Bittersweet

by Francine Pascal

  Not ten minutes later, Lila heard the front door open and slam shut. Everyone heard it. All the wives looked up at the entrance to the kitchen, waiting. But they didn’t have to wait more than seconds for a very angry Ken to burst into the room.

  “Ken!” cried Lila, surprised. She hadn’t expected him. Not at all. “What are you doing here?”

  “I still own half this house,” Ken ground out. “And I saw your little stunt on TV.”

  “You were watching?” Lila’s voice carried just the slightest bit of hope.

  “By accident,” he said as he looked at her very pretty, very magnetic eyes. He never could resist them. She was beautiful to him. And she looked so pretty. Why did she have to look so pretty?

  Focus, Ken, he told himself. Don’t be sucked in. Not this time.

  “There’s no way I’m letting you get away with this, Lila,” Ken growled, finding his anger again. “I know you’re lying.”

  “I’m not, Ken. I swear. Not this time.” Lila held out her hands as if to show she wasn’t hiding anything. “I know this sounds ridiculous, but back when I was faking, remember when you couldn’t keep your hands off me? Well…turns out I became pregnant.”

  “No way.”

  “It’s true.”

  “Are you going to stand there and listen to this drivel?” Ashley Morgan got up from the table, hands on her hips, glaring. Lila shot her a look that would slice through glass.

  Devone and Marina exchanged solemn glances as the cameramen silently filmed.

  “No, I’m not going to believe it and no one else will, either,” Ken said as he took a step closer to Lila. She didn’t move. He reached out and grabbed the hem of her tank and pulled it up. “Fraud!” he declared, turning her to the cameras. Everyone else in the room gasped.

  Lila really was pregnant. There was no hiding that little rounded naked belly that was clearly one hundred percent baby sticking up over the rolled-down waistband of her leggings.

  Seeing the stunned reaction of the other wives, Ken turned around to look at Lila. “What…?”

  Ashley whipped her head back and cackled. “Unbelievable. Now you’re pregnant? God, Lila, is there anything you don’t screw up?”

  “That’s enough,” Devone said, stepping in front of Ashley. “We are not going there. Marina? Help me.”

  Devone took one arm and Marina took another, and with a quick nod to Lila, Devone said, “We’re stepping outside now, Ashley. To give Ken and Lila a minute.”

  “Get your hands off me!” Ashley struggled, but Devone and Marina had tight grips.

  “You go nicely, Ashley, or I will personally pull out every last one of your extensions,” Marina threatened.

  “And I’ll take care of that padded ass!” said Devone, pulling at her arm.

  “You wouldn’t!”

  “Try us.”

  One look at the determination of her fellow wives, and Ashley knew she had no choice. Defeated, she followed them outside to the patio.

  Ken hadn’t moved. He was still staring at Lila’s belly. The skin was taut and a little bit firm. He reached out tentatively and touched it.

  All anger seemed to drain away in that second. All the hurt and the grief of betrayal and losing the one thing he realized he wanted most in the world—a baby with his very flawed wife with whom he was hopelessly in love—melted away. Here, beneath his fingers, this tiny bump was a possibility that it could all be okay again. He never thought it would be, ever again, but now he allowed himself the hope.

  “Is this…” Ken couldn’t form the words.

  “Our baby, sweetheart,” Lila said, her voice soft and full of affection. She covered his hand with hers and their eyes met. “Our baby.”

  Tears sprang to Ken’s eyes. Tears of relief and joy and happiness. Some might have called him a fool in that moment for letting the happiness in and releasing the anger and hurt and suspicion. But at his core, Ken was not a complicated man; he just wanted to be with his pretty wife and have cute babies crawling around on the rug. That’s all he’d ever wanted, really. He’d give up nearly anything for that, so a little bit of pride didn’t seem like a huge sacrifice. Not when everything he’d ever wanted was right in reach.

  Ken let go of Lila’s tank top and pulled her into his arms, hugging her fiercely. Lila returned the hug, slipping her arms around her husband’s back.

  Ken lifted up Lila, hands on her rapidly disappearing waist, and twirled her around their kitchen. Lila giggled and Ken did, too.

  “I missed you so much, baby,” Lila said.

  “I missed you, too,” Ken said as he put her down gently. He dipped his head and their lips met. The cameras zoomed in, but neither one of them cared.

  They were in their own world now, and the future was full of promise.

  Chapter Seven

  Elizabeth’s plane landed and she took her carry-on luggage and went straight for her car, which was parked in the garage.

  Armed with the new knowledge that Bruce’s accuser, Robin Platt, was really drug addict Mona Thomas, she planned to confront Mona and get some answers.

  In less than a half hour, she was standing on Mona’s porch, ringing the bell. No one answered. She slipped open the screen door and banged on the door. She waited, listening.

  Elizabeth heard no one inside.

  She glanced through the window to the side of the door but couldn’t see anyone moving inside.

  What now? Elizabeth ran through her options. She needed to get to the bottom of this. The next best thing to confronting Mona might be to talk to the only other prime witness in Bruce’s case: the bartender. He’d sworn Bruce was coming on to Mona in the bar.

  But if Mona had been put up to it by Rick Warner, maybe the bartender had been, too.

  Elizabeth got back in her car. The bartender, Jackson, no longer worked at the bar where the attack supposedly took place. Now he took shifts over at Friday’s on Riverhead. That’s where she’d found him before. She drove there and walked into the restaurant, asking the tall, slim hostess for Jackson.

  “Sorry,” she said, and shrugged. “He’s not on shift right now, but he should be here in about an hour or so.”

  “But it’s very important. I need to talk to him now. Do you have a number?”

  The hostess eyed her cautiously. “No, sorry, we don’t give those out. But I could get him a message.”

  “No, forget it. I’ll be back.”

  She called Jessica, but her cell phone went straight to voice mail. When she called work, Emily, Jessica’s assistant, picked up the phone.

  “She’s not here,” Emily said matter-of-factly. “I guess she’s still at lunch.”

  “Do you know when she’ll be back?”

  “No. She just left. But knowing her, I’m sure she’ll take her time.”

  “Maybe you should be more careful about what you say about your boss,” Elizabeth chided. She knew all about Emily, Tracy’s spy, and she didn’t like her one bit, either.

  “Would you like to leave a message?” Emily’s tone was mildly annoyed.

  “No, thanks.”

  Elizabeth hung up. Weird, she thought, glancing at her watch. It was after one, and Jessica should have been back around now. Jessica wasn’t answering her cell, which was strange, and she wasn’t at work. Maybe she’d taken Jake to the doctor? He was always coming down with an ear infection. Still ...

  Elizabeth was distracted, and didn’t have a lot of time to dwell on it. She called Jessica’s cell again and left a message saying she was going to grab lunch at Friday’s on Riverhead and wait for the bartender to show.

  She swung back to Friday’s and grabbed lunch. But the bartender never showed.

  She approached the hostess again. “Do you know when Jackson’s coming in?”

  “Oh, he’s not coming,” the hostess said curtly. “He canceled his shift.”

  “You told him someone was waiting?”

  “Yeah, I told him.”

  “What did he say?”


  “Nothing. He just canceled.”

  Elizabeth could have kicked herself. She should have come up with some kind of story. Instead she’d spooked the bartender. Now the danger was that he’d tip off Mona. She had to get to Mona’s place—fast.

  She texted her sister and told her she wouldn’t be able to make lunch, but she’d explain why later.

  She decided to loop back one more time to Mona’s house, to see if she could catch her there. If the bartender had vanished, maybe Mona was clearing out, too. Elizabeth couldn’t let Mona slip away. Not now.

  On a whim, she pulled around to the back instead of the front, and that’s when she saw Mona dragging a huge suitcase out of the back door.

  Elizabeth put her car in park and jumped out.

  Seeing her, Mona froze mid-step, a guilty look on her face.

  “Mona?” Elizabeth said.

  Shock and fear crossed Mona’s face, and Elizabeth knew she had her. “Just where do you think you’re going?”

  Mona dropped her suitcase on the porch. She ducked back inside, but Elizabeth sprinted to the steps and caught the door before she could shut it.

  “We need to talk,” Elizabeth said.

  Chapter Eight

  When Jessica pulled up to her town house to meet Liam, she was surprised to see him playing with Jake in the yard. Technically, not playing. Liam was trying to coax Jake to open some large, new gift he’d brought. Liam was always bringing gifts, but usually Jake didn’t like them. Jessica didn’t know exactly why. His father, Todd Wilkins, believed Jake was afraid of Liam. Or more likely, it was Todd who didn’t like Liam and was influencing Jake. Whatever.

  Jessica thought Jake was just a little shy. Liam was one of those guys who wanted to win over everyone in the room. He just pushed a little too hard with Jake.

  Like now, when he was trying to pressure Jake to play with the giant robotic dinosaur he’d brought. It made a loud, almost too-scary roar, and Jake didn’t like it. Jessica glanced around the yard, wondering where Liza the the nanny was.

  “Mommy!” Jake cried, seeing Jessica. He jumped up and catapulted himself into her arms.

  “Hi, honey,” she said as Jake nuzzled his head right under her chin. “Where’s Liza?” Jessica asked Liam.

  “I told her she could go.”

  “Excuse me?” Liam had no right to do that. Jessica hated this controlling part of Liam’s personality. He always entered a place thinking he owned it. “I have to work this afternoon! Who’s going to watch Jake?”

  “Don’t worry. I told her just to go for lunch. No big deal.”

  “Oh.” That wasn’t as bad as she’d thought, but still, she fumed. Liza worked for Jessica, not Liam. “You should ask me next time.”

  Jessica wouldn’t have agreed; she wasn’t sure leaving Jake alone with Liam for even a short time was a good idea. Todd didn’t like Liam, and he’d have a fit if Jake told him. Not to mention, Jessica had planned to end things with Liam, maybe today. Having Jake get too attached would not be a good thing. Not at all.

  She needed to tell Liam now, before this got any more out of hand, but she didn’t want to do it in front of Jake.

  “Hey, Jake, do you want to watch Thomas the Train?” Jessica asked. Her son rarely got to watch TV with Liza, so it was always an unexpected treat.

  “Yeah!” Jake cried and pumped his fists in the air. Jessica walked him into the living room and clicked on the TV. She turned up the volume a little, hoping he would be distracted enough that he wouldn’t hear what was going on in the kitchen.

  “Liam, we need to talk.”

  “We do,” Liam agreed.

  “You’ve been a great friend to me, really. But I just don’t think this is going to work out.” The minute the words were out of her mouth, Liam’s face fell. The heartbreak shone in his eyes. She knew he loved her; he’d said so repeatedly, but now she saw just how much. This was harder than she’d thought. “You’re amazing. You are, but I just don’t think we should see each other anymore.”

  “Jessica, I love you.”

  “I know you do.” Jessica had broken dozens of hearts before. That was nothing new. But something about the pain in Liam’s eyes, the devastation written on his face, hit her hard. Maybe it was because all along she knew she’d never cared for him all that much. She had been using him like a salve for her bruised ego. Todd had left and she wanted adoration from someone. Now, she realized, she did feel badly. Liam had thought this whole time their relationship meant something. She’d known all along it didn’t.

  And no matter what anybody said, she wasn’t heartless.

  “No,” he said. “You’re not finished with me. You can’t be. Jessica, I love you too m-much.” His voice broke at the last bit, and Jessica felt terrible.

  She swallowed the lump in her throat. She had to do this. Ending it now was the most merciful thing to do. Maybe she’d let him get too attached, and maybe he was already in too deep, but prolonging the inevitable would only make it worse.

  “Liam, please. I’m sorry. I am. But it’s just not working.”

  “Really? Because no one loves you like I do, Jessica. No one. Did you see how Michael dropped you without a word?”

  “But…”

  “And what about Lila? She’s not returning your phone calls, either. What kind of friend is that?”

  Jessica felt the barbs of what he was saying. They were true.

  “Liam, that doesn’t mean we work together.”

  Liam pulled at his hair, desperate. “But what about that guy Cal? What about him?”

  Jessica’s mind went back to the one date she’d had weeks ago. Liam wasn’t supposed to have known about it.

  “How did you know about Cal?”

  “I know everything about you, Jessica.” Liam’s voice went flat, and for a second, Jessica felt a cold stab of dread in the pit of her stomach. What did he mean he knew everything? She’d never told him about Cal. “I know you and Michael made out in that parking lot. I know you and Cal kissed, too. I saw it all, Jessica.”

  “How…?” Oh, God. Liam had her followed! He was out of control. Just like Elizabeth had said.

  “It’s not important! Cal, Michael, Lila—they don’t really love you. One bad word and they abandon you.” Liam was pacing the kitchen now.

  “What do you mean ‘one bad word’?” Stunned, Jessica tried to process what she’d heard. Liam had had her followed. He’d watched her on her dates. Had he been the one to sabotage her relationships with Michael and Cal and Lila?

  “All it took was a fake Facebook account. They all fell for it. All of them.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I copied your account down to your same profile picture. You weren’t friends with Michael and Cal, so it was easy to fool them. And I figured Lila was so self-absorbed she wouldn’t really click through to your profile to check whether it was really you. I was right.”

  “You created a dummy account?”

  “I copied everything. Even your likes and dislikes. And from there, I just sent messages.”

  “What did you say?”

  “I just wanted to test them, Jessica. I tested their loyalty because I care about you, and they all failed.”

  “Oh, my God. You may have ruined my career! Are you insane? How could you do that to me?” Jessica pressed her palms to the sides of her head. She couldn’t believe this. She itched to get to a computer, to find the fake account, to do some kind of spin control if it wasn’t already too late. But Liam was pacing, growing more agitated by the minute.

  “How could I do that to you?” His voice was low, almost a growl. “Because I’m protecting you. I’m the only one who truly loves you, Jessica. The only one!” Liam slammed his fist down on the island in her kitchen, causing the container of serving utensils nearby to topple, spilling oversized stainless steel spoons with a loud clatter on the floor.

  Jessica saw the wild look in Liam’s eyes and for the first time began to get scared. Lizzie was righ
t about him all along. He really was a stalker. And stalkers could be dangerous.

  “Mommy?” The soft, concerned voice of Jake, her beautiful baby boy, came from the kitchen doorway. He’d come to see about the noise and because his stomach was empty.

  “Mommy! Want mac and peese!” Jake hadn’t quite mastered the ch sound, yet. Peese was as close as he got to cheese.

  Jake’s expression instantly went somber as he felt the mood in the room. All thought of mac and peese quickly vanished.

  “Sure, Jake. One second,” Jessica said, her voice soft and monotone, her eyes never leaving Liam for a second, as if he were a poisonous viper poised to strike. She slid over toward Jake, trying to put her body between her toddler and Liam.

  “You can’t do this,” Liam said, ignoring Jake altogether.

  “Liam, this isn’t the best time.” Her eyes darted to Jake. “I think you should go.”

  “No.”

  “Please, Liam. You need to leave.” Jessica knew Liam could be stubborn, but this was something else.

  “I’m not leaving here without you.”

  “Liam…”

  “Mommy?” came Jake’s plaintive voice again. Jessica could hear the growing worry in it as the little boy’s eyes flicked from Jessica to Liam and back again.

  Jessica’s heart pounded. Her maternal instinct was in full swing. She wanted Liam out of there. She didn’t want Jake to witness any more of this argument, and if Liam did go crazy, she didn’t want Jake anywhere near him.

  “We can talk about this later.”

  “No, we can’t. You are going to see reason,” Liam said, clenching his jaw.

  “Mommy!” cried Jake, more worried this time.

  “Shut up!” snapped Liam, throwing the full force of his bubbling rage at the little boy.

  “Your mom and I are talking!”

  Jake’s eyes welled, and his lower lip began to quiver. Jessica flew over and instantly scooped him up in his arms.

  “Liam! You need to go. Now!”