Page 76 of The Awful Truth

“We are!” Miguel answered.

“I woke up happy to be alive this morning,” Winslow added.

Mercy’s face crumpled a little, and she felt tears prick her eyes. “I’m so glad you’re here, too!”

“Come on, you beautiful ladies! Let’s go for a swim!” Miguel said. “We can’t let this moment go to waste.”

Mercy lifted her feet up onto the deck and stood. “He’s right. Let’s go swimming.”

Antonia looked out and could see the men far off by now. “Is it safe? With them spearfishing?”

“Let’s check with Oliver, but I’m pretty sure it would be.”

Oliver appeared just at that moment and confirmed it would be fine so long as they stayed close to the platform. Mercy allowed Winslow and Miguel’s happiness to flow through her, and she let herself enjoy a hint of pride at having a hand in the fact that this moment was their reality, instead of what could have been. She looked at Antonia. “I see you’re all ready to swim. I’ll go get my suit on and meet you back here in a few minutes.”

She passed by the happy couple, stopping to give them each a quick kiss on the cheek. “You two are the cutest.”

Then she hurried off, determined to let herself enjoy the morning.

ANTONIA

Antonia glanced at the deck above, seeing the top of Charlotte’s head. She could tell Charlotte had been trying to make herself invisible, and she decided her best move was to ensure her that she wasn’t a threat. Walking up the stairs, she sat down on the other side of the table. “Good morning, Charlotte.”

Charlotte lifted her gaze, looking more than a little worried. “Hi.”

“Ted and I had it out last night.”

“I thought you would.”

“He understands where things are at now. It’s going to take him a while to accept it, but eventually he’ll realize he doesn’t have a choice,” Antonia told her. “I just wanted to make sure you’re all right with everything. Well, as all right as one can be in this situation.”

Charlotte nodded. “Umm-hmm. It’s…hard. I don’t think I can ever see him as some sort of predator, but I also know he did the wrong thing. We both did. And it’s over. I let him know that last night. I’m not going back to him. After speaking with you and giving myself time to think, I realized that he and I are not in love with each other, and a future together wouldn’t make any sense at all.”

“Good. I hope you stick to your guns on that. I promise you there’s a better man out there for you. One who won’t cheat.” She paused, then added, “Because if they cheat once, they’ll do it again.”

Charlotte stared at her for a second. “That’s not what you tell your guests.”

Shrugging, she said, “There are always exceptions to every rule. But Ted’s not going to be one of them.”

Sighing, Charlotte stared out toward the cliffs for a second before answering. “No, I suppose not.”

“I’m still willing to make sure you get fairly compensated. Give you the ability to find a career you’ll really love without having to worry about money for a while,” Antonia said. “In the meantime, I appreciate how you’ve been keeping everything quiet.”

“Of course. It’s not like I want it to get out.”

“Sure,” Antonia answered, knowing that Mercy would be back soon. “Listen, as far as this trip goes, it would be really helpful for me if you can pretend you’re enjoying it. Do what you were doing before everything blew up—well, not everything, but you know, sunbathing and taking lots of photos and videos to post on Instagram. Things like that.”

Charlotte offered her a small smile. “Okay. Yeah, I can try.”

“Perfect. How about coming for a swim with us? Let Ted get one last look at you in a bikini.” She winked at her, feeling a surge of delight at the thought of Ted forever wanting something he couldn’t have again.

Charlotte let out a surprised laugh. “Really?”

No longer feeling like the evil queen in Snow White, she smiled at her. “Pick your smallest one.”

A few minutes later, they had donned snorkel masks and jumped into the clear blue water of the Adriatic. It felt like a cleansing of Antonia’s soul, after so many days of stifling heat and being emotionally wrung out. Of plotting and planning and crying and forcing herself to be strong. It was a moment of reprieve before what she knew would be a long, exhausting tightwire act to get out of her marriage while keeping her reputation intact. It would take years of untangling herself from him—first physically, then professionally and emotionally. She had enough experience with the human mind and the human heart to know it would be incredibly difficult, and some moments in her future would overwhelm her. She had loved Ted. Truly loved him for her entire adult life. She had wanted a future with him—traveling and hiking and maybe even welcoming grandchildren that they would babysit. But none of that would happen. And she knew that her heart would take far longer than her brain to absorb the truth. To accept it. And move on.

She put her face under and swam through the water, letting her arms pull her forward and her feet flutter like they had when she was a girl. It had been years since she had gone for a swim. Far too long since she’d felt saltwater lifting her as she explored the world of the ocean.