Alicia looked puzzled.
“Sweetheart, I’m sorry for having to involve you in all of this, but I really need you to do this for me.”
“So you’re not going to leave Charlotte anything?”
“Come on, now. Of course I am. She’s a tramp, but she is the mother of my son. I’ll leave her enough so she can continue living the exact same way she has been, and then she’ll get the rest of what she deserves in the divorce settlement.”
Alicia looked confused again. “Are you sure about this, Daddy? I mean, I’m angry with Charlotte, too, but do you really want to divorce her?”
“I do. I won’t do it right away because of Matthew, but I am divorcing her.”
“Okay, then. I’ll do whatever you want.”
“I appreciate that,” he said, and then something dawned on him. Charlotte was money-hungry, money-minded, and as selfish as they came, so knowing her, she might be thinking of doing the same thing. Cleaning out bank accounts and opening separate everything. Which was the reason he had to stop her cold in her tracks—the reason he told Alicia to tell Charlotte he needed to see her. Now.
Chapter 47
You asked for me?” Charlotte said, hoping Curtis had decided to give their marriage another chance. Praying he was willing to overlook their dark past and ready to celebrate their upcoming future together.
“I did. Please shut the door.”
Charlotte closed it and walked over to the side of the bed. “I have so much to say to you,” she started. “So much to apologize for. So much to make up for. But first we have to get you well again and then bring you home.”
“Are you finished?” he asked.
Charlotte didn’t like the tone of his voice or the detached look on his face. He glared at her like they were lifelong enemies, and she knew this wasn’t good.
“Well, are you?” he asked again.
“I guess,” she said.
“You know, before all of you came in to see me this morning, I lay here thinking for almost two hours. I thought about our marriage, how rocky it’s always been, and how staying together just isn’t the right thing for us anymore. It’s not good for anyone involved except maybe Matthew, but there are times when I don’t think it’s all that good for him either. Not when we do so much arguing or end up not speaking to each other for days at a time.”
“But we just got beyond all that, Curtis. Things have been great for us this last week, and we’ve really been happy with each other. We’ve been happy as a family.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Until you slept with two men behind my back.”
“Yes, and I was very wrong for that. But Curtis, you have to take at least some blame for that whole Tom thing.”
“Why?”
“He left me a voice message, saying the reason he blackmailed me and tried to hurt Matthew was because you had an affair with his wife. And that his son caught the two of you together.”
“Yeah, but that was at least twelve years ago and way before you and I were even married. What I did to Tom and his son was the worst. I admit that. But your decision to party all night and then go to some motel with a complete stranger was all on you. You did that because you wanted to. And you slept with that other guy for the very same reason.”
Charlotte wasn’t sure what she should say at this point and could tell she was in a lose-lose situation.
“So, anyway, this is the deal,” he continued. “Matthew has a little over a year left in high school, so for his sake, you and I are going to stay married until then and we’re going to get along with each other. But after that, once Matt leaves for Harvard, I’m filing for a divorce. And you’re moving out.”
“Curtis, you don’t mean that. Matt will never be okay with us breaking up, even once he leaves for college. It’ll kill him. And what about Curtina? Who’s going to be a mother to her?”
“Matt will be fine,” he said, coughing and grabbing his chest. “And what do you mean, what about Curtina? You’ve never cared anything about her, anyway.”
“That was before I knew how wrong I was. I do care about her. I care about her more than you realize.”
“Yeah, right.”
“You said yourself that I was now putting forth a lot of effort toward her. You even thanked me for it, Curtis.”
“But none of that matters now. What matters is that you don’t have a faithful bone in your body, and I’m never going to be enough for you. You’ve always wanted something more, and I can’t deal with that any longer.”
“But what about—”
“But what about nothing,” he said. “Because I know what you’re going to say. That I slept with Tabitha. Yeah, I did, but only after you slept with Aaron. So interestingly enough, this whole string of infidelity originated with you.”
“So that’s it for us? Our marriage is over?”
“Yes. Oh, and one more thing. Don’t even think about withdrawing any large sums of money or closing any of our joint bank accounts. If you do, I’ll use those photos in far more ways than Tom ever could. I’ll do what I have to to protect my children and their futures.”
Now Charlotte knew why he’d wanted to speak with Alicia so privately. She wasn’t stupid. He was setting things up so that if something happened to him, his oldest daughter would be in control of everything. He was making sure Charlotte would only have access to what he wanted her to have access to and not a dime more. Her marriage really was finished. And she had no one to blame but herself.
Epilogue
Four Months Later
Charlotte lay in one of the hammocks, not far from the huge wraparound deck, and looked down at Curtina—who was napping peacefully with her body relaxed cozily inside Charlotte’s arm and her little head lying on her chest. It was a gorgeous day in June, and as of late, being with Curtina was where Charlotte now found her greatest joy. Actually, Curtina was her only real comfort in life because while four full months had passed since Curtis’s accident and they’d recently moved into the new church, he still hadn’t changed his mind about divorcing her. He wasn’t mean or angry, and he even included her on all the family outings he planned, but he treated her more like a sister than a wife. He’d said he was through, and he’d meant it, and Charlotte still hadn’t been able to accept that. Which was the reason she sometimes went to him, asking what she could do to make him love her again. What she could do to guarantee that they did stay together forever, the way they’d promised. But he’d told her there wasn’t anything she or anyone else could do to change his feelings about this. He’d insisted that too much betrayal had taken place, too much harm had been done on both their parts, and that he simply didn’t trust her.
Charlotte had often wondered if maybe things might have turned out differently had she not slipped and told Curtis about Michael. Maybe if Curtis had never learned that there had been two affairs, he might have been a little more tolerant. Maybe if there had only been one man in the picture—specifically Tom, whom she cared nothing about—Curtis would have been more apt to forgive her. She had completely jumped the gun and told him about an affair he likely wouldn’t have discovered. The reason: when Michael had contacted her not more than a month ago, he had admitted the truth—that he’d lied about Sybil knowing about them and that the only reason he’d told her this was so she would do exactly what she’d done. Tell Curtis herself. He’d been hoping she would disclose everything, so that he could be with her. He’d wanted her to leave Curtis and marry him instead.
Charlotte had been outraged and ultimately devastated by the time she’d hung up on him, and she never wanted to hear from him again. He’d claimed he loved her but had manipulated her thinking, caused her to become paranoid, and then sat back waiting for disaster. He’d done what was best for him and hadn’t cared a thing about how she would be affected in the end.
Then, there was Matthew, who had gone to a few sessions with a counselor and had totally worked through the whole Mr. Rush dilemma, but he still sometimes looked a
t her with disappointment. Charlotte’s relationship with him was much better than it had been; however, there was still this underlying and very subtle distance between them. She’d been hoping things would eventually get completely back to normal but now she feared that might not happen. But it was her own fault, and the most she could do was be there for him, make sure he knew he was the most important person in her life, and that she would never hurt or let him down again.
Charlotte closed her eyes, enjoying the breeze and warm sunshine. For some strange reason, she thought about Raven, the woman Curtis had been forced to terminate on the spot. Maybe the reason Charlotte thought about her, though, was because she sort of sympathized and could slightly identify with her—identify with the idea of acting selfishly and then having to deal with the consequences.
Sadly for Raven, though, there was going to be jail time involved because Curtis’s suspicions had been right. Raven had cleverly embezzled nearly one hundred thousand dollars from the church and had been arrested. Charlotte hadn’t been able to fathom something like this, but she guessed Raven’s gambling problem had gotten the best of her, and she’d become desperate. She’d done whatever she had to in order to fuel her addiction, and it hadn’t been a good thing.
But then who was she to criticize Raven or anyone else, because she hadn’t made the right choices either. As a matter of fact, she’d made some of the worst decisions in her life and possibly wouldn’t recover from them. She would go on and wouldn’t give up, but it was certainly a major challenge. It was hard not having the kind of relationship she’d always been used to having with Curtis, and there were many days when all she wanted to do was break down. There were times when she didn’t even want to get out of bed. But again, she wouldn’t give up. Not on life and not on getting her husband to love and trust her the way he had in the past. She would make this her utmost priority.
Then, if she got him back, she would be faithful until death. She would love, honor, and never betray her husband again.
Reading Group Guide
Love, Honor, and Betray—Discussion Questions
If your husband conceived a child with a mistress, would you divorce him? What would be your overall reaction? Do you know someone who has experienced this in real life?
As you read Love, Honor, and Betray, did you feel that Charlotte had every right not to want Curtina living with them, or was she completely out of line? Please explain your position and opinion.
Do you feel that Curtis did all that he could in terms of trying to reason with Charlotte and making things right with her? What could he have done differently?
Were you surprised that Charlotte slept with a man she didn’t know without giving much thought to it?
What did you think when Tom called Charlotte, demanding that she see him again or else? Were you surprised by this?
From the beginning of the story until the end, were you expecting Curtis to return to his old ways or continue on the straight and narrow? How did you feel once you learned his decision?
How do you think Charlotte’s treatment of Curtina as well as her outside affairs will end up affecting Matthew? When he is older, do you think he’ll end up with a woman like his mother, or will he end up being unfaithful to the women in his life the same as his father once was?
Did you have any idea why Tom was blackmailing Charlotte? If so, at what point did you begin to suspect it had something to do with Curtis?
Are you happy that Charlotte has finally accepted Curtina and is now being a loving mother to her? Do you think Charlotte’s feelings are genuine? If so, why do you think she’s had such a noticeable change of heart?
Do you think Curtis truly will divorce Charlotte once Matthew graduates from high school and heads to Harvard? What would you like to see happen with Curtis and Charlotte’s marriage?
Contents
Copyright
Title Page
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Epilogue
Reading Group Guide
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2011 by Kimberla Lawson Roby
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
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First eBook Edition: January 2011
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The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.
ISBN: 978-0-446-58264-3
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