Chapter 6 - THE CRACK IN MADISON’S ARMOR
Ethan froze in the center of his dark,
silent living room,
the phone pressed hard against his ear.
“What are you talking about?” he demanded,
his voice dropping to a harsh whisper.
“What does Lily have to do with any of this?” I placed the phone on speaker so Lily could hear every word,
though she shrank back slightly in her chair.
“Ask her yourself,
Ethan,
” I said.
“Or better yet,
ask yourself why a sixteen-year-old girl spent months hiding your betrayal in her chest because she was terrified her family would implode if she spoke the truth.
” The line went dead as I terminated the call.
Ethan stood paralyzed in the hallway,
his chest heaving as my words echoed in his brain.
<i>Months?</i> Lily had known for months? He grabbed his car keys with trembling fingers and drove recklessly through the rain-slicked streets of Brookline,
heading straight for Madison’s luxury apartment in the Back Bay.
He pounded on her mahogany door until the lock clicked and Madison swung it open,
wearing a silk robe and holding a glass of Pinot Noir.
“Ethan? What on earth are you doing here?” she asked,
her eyebrows arching in annoyance.
“I told you I was out with my friends.
” “Did you know?” he blurted out,
stepping past her into the foyer without an invitation.
“Know what? Are you drunk?” “Lily! Did you know Lily saw your messages on my iPad months ago?” Madison set her wine glass down on the console table with a sharp clink,
her expression hardening from annoyance to calculated indifference.
“Oh,
that,
” she scoffed,
crossing her arms.
“Honestly,
Ethan,
it’s not my fault you left your tablet lying around like an amateur.
Besides,
kids are resilient.
She would have figured it out eventually anyway.
” Ethan stared at her,
the mask of glamorous allure slipping away to reveal a cold,
selfish stranger.
“She’s sixteen,
Madison,
” he said,
his voice laced with sudden horror.
“She was carrying this secret alone because she was afraid of losing her home.
” “Well,
welcome to the real world,
darling,
” Madison sighed,
rolling her eyes.
“If you’re going to be this neurotic every time domestic drama pops up,
maybe you should go back to your wife and your little suburban nursery.
I don’t have time to babysit your guilt.
” The words struck Ethan like physical blows.
He looked at the woman he had traded his marriage for,
realizing she cared nothing for him,
his daughter,
or his shattered life.
He turned around,
May you like
walked out of her apartment without another word,
and slammed the heavy door behind him.
