Six Years Of Afternoon Tea Bought Me The Truth About My Husband Chapter 03

Six Years Of Afternoon Tea Bought Me The Truth About My Husband Chapter 03

Callie asked to meet me again two days later.

She handed her phone over to me.

The photo showed the back seat of Andres’s car. A receipt was wedged into the seat crevice.

A baby boutique, a crib, $32,800.

The buyer was Andres.

There was also a parking slip.

Cloudview Residences.

I zoomed in on the photo.

“Has your husband ever gone up there?”

“No. Your husband won’t let him. He tells my husband to park by the curb and always goes up alone.”

“The building number?”

“Building 3.”

I told her to send me the photos.

She hesitated for a moment, saying, “Mrs. Moreau, I’m going to stick my nose out one more time. Last night my husband had too much to drink, and he said your husband is planning to fire someone soon.”

“Fire who?”

“Fire him.”

I looked up.

Callie’s eyes brimmed with tears. “He said your husband thinks he knows too much. Once this month’s salary is paid, he doesn’t need to come back.”

I understood immediately.

Andres wasn’t stupid.

He knew the driver had been with him for years and knew far too much.

Now that Norah was pregnant, he wanted to clear the field.

I pushed an envelope across the table. “There’s $80,000 in here. It’s not hush money, it’s just to help you transition.”

Callie panicked, protesting, “Mrs. Moreau, I didn’t come here looking for money.”

“I know.” I looked at her. “But I can’t let you bear the consequences for nothing.”

She buried her face in her hands and cried.

I didn’t try to comfort her.

Sometimes, a person’s tears are just the final cracking of their forced dignity.

That night, Andres came home very early.

He carried a jewelry box in his hand.

“For you.”

I opened it.

A pearl necklace.

The style was old-fashioned, and the price wasn’t high.

“Why the sudden gift?”

He sat down, his tone softening a bit. “I’ve been busy lately and neglected you.”

I put the necklace back in the box. “Did your mother invite Norah to her birthday banquet?”

The warmth drained from his face. “My mother likes a lively crowd.”

“She’s showing up with a pregnant belly to celebrate your mother’s birthday—that’s certainly lively enough.”

Andres stared at me. “What exactly are you trying to say?”

I asked, “Have you broken it off with her?”

He didn’t answer.

I asked again, “Is the child in her belly yours?”

He slammed his glass down hard on the table. “Stevie, can you stop being so aggressive?”

I looked at the water splashing over the rim. “Asking for the facts is considered aggressive?”

He stood up. “What’s going on between Norah and me isn’t what you think. She’s pitiful, making a living all by herself in this city, and she has no one to take care of her now that she’s pregnant. I’m helping her because she trusts me.”

I laughed out loud.

Andres’s expression turned utterly cold. “You better not make a scene at the birthday banquet. Several important business partners from the company will be there. If you embarrass me, neither of us will have a good time.”

“Okay.”

I answered so quickly that he actually froze.

I pushed the jewelry box back toward him. “Keep the necklace for Norah. She needs the comfort more than I do.”