks at the door of my suite. I frown. I didn’t order room service. I stay where I am, hoping whoever it is will give up. The knocking comes again, harder this time, and I finally set my phone aside and stand.
I open the door in one motion, and come face to face with the last person I wanted to see. “What the hell are you doing here?” My voice comes out clipped, already stretched thin.
“Not going to invite me in?” Maya’s tone is syrupy, smug.
Before I can answer, she slips under my arm and walks inside as if she owns the place. “I don't have the time or the patience for your games, Maya.”
She bites her bottom lip, fingers playing with the belt of her black coat. “It's been almost two weeks, Colin. I’ve missed you.”
“I thought you were smarter than this. The fact that I reassigned you to another department, stopped replying to your texts, and haven’t reached out should’ve made it clear. Whatever happened between us is over.”
She doesn’t even flinch. Instead, she steps closer, loosens the belt of her coat, and lets it slide to the floor. Underneath, she’s wearing nothing but red and black lace lingerie and a matching garter belt.
I take her in from head to toe, registering every detail of her body.
And nothing happens. Not even a twitch.
Weeks ago, just the memory of her on her knees would have been enough to make me lose control, enough to risk far more than I was willing to admit at the time. Now all I feel is disgust rising in my throat.
“If you’re done, grab your coat and leave.”
Instead of listening, she steps closer and presses a hand against my pants. Not a damn thing.
“Colin, what’s going on? Why are you pretending?”
I push her hand away and put more distance between us. I pick her coat up from the floor and toss it to her.
“By the way, I’ve already lined up a position for you at a friend’s company. You won’t be out of a job, but you won’t be working at Montgomery Clifford anymore.”
That finally gets a reaction. She stumbles back, eyes wide.
“You can’t do that.”
“Which part didn’t you get, Maya? It’s my company. I don’t ask for permission.”
She shakes her head and steps toward me again, her coat half on and hanging open. I don’t let her touch me, and the confusion on her face only deepens.
“I don’t understand. I read your ex-wife’s blog. She clearly knows about us. And you’ve been staying at this hotel since San Jose.”
“My wife, Maya.” My voice is flat. “And you don’t talk about her. You never did, and you never will.”
Then it hits me.
“How do you even know where I’m staying? Since when?”
She looks away, guilty. “I overheard you talking to Jonathan when I dropped off a file for his assistant. You mentioned staying at The Ritz-Carlton. I wanted to give you space. I figured two weeks was enough.”
“And you just proved my point about firing you.”
Maya throws her hands up. “You can’t just break up with me like this and toss me aside, Colin.”
I might have laughed at her indignation once. Now there’s nothing left in me that can. Not when every day is spent trying to find a way back to Ceci, trying to get my son to look at me without that mix of disgust and disappointment.
“There’s nothing to end, Maya. There never was. You knew exactly what this was. Sex. Nothing else. I told you, over and over, that I have a wife and children. I love my family.”
“And all those times you were with me instead of them? That weekend in September. You skipped a trip with them to stay with me.”
Her voice keeps rising, each word sharper, louder. I can’t let her make a scene. Not here. I hope Mark isn’t still tailing me. One photo of her walking into my room would finish what little I have left.
“Maya, whatever fantasy you’ve built in your head, there is no version of reality where I ever choose you over my family.” I let it sink in. “What you’re going to do now is walk out of this room. On Monday, Theodora will start your termination paperwork. It’s over.”
She shakes her head, eyes wet now. Tears that don’t move me in the slightest.
“You can’t. You can’t end this.”
I say nothing. I wait for her to pull herself together enough to leave.
“You can’t end us, Colin,” she says, a slow smile curving her lips. “Because—”
It takes a moment for her words to reach me. They sound muffled, distant, like I’m hearing them underwater.
“What… what did you just say?” The words grind out of me, rough and disbelieving.
That infuriating smile firmly in place, she brings both hands to her stomach.
“I said you gave me something special.” She pauses, just long enough to twist the knife.
My stomach drops. The room tilts.
“I’m pregnant, Colin,” she says. “With your baby.”