My Scumbag Ex's Best Friend

The New Addy

Adelaide

I'm still trying to catch my breath when Rick pounds on the door. "Adelaide. We have to talk."

I can't believe my marriage is over when not half an hour ago, I was so devastated that he chose to stay and not come to Paris with me.

Now he wants to talk?

I ignore him and start moving. I grab one of the towels from the rack, wet it, and clean between my thighs as best as I can. Rick continues slamming his fist against the door, but I ignore him.

"Adelaide."

I pull my clothes on, my heart sinking when I realize that my shirt is ruined. I can't head to the airport like this. I unlock the door and find Rick staring at me with an expression I've not seen on him before.

I look away and walk right past him, heading into Raquelle's room to grab something to wear.

The traitorous b***h was sleeping with my husband the entire time. I think she can do without a shirt.

Or should I say...ex-husband.

"Adelaide."

He's leaning against the doorframe. I can see him from the corner of my eye. Still, I ignore him as I throw the shirt over my head.

I start to walk past him again, but he grabs my arm. "You don't hear me talking to you?"

I meet his gaze. "It hasn't occurred to you that I don't have anything to say to you? I told you. This marriage is over."

"No, it isn't."

I rip my arm away from his grip and start toward the door, ignoring everything around me. Rick follows me and stops me right before I reach it.

"You're not going anywhere until we talk!"

"I think you've said everything you wanted to say, and from this day onward, you'll talk to me through my lawyers!"

Rick smirks. "Is that what you think?"

He's not being aggressive anymore. In fact, his tone is a lot softer and more understanding. I don't care about that, though. "I'm going to be late for my flight. My grandmother's expecting me. Move, Rick."

He tilts his head to the side, watching me. I stare right back at him, hatred filling up every little space inside me. His lip is bleeding where I bit him and I've only just realized it. He's covered in scratches too. On his forehead. His temple. His cheeks.

His neck.

Did I do that? I don't even remember.

"You know as well as I do that there's no way out of this for us," he murmurs. "So, stop pretending that there is. Your daddy can't save you out of this one, Adelaide. He's not in a position to do that anymore. You'll have to deal with the choice you made four years ago."

"I said move, Rick. Or else I'm calling the police!"

Humor lights his eyes up. For a moment, I think he won't budge, but then he surprises me by opening the door to let me through. I leave without looking back.

As I walk away from him, I know that this marriage...is truly over.

And the truth? I'm relieved. I feel better about myself for the first time in so long.

I was married to a scumbag this entire time and had no idea.

I reach the car and ask Daniel to drive me to the airport as quickly as he can. I'm leaving for Paris, and when I return, Rick and I will no longer be husband and wife.

That I'm sure of.

•

•

When I find myself in Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, I breathe a lot easier.

In the flight, I was paranoid. I kept imagining all sorts of crazy things like Rick following me and finding a way to stop me to keep me trapped in New York. Things that made zero sense.

But here I am and he hasn't found a way to reach me. I don't know why I'm still giving him so much credit. It's clear now that I was so wrong about him. Everything I thought I knew about him was a lie.

He's a cheater. A coward.

How can he blame me for the marriage? I never begged my father to marry him. It just happened, and when it did, I was the happiest woman in the world.

I don't care what he says. Our marriage is over. Done and dusted. I'm not going back to him ever again, and I won't touch him ever again, either, not even with a ten-foot pole.

I push all these thoughts aside when I see Granny's butler, Antoine, waving at me. I'm here for her birthday and that's all I'll focus on for now.

Rick and the divorce will be waiting in New York for my return.

"Addy! You look fabulous!" Antoine remarks in his thick French accent. "Quelle beauté!"

"Thank you, Antoine," I reply before he takes my luggage from me and we head toward the exit, where the car is waiting. "And how are things?"

We talk a bit about how things have been for him. The last time I saw him was four years ago at my wedding, and being here now makes me realize how much time I've been wasting with Rick. I never go anywhere anymore. I don't do my own things.

I've even put a stop to the lingerie line I was working on before I married him.

"You will have many distractions!" Antoine claims once we're in the car. "The house is filled with people! It's such a lively moment. The house hasn't been this full in ages!"

"Oh. I thought I was Granny's only guest."

"No, no. There are many people around." He starts telling me the names of all the guests but they fly right over my head. I don't know how this makes me feel. I thought I'd have some alone time with her, especially now that I have to talk to her about the divorce.

I guess I'll manage somehow.

When we arrive, I push all my anxieties to the back of my mind. At night, Granny's house shines like a light at the end of a dark tunnel. This place reminds me of the childhood I spent here, surrounded by foreign people and things.

It reminds me of a time I was happy and didn't know it.

Granny is in the living room, speaking to a woman I've never seen before. When she turns her head to look at me, the tears finally fall. "Is that my Adelaide? Oh, my sweet granddaughter. Come here! Come to Granny!"

I wrap my arms around her big frame and let her familiar scent comfort me. Tears leak out of my eyes. She holds my face between her hands and kisses my wet cheeks. "There's my girl. What are you crying for?"

"I missed you," I sniffle.

"I missed you, too! You have no idea how happy I am to see you. My favorite grandchild."

Her friend, who's still sitting, laughs. "Oh, Ophelia! How can you be so cold? You have three other grandchildren who would hate to hear you say this."

"They all know," Granny says dismissively, smiling at me tenderly. "They know how much Adelaide means to me. Come here. Sit down. Tell me about your flight." She looks over my shoulder and then frowns. "But...but where is your husband?"

"He couldn't come," is all I say. I want to pour my heart out to her, but her friend is here, and Antoine is watching. Besides, I don't know if this is the right time.

"Oh!" she says, sounding offended. "Is that so?"

Grabbing my hand, she moves me to the couch so I can sit down. She mentions, "You have to tell him that I'm deeply offended by what he's done! I've been planning this for months!"

"I know," I sniffle.

She gives me a pointed look, and for a second, I have the feeling she knows exactly what's going on. Granny is like that sometimes. She guesses things. Back in the day, everyone called her a witch. "Hm. Well, you're here, and that's what matters. I hope you'll forgive me, Adelaide, but I never liked him. He's too arrogant. Too presumptuous."

Her friend says, "Aw, Ophelia. You're too hard on Rick. He's such a good man."

"You know him?" I ask.

"Rick practically grew up with my son! Everett...maybe you've heard of him?"

The name springs to my memory. Everett. Of course. He was at our wedding, but not only that, he was also friends with my brother back in the day. I remember seeing him around the house. He was really thin, with dark hair and huge eyes.

I never paid much attention to him, though.

Rick stole the spotlight for me.

God, I was so stupid.

"Oh, well. Let's not talk about unpleasant things," Granny comments. She has never liked Rick and she never made that a secret. When she met him for the first time, she told me she didn't like his eyes.

"He has an evil look to him. A darkness."

I argued, saying, "Granny, he's a dream! You just don't know him well enough."

I hoped I had listened to her then.

I wouldn't be where I was now if I had.

When I look up, I realize she's looking at me expectantly, which only means she said something I didn't hear. "Sorry, Granny. What was that?"

"Never mind," she smiles. "You're tired, my darling. Go upstairs and freshen up, and Antoine will make you something to eat."

"Oh, I ate on the plane."

"Then you'll have some tea and biscuits. Your favorite. Go on. You know where your room is."

I kiss her cheek and head upstairs. Antoine has already dropped my luggage off. I look around at the room I spent so much time in back in the day, and breathe in the familiar scent.

It's like I'm back in my childhood, minus a broken heart.

The garden is right on the other side of the French doors in my room, and I want to smell the fragrant flowers.

Granny has the best garden in all of Paris.

I part the curtain to open the doors, but I freeze when I look straight ahead, at the other wing of the house, and see a naked woman pressed against the large, closed, window, her mouth parted as she lets out moans I can't hear. Her breasts are mashed against the glass. She's dark-haired and gorgeous, even though her makeup is smudged.

The man behind her is f*****g her savagely, moving his hips quickly with every thrust. His hand is around her neck, and the muscles in his body flex as he rams into her. His hair is dark and slicked back with a lock falling over his eyes. Even from where I'm standing, I can see that there's a tattoo on the side of his neck, though I can't tell what it is exactly.

I should drop the curtain. Look away. But for some reason, I can't seem to do that, not right away. Desire zips down my spine at the sight of them, and I'm shocked by my own reaction.

What would it feel like, to be lost in such a wild way?

What would it feel like to be desired like that?

These thoughts cross my mind quickly before I can stop them. And, suddenly, he looks up and his eyes meet mine. Shock washes over me, and this moment seems to last forever even though it has probably only been a few seconds.

I let the curtain fall from my hand, hiding me from view, and I back away, stunned.

What the hell was that?