24. Chapter 24
Luna
In my experience, no conversation that starts with “We need to talk” ends well.
Chloe turning up at my doorstep required a skin thicker than a rhinoceros. But maybe the subtle letdown by Isaac was not enough.
She has taken the time to put on her make-up.
Her eyes are finely drawn, her lips ruby red.
The pale-yellow sheath dress cannot hide any kind of underwear.
And by the way her nipples are poking through the fabric, I am guessing she is on a mission to poke Isaac’s eyes out.
Either way, it is hard to believe she can breathe.
That dress seems to be sewn on. Maybe it is Lycra.
Either way, it definitely makes her look like a blow-up doll.
While I speculate about her questionable wardrobe choices, her eyes flick to Amelie gurgling against me, and an involuntary grimace crosses her pretty face when a splatter of milk lands on the towel draped over my shoulder.
Chloe opens her mouth, but I am way ahead of her. I notice Fae from next door working in her garden, but the partition wall is low, and her eyes keep returning to us with interest. I wave at her.
“So sorry. I don’t think we need an OnlyFans subscription,” I say, a little louder than required while giving Chloe a slow once-over. “NO. A live demo is not going to change my mind.”
I watch with glee as an angry flush colours and climbs her neck. “I’m not—”
“No,” I cut in smoothly, loud enough to raise the dead.
I think I have hit the Goldilocks zone for my sertraline.
“You’ve clearly put in the effort. The hair, the lipstick and foundation, and whatever …
structural engineering is holding that dress together.
” I tilt my head. “But I don’t need—what are you supposed to be—an interactive exhibit?
I need to check with my husband … ISAAAC … ”
Her jaw is locked. Then she hisses, “What are you doing, Luna? I didn’t come here for—”
“Good,” I interrupt. “Because we’ve discontinued poor judgement in this household. It wasn’t working out … ISAAAAC …”
A flicker of panic crosses her face. She takes a step back.
“I just want to talk—”
“I’m not interested in shared ownership schemes either,” I continue, not bothering to modulate my voice. I think Fae’s eyes are going to pop out of her head. “I prefer full custody.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I notice movement. Isaac is just standing here, listening. He notices me glance his way and mouths “I love you.”
Chloe blinks. “That’s not what this is—”
“We have also stopped taking in lost causes,” I go on, adjusting the towel as Amelie lets out a soft, sleepy sigh. She can sleep through a fire drill. “Not a charity anymore.”
“Luna—”
Her whole face looks a little like a tomato.
“That is Mrs Marlowe to you, bitch. And I definitely don’t subscribe to drama packages,” I add, bulldozing over whatever she was about to say. “Cancelled that subscription. No plans to renew that.”
I watch with fascination as her composure starts to unravel. Good.
“I think you’re being unfair,” she says, voice shaking with a mixture of confusion and wariness. She is not sure what is going to come out of my mouth next.
I smile, and I imagine it is not pretty. I probably look like a slightly unhinged shark.
“Is this one of those pyramid schemes?” I ask, putting on a curious expression as I watch Isaac move closer. I know he is going to take over soon, and I don’t want to lose the fun. “One where you try to recruit other people’s husbands?”
That does it.
She turns pale, and I worry she is going to faint. Unfortunately for her, I have no plans to catch her, and if Isaac tries, I am going to castrate him. I don’t want blood on my front porch. The stains don’t come off easily, I have heard.
I feel Isaac behind me, his arm on my shoulder as he tries to draw me behind him.
“I’m trying to apologise. You’re twisting everything,” she whines, the calm cracking now. “Isaac is my best friend. We were married … It’s only natural that we are close.”
I let out a small, humourless breath. “I think you have a few … fond delusions about that time,” I say simply.
She stiffens.
“If Isaac were a woman, and you were a man,” I continue, my voice steady now, “and you both woke up the way you say it happened”—I tilt my head slightly—“it would be called rape. Have you never heard of consent?”
Her face changes, and there is a wild light in her eyes when she looks at Isaac.
“Tell her,” she says, barely able to speak coherently. “Tell her how close we were. Tell her how we used to spend all our time together.”
Isaac doesn’t hesitate.
“Yes,” he says quietly. “In uni, we did.”
For a split second, triumph crosses her face, but Isaac isn’t finished.
“Along with Zoe. And Jack. And Rowan.”
The light dies in her eyes.
“And that time I got sick after I woke up next to you?” he continues, his voice like icicles. “It wasn’t because I’d had too much to drink. I was … actually physically sick with the idea. I felt like I was trapped with no way out. All I could think of was how I could have been so foolish.”
Chloe goes still. I don’t think anyone has ever spoken to her this way.
“I’ve never seen you as anything but my sister,” he says firmly. “Mum made sure of that. And I’ve never wanted anything else.”
Her lips part, but no sound comes out. I almost feel sorry for how crushed she looks. Almost.
“I had no interest in you that way,” he adds, quieter now. “Why do you think I could never touch you after that?”
The words land like blows.
I let out a short breath.
“That is,” I say, cutting in softly, “if you ever had sex in the first place.”
It was just a snarky throwaway comment, but I notice how Chloe looks away before she recovers.
The world tilts.
“No,” I say slowly. Understanding slides into place, piece by piece.
“No … You lied about that as well.”
Her silence confirms it more than any denial could.
Isaac goes very still beside me. For a second, he looks dazed. His hand squeezes my shoulder.
“Is that true?” he finally asks, with burning eyes.
Chloe shakes her head immediately. “No, Isaac—”
“Don’t. Don’t lie to me again,” he cuts in.
She takes a step back. I can see her hands shaking.
“You said—” he starts, then stops, dragging a hand through his hair like he needs to physically pull the memory out of himself. “You said we—”
His jaw locks.
“That night, you told me we had sex.”
Her silence is answer enough.
“You put me through hell,” he says, more to himself. “I thought I’d taken advantage of you,” he goes on, voice roughening despite his control. “I thought I’d crossed a line I couldn’t uncross.”
Chloe takes a step forward. “Isaac, I was confused. I didn’t know how to … I just loved you so much.”
“I felt sick,” he continues as if she hasn’t spoken. “All the time. Every time I looked at you, I kept thinking, what kind of man does that? She was like my sister.”
His laugh is hollow.
“I couldn’t even—” He stops and shakes his head. “Every time I tried to be close to you after that, something in me just … shut down. And I thought that was my fault too.”
Her eyes are shining with tears now. “We were married—”
“Because I thought I owed you,” he says sharply.” I couldn’t bear to disappoint my mother. I thought I had ruined your life and mine because I did not want you at all,” he continues. “I tried to make it work.” His expression twists with pain. “And it still wasn’t enough, was it?”
“Isaac, please—”
“You wanted me to drop everything.” He presses on. “Uni. Friends. My life. Go to France so you could take that job. How could you be so selfish? You played me like a violin.” His eyes narrow slightly, as cold as a frozen lake. “I almost did it. I almost let the guilt ruin my life.”
The admission hangs in the air like a death knell.
“I was that deep in it,” he says quietly. “That guilt. I’m so glad I didn’t.”
Chloe’s breath hitches.
“I’m so glad I walked in that day,” he continues, voice turning to steel now, “and found you in bed with him.”
She shakes her head frantically. “It wasn’t like that—”
“You were out to ruin my life.” He states it like the fact it is.
“No!” she says quickly. “No, I wasn’t. I loved you. I just—”
“There’s nothing in you,” he cuts in, “that looks like love.”
Chloe’s lips tremble. “Isaac … Please …”