Chapter 2 Facing a Deceiving World
1109 Words
Emma came home completely wiped out.
Dealing with Lucas was like wrestling a slippery fox—tougher than any client she'd ever had.
She was finally off for a day. Today was the family gathering her daughter had been looking forward to, and Jake's parents would also join them. While Jake was knee-deep in prepping the food, Emma went to dig out the barbecue grill from the basement.
That basement was Jake's art studio, a spot Emma hardly ever ventured into. While moving the grill, she accidentally tipped over some canvases, and she stooped to pick them up.
Her hands stopped cold when she saw a painting of a nude woman seen from the back.
The woman's face wasn't shown, yet Emma was sure it was definitely not her!
Back upstairs, Emma decided to play it cool and brought up the painting. "I found one of your paintings in the basement, the one with the nude back of a woman. That's pretty good."
She locked eyes with Jake as she spoke, eager to catch any flicker of guilt.
"It's just a sketch. I've been teaching life drawing, and the students wanted to see my work, so I knocked that out on the fly," Jake explained, his face the picture of calm.
Emma shot a probing glance at Jake and let it slide.
The family gathering hummed with warmth as usual.
Jake was all smiles with their daughter while sharing out barbecued treats to everyone.
Emma was in a daze. Jake looked every bit like a devoted husband and father. Who would suspect him of straying?
She itched to ask Jake why he would step out, and who the mystery woman in the painting was.
Jake might look unflappable, but Emma’s gut told her something was up with that painting!
Watching her daughter gleefully sprinting around was the only thing that eased her troubled mind.
Then she saw her mother-in-law, Bella, give Jake a nudge, and they both sneaked off to the basement.
Emma’s heart skipped a beat as she tiptoed after them.
The basement door was ajar. Emma lingered at the threshold, ears pricked, catching bits of their conversation.
"Your wife doesn't seem too chipper today," said Bella.
"Ivy mentioned the other day that I seemed to get exposed. But no biggie, Ivy smoothed it over."
Bella, sounding none too pleased, retorted, "Don't get cocky. She's no pushover. If she catches wind, God knows what storm she'll raise."
"Alright, I'll feel her out tonight."
They discussed something else, but Emma couldn't make out the rest. It felt like her whole world had crumbled.
Emma’s rapport with Bella was always on thin ice. Bella was a tough cookie, and Emma was no shrinking violet. Right from the get-go, Emma could tell her future mother-in-law wasn't a fan.
And now, Bella actually knew all about Jake's fling!
Oh, and they dropped Ivy's name—her bestie?
Emma had believed herself to be blissfully happy, with a doting husband and a best friend always in her corner.
But at that moment, she realized she was left with nothing.
Her so-called bliss was nothing but a bubble, ready to pop at the slightest poke.
They had all kept her in the dark—Jake, Bella, and even Ivy. And they played her for a fool, spinning lies right under her nose.
Anger, disappointment, and hatred swelled up in Emma’s heart all at once.
She had thought she married someone who cherished her wholeheartedly. Being blinded by the so-called love for too long, she found the ugly truth made it hard for her to breathe.
Covering her chest, Emma quickly made her way out to the backyard for a breath of fresh air. Taking a deep puff, she stared off into space.
It wasn't shocking that Bella sided with Jake, but why Ivy?!
They had been best friends since college. Emma chose her current job after graduation, while Ivy stayed in academia and worked at the same school as Jake.
Emma had never suspected a thing between her best friend and her husband. Ivy always looked down on Jake for lacking ambition, and Jake wasn't a fan of Ivy's opportunistic streak.
So why on earth was Ivy covering for Jake?!
Had she gotten it all wrong? Were Ivy and Jake actually an item?
No, that didn't add up. The day Emma saw Jake with another girl at the restaurant, Ivy was right there beside Emma.
Ivy assured Emma that Jake couldn't possibly be there since he was swamped with work at school.
But one way or another, Ivy had lied to her!
Lighting a cigarette, Emma dialed Ivy's number.
"Why the sudden call at this hour? Do you miss me, hon?"
The voice on the other end was as bubbly as ever, but it made Emma’s stomach turn.
"You knew Jake was the man we saw that day, right?"
The line went dead silent all of a sudden.
Even though Emma had her suspicions, the confirmation still cut deep.
"Why, Ivy? You're supposed to be my best friend. And yet you teamed up with him to deceive me. I was so stupid to ever think you were my bestie!"
It felt like a betrayal, a knife in the back. If Ivy had been there, Emma would have slapped her without a second thought.
"Yes, I knew it was him. But come on, everyone knows you'd blow your top. If you knew it was Jake, you would've marched right up and caused a scene, right?"
Ivy's defense came through the phone, a pill too bitter for Emma to swallow.
"So you just decided to join him in the con?" Emma asked with a sneer.
Her tone, frosty with anger, seemed to irk Ivy.
Ivy retorted, "Look, don't pin this on me. If you could handle your business, why would Jake need to sneak around? It's just a meal; stop being fussy, alright? Even if Jake really did step out, find the reason in yourself!"
Ivy's words were a gut punch, causing Emma to collapse.
Emma prided herself on being sharp in the business world. She might not be a mind reader, but she could usually figure out what people were up to.
Yet now, she felt completely defeated, seeing how those closest viewed her.
"I've got nothing left to say to you," Emma snapped.
She bolted to the garage and hopped in her car. Jake hurried over, concern painted across his face. "Honey, what's up? Where are you going?"
Jake's phony concern disgusted her. She closed the window after throwing out a simple explanation. "Got some urgent work to do. I won't be home tonight."
- Writer
