12. Elise
— ? —
Elise
The Next Morning
I wake to sunlight streaming through the curtains and the smell of coffee gone wrong.
Again.
“You know,” I call toward the kitchen, “at some point you’re going to have to admit defeat on the coffee.”
Dominic appears in the doorway, shirtless, holding a mug that’s giving off a faintly alarming smell.
“I’ll have you know it’s only a little bit terrible this time.”
“There are degrees of terrible?”
“There’s undrinkable, and there’s bold. This is bold.”
“That’s not how coffee works.”
“It’s how my coffee works.”
I take the mug anyway. Sip it. Wince.
“That bad?” he asks.
“It’s... character-building.”
He laughs, dropping onto the bed beside me and stealing the mug back.
“I’ll order real coffee. What do you want?”
“Oat milk latte. Extra shot. And those pastries from the place on Fifth.”
“Done.” He reaches for his phone, then pauses. “So. About last night.”
“Which part? The restaurant confrontation or the several hours of-”
“The restaurant.” He sets the phone down, turning to face me fully. “My mother isn’t going to let this go. She’s going to find ways to make our lives difficult.”
“I know.”
“And Connor - he’s desperate. The company’s struggling. The scandal hurt him more than he expected. He’s looking for someone to blame.”
“Let me guess. Me?”
“And me.” Dominic’s jaw tightens. “He’s already making noise about suing for the company shares. Claiming the divorce settlement was unfair.”
“Can he do that?”
“He can try. He’ll lose - Victoria made sure of that - but he can drag things out. Make them messy.”
I set the terrible coffee on the nightstand and turn to face him fully.
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying we need to end this. Publicly. Definitively.” He meets my eyes. “No more defensive plays. No more waiting for them to attack. We go on offense.”
“How?”
“Megan’s baby shower is this weekend.”
I blink. “I wasn’t invited.”
“No. But I was.” His smile is sharp. “And I think it’s time my mother saw exactly who her precious Connor really is.”
***
We spend the morning strategizing.
I pull out the files Victoria gave me during the divorce, the text messages, the financial records, all the evidence of Connor’s deception. Most of it was used in court, but some things were held back. Things that didn’t affect the settlement but paint a damning picture of who Connor really is.
“He was lying to everyone,” I say, spreading the papers across Dominic’s dining table. “Not just me. Not just Megan. Everyone.”
“That’s Connor. Always keeping his options open.”
“But look at this.” I pull out a sheet of phone records. “The month before the vow renewal. Three hotel stays in two weeks. None of them were trips Megan knew about.”
Dominic scans the document. His eyebrows rise.
“He was cheating on Megan too?”
“It looks that way. Or at least, he was keeping his options open.” I tap the records. “If Megan sees this - if she realizes she wasn’t the only one-”
“It changes everything.”
“She crashed my vow renewal because she believed she was special. The love of his life. The woman he was going to leave me for.” I meet Dominic’s eyes. “What happens when she finds out she was just another option?”
“She implodes. And takes Connor down with her.”
“Exactly.”
Dominic is quiet for a moment, studying the documents.
“This is going to be brutal,” he says finally. “For everyone involved.”
“I know.”
“Megan is eight months pregnant. She’s about to have a baby. If we do this-”
“I’m not doing this to hurt Megan.” I take a breath. “I’m doing this because she deserves to know the truth. And because I’m tired of being the villain in a story where I did nothing wrong.”
“You’re not the villain.”
“Margaret thinks I am. Connor’s spinning it that way. Half the internet still thinks I somehow drove him to cheat.” My voice hardens. “I want to end this. Once and for all. I want everyone to see exactly who Connor Reid really is.”
Dominic reaches across the table, takes my hand.
“Okay,” he says. “Then let’s end it.”
***
The rest of the week passes in a blur of preparation.
We organize the evidence. Practice what I’m going to say. Anticipate every possible response.
“What if Margaret throws you out?” Dominic asks.
“Then I’ll say what I need to say before security arrives.”
“What if Connor gets violent?”
“He won’t. Not in front of witnesses. He cares too much about appearances.”
“What if Megan-”
“Dominic.” I stop him with a look. “I’ve thought about this. I know the risks. I’m doing it anyway.”
He studies my face for a long moment.
“You’re sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“And after? When it’s done?”
“After, we move on.” I squeeze his hand. “No more revenge. No more drama. Just us.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
He pulls me into his arms, holding me tight.
“I love you,” he murmurs against my hair.
“I love you too.”
“Whatever happens on Saturday-”
“I know.” I pull back, meeting his eyes. “We face it together.”
“Together.”
***
The night before the baby shower, I can’t sleep.
I lie in Dominic’s bed, staring at the ceiling, running through scenarios in my head. What if I freeze? What if I say the wrong thing? What if this backfires spectacularly and makes everything worse?
“You’re thinking too loud again,” Dominic mumbles beside me.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. Just tell me what’s going on.”
I turn on my side to face him. In the moonlight, his features are soft, sleepy, beautiful.
“I’m scared,” I admit.
“Of what?”
“Of tomorrow. Of facing them. Of-” I swallow. “Of what it means if this doesn’t work.”
“Then it doesn’t work. And we figure out another way.”
“What if there isn’t another way?”
“There’s always another way.” He reaches out, tracing my jaw with his fingers. “But I don’t think you need to worry about that. You’re brilliant, Elise. And you’ve got something they don’t.”
“What’s that?”
“The truth.” He pulls me closer. “The truth always comes out eventually. Tomorrow, you’re just speeding up the timeline.”
I nestle against his chest, letting his heartbeat steady me.
“Will you be there?” I ask. “The whole time?”
“Wild horses couldn’t drag me away.”
“Even if your mother causes a scene?”
“Especially if my mother causes a scene.” He kisses my forehead. “Now sleep. You’ve got a baby shower to crash tomorrow.”
I close my eyes.
And somehow, eventually, I sleep.