CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 3
Emily did not run to Patricia because she trusted her.
She ran to Patricia because some desperate part of her still believed a mother would be horrified by what her son had become.
Patricia was in the kitchen arranging white roses in a crystal vase when Emily came downstairs shaking.
“Ryan had a woman in our bed,” Emily said.
Patricia did not gasp.
She did not put down the scissors.
She clipped another stem and said, “Lower your voice.”
Emily stared at her.
“That’s all you have to say?”
Patricia looked up then, annoyed.
“My son has pressure you will never understand. Men make foolish choices when their wives make home feel like a courtroom.”
Emily felt the room tilt.
“He cheated on me.”
Patricia’s mouth hardened.
“And now you’re going to punish him by dragging shame through this family?”
Richard came in from the study, already irritated, already on Ryan’s side before hearing a word.
Ryan followed him.
His shirt was untucked. His face was red. The guilt on him was so obvious Emily almost laughed.
Almost.
Then Ryan saw the glass of water in her hand shaking.
“Don’t start,” he warned.
Emily looked at Patricia and Richard.
Neither moved toward her.
That was when she understood the affair was not the true scandal in that house.
Her reaction was.
Her refusal to stay silent was.
May you like
Her memory was.
Her voice was.
