Page 54 of Checkmate
“Eri? Is that you, darling?”
Her lips curled at the pet name. Feeling extra petty, she pushed her hand through her hair, messing it until a few strands fell loose from her bun.
She caught sight of herself in the hallway mirror and smirked.
It looked as though she and Marcus had shared more than lunch together, and as Alex came into view, taking in her dishevelled appearance, it seemed he thought so, too.
“What happened to you?” He asked, barely containing the anger in his eyes.
So far, she had only given him minor reasons to doubt her. Turning her phone away as they sat on the sofa together, leaving the room to answer calls and excluding him from certain aspects of her life.
The hair was the boldest she had been so far.
“What do you mean?” She asked, shrugging off her jacket and dumping her purchases on the hallway table.
“Your hair is all messed up and you have a ladder in your tights.”
She hadn’t noticed the ladder. What wonderful luck. She glanced down at her legs and shrugged.
“Huh. Well, would you look at that?”
She kissed Alex’s cheek as she passed him, forcing herself not to shudder. Getting too close to him these days gave her the ick, but she’d become quite talented at hiding it.
“You didn’t answer the question,” Alex said, following her into the kitchen.
“What question?” She asked, deliberately pushing his buttons as she flicked the kettle to make coffee.
“What happened to you?” Alex repeated, growling the words.
“Nothing happened,” she said. “We ate lunch, we shopped. I came home.”
“So why do you look like someone has fucked you to within an inch of your life?”
Erica laughed, turning to face Alex. She cupped his jaw, her tone mocking. “You and your imagination.”
Shoving her hand away, Alex stared at her. She could tell he wanted to speak, but something was stopping him.
Fear, maybe.
He didn’t want the answer to his questions, the same way Erica didn’t want to read that letter all those weeks ago.
“Spit it out, Alex. Your silence is begging for attention.”
“Are you sleeping with Marcus?”
There it was.
The first time he asked, but no doubt it wouldn’t be the last. Now that she was sure the suspicion was there, Erica planned to make this hurt.
“No.” It was a simple word, spoken clearly and confidently. More importantly, she spoke with undeniable truth.
“Just, no?”
“Just no,” she confirmed. “I’m sorry, does the no need embellishment?”
“Admittedly, I expected a few more words.”
“Why?” She shrugged. “No is a complete sentence that answers your question.”
