Chapter 21 #2
His voice doesn’t sound right. The tone is his, but the words are incongruous; they don’t belong here right now, buried as they are in his lies. His eyes flick to the knife in my hand. ‘Ria . . . what are you doing with that?’
‘Protecting myself,’ I say, jumping up.
Leo frowns. ‘From what? What’s going on? What’s happened? Can you just put that down? It’s making me nervous.’ He’s talking as if I’m the one to fear.
I keep hold of the knife. ‘Where have you been?’
‘What do you mean? I was in New York, and I went straight to the hospital after I landed. There was an emergency.’
His lies are so believable I’m convinced every word he’s ever uttered to me is untrue. ‘Why did you lie to me?’ I ask.
He steps into the living room and sits on the chair opposite me. ‘What are you talking about? Look, we need to talk. We can’t just pretend none of this has happened. The phone, the antifreeze. Let’s talk about it properly, then we can find a way to move on.’
More lies. Once again, I’m astounded at how convincing Leo is. ‘Answer my question,’ I demand.
He sighs. ‘Can you tell me what I’m supposed to have lied about?’
I study Leo’s face, willing him to have an innocent explanation for lying about New York, desperate for him to be the man I’ve always known. He needs to say something I can trust in, that won’t signal the end of our marriage.
‘How was the conference?’
It’s barely detectable, but his face blanches. ‘Yeah, it was good. The conference went well.’
I eye my bag, which is on the coffee table, then reach into it and pull out Leo’s passport. ‘So how did you get there?’ I ask, holding it up and flicking through the pages. ‘I’m sure the airports are strict about not letting people on planes without a passport.’
His face visibly pales as he stares at it, then at me. ‘Whose is that?’
‘It’s yours, Leo. Are you going to stop lying to me now and tell the truth? Or do I call the police?’
He snatches it and examines it. ‘The police? It’s not a crime to forget your passport, Ria.’
‘I want the fucking truth, Leo!’ I rarely swear, so it catches him off guard. ‘We both know you didn’t get on any plane – so what the hell is going on?’
He sits on the edge of his chair and studies me. Seconds tick by, and I tighten my grip on the knife, even though I don’t want to believe I’m in danger. Not from Leo.
‘Okay,’ he begins. ‘I didn’t go to New York.’
Relief and disappointment mingle into something indistinguishable. Right up until this moment, I’d hoped my conclusion was wrong, even when the evidence is irrefutable. ‘Why did you lie to me?’ My voice is cold, devoid of emotion.
He doesn’t say anything for a moment. ‘I’m sorry, Ria. I’m so sorry.’
‘Why?’ I repeat. My voice is strangely calm.
‘I . . . had no choice. I had to make you think I’d gone. But I did it to protect you – you have to believe that.’
I inhale a sharp breath. ‘To protect me? From what?’ Disbelief floods through me. ‘No. You’re lying again.’
He doesn’t speak, and I wonder if he’s making a last-ditch attempt to concoct a story, something that I’ll believe. But it’s too late for that – never again will I believe anything that comes from my husband’s mouth.
‘This is about Silverleaf – I know it is! And it’s not the only thing you’ve lied about. That video someone sent me of me being attacked was real. Everything you’ve told me is a lie! What happened to me, Leo?’ My heart races.
Heavy silence descends on us and it’s an eternity before either of us speaks. Leo breaks it with a sharp intake of breath. ‘How did you—’
‘It doesn’t matter how I found out. You told me I was attacked in the flat.
But that video was filmed outside somewhere.
Was I even pushed from the balcony? It’s all lies!
Why?’ I jab the knife towards him. ‘Why would you do that?’ And now, for the first time, I admit something to myself that I’ve not been able to fully acknowledge. ‘Was it you who . . . who attacked me?’
‘No!’ he shouts. ‘I’d never hurt you, Ria.’
His distress seems so genuine, but I can’t let myself be fooled. ‘Start talking now, or I’m calling the police.’ I grab my phone with my free hand.
‘Wait! Stop. I’ll tell you.’
‘Start talking now!’
He buries his head in his hands. ‘You’re right,’ he says, finally looking up.
His cheeks are stained with tears. ‘You weren’t attacked in the flat.
’ He speaks quietly, but his words seem to ring out across the room.
‘Do you remember when you woke up in hospital? I . . . I just wanted to protect you from the truth.’
‘What truth?’ I spit out. ‘You told me it must have been Peter Harvey, that it was him who pushed me, but it wasn’t him, was it?’
Leo looks defeated. ‘Very likely not, no. It wasn’t.’
My heart breaks. Despite everything, a part of me still hoped that Leo could explain this all away.
‘But he’d been harassing you, hadn’t he? Threatening you because you’d ended his career,’ Leo continues, swiping his eyes. ‘I just . . . wasn’t thinking straight. But I promise you, Ria, it wasn’t me! I really was trying to protect you!”
My insides fold in on themselves, and I can barely speak. It’s a battle to find my voice. ‘From what?’
‘I had to hide the truth from you, Ria. For your sake. For both of us.’ Leo’s not making any sense, and his face is pale and anguished.
‘Talk!’ I shout.
He takes a deep breath and looks away. ‘Everything’s been a lie,’ he says, almost under his breath. ‘You think we moved to Silverleaf Heights four weeks ago, but that’s not true. We moved here for the first time a year ago.’