It was strange, but she opened the message anyway. "He's cheating on you," it said. She played the file, which was only about 3 minutes long, but for every second she watched it, her chest heaved more.
- What's wrong? - Leonard asked her.
But she didn't answer.
Reed stood up and walked over to her, took the phone out of her hand, and then watched it.
The video seemed to have been taken from a higher angle in an office. Daniel's. There he was, sitting with a woman standing in front of him. Then he touched her and this woman got on his lap, they kissed and the next thing that happened was she was on the desk with Daniel between her legs. Shit! It was Beverly.
- What's going on? - Philippa started walking towards them.
Leonard turned off the screen so she couldn't see and handed the device back to Deanna. She took it and looked at him with hard, dull eyes.
- Can you drive? -
- Yes...
- Take me back.
He understood her.
- Where are you going, Deanna? - Philippa was worried, she knew her well. Something had happened.
- I'm sorry, Mom. I forgot we have a dinner at the house with Daniel's family and I have to go... I'll be back tomorrow -
- You're just leaving? After all this...
Deanna held her hands.
-Forgive me... I know this is all a mess, but there's no point in continuing... And I really have to go, I don't want any more problems with his family... please forgive me... –
- Will you come tomorrow? -
- Yes, first thing in the morning. Don't worry.
She kissed her cheek. From somewhere she had drawn a steely strength that kept her whole in front of her mother. Even the posture of her body had changed, now she stood straight and rigid. The force that moved her was a rage she had never felt before.
She got out and crossed the street, Leonard looked at Philippa and couldn't say anything, so he got out after Deanna. They got into the car, he started it and they drove off.
They were silent for a long time. Deanna held her cell phone and her face was blank. Leonard glanced at her from the corner of his eye every now and then. It was obvious that her calm, stern appearance was just that: an appearance. Inside she was dying, falling apart, bleeding. But if she let it all out, she might vanish into thin air.
- You know she was the one who sent this, right? -
- Yes, but that doesn't change what I saw.
- She's a bitch.
Deanna didn't answer, she didn't care. It could have been Beverly, it could have been anyone, but it was still Daniel. Every single scene of jealousy, the questioning, the hostile comments ran through her mind and each one of them fueled her anger.
She was fed up. Fed up with everyone. The blow she had received from the man driving, her father; Laura's words, the argument with Harry; every time Camilla accused her and called her a gold digger, all the looks that judged her wherever she went, Alice Reed treating her like a slut.
All because she was married to him? All the insults, the tears, the feelings of contempt because she was married to him? And the bastard was screwing another woman! She felt like a complete fool and the urge to cry was about to overcome her.
As they entered the city, her heart began to race, she felt every beat in her ears. A void was forming inside her, a black hole that was sucking in everything around her. Despair. Her hands were sweating as she held the phone. She was all bristly. A chill ran down her spine.
- Shall I drive you to the house? -
- Yes.
- If he sees you getting out of my car, he'll freak out.
- I don't care.
- Ha! He'll try to kill me -
- Does that worry you? - she asked incredulously.
- No, of course not... - he replied with a half smile.
- He won't have time to do anything to you -
For a second, Leonard felt something he hadn't felt in a long time: pride. The little lady, his daughter, was determined, hateful and ready for confrontation. She was not one of those women who cried and begged, no. She was not. Her belligerence showed, and Crusher was lost.
He didn't know that Beverly had gone to such lengths. She had always acted cautiously, fearfully. She wanted a position in the government, she would settle for nothing less, and so she had to act with stealth. But apparently she had decided to take the bull by the horns.
If he had any doubts about Daniel's temperament, they had been dispelled. He had always thought of him as a kind of marble statue; cold, expressionless, lifeless. But not only had he married Deanna and made her fall in love with him, he was welcoming other women.
-I knew he was an idiot, but I thought he really fell in love - he said aloud to himself.
Deanna looked at him.
-He is not an idiot. No one in this family is. They're all the same –
Her words rang hollow. Obviously the Crushers had done more than just not accept her, but he didn't ask her any questions. He just couldn't talk about "good manners". A rush of adrenaline coursed through his body, he hadn't been able to take him down when he'd tried, but she... She would destroy him. He stepped on the gas a little harder.
- I shouldn't say this, but... are you sure you want to do this? -
- You're worried now? -
- You're angry, and you might regret it later if you act like this...
- Of course I'm angry! Didn't you see? - She showed him the phone.
- Yes... -
- You don't know what I've been through since I married him... I put up with everything... I even tried to fit into his world by worrying about what others would say about him! Do you know what I've been told just because I loved him? Do you know what I put up with because I thought he was fighting his demons? For this! - She showed him the device again.
And then a message came from him asking her where she was and telling her that they had all arrived. And she got even more angry.
- Those two are a couple of bastards! - she shouted.
The level of anger had exceeded her limit and she clung to it because if she hesitated for a single second, she would be the one who would be destroyed. Not only had Frank cheated on her with another woman, but so had Daniel. Who had asked her so many times not to leave him, who had stolen furtive kisses all over the house, who had touched her until he untied her, and who had made love to her in bed with uncontrolled passion.
How stupid could she get with a man's sweet words? Harry had been right when he treated her like an inexperienced teenager; she would trust and confide and then be lied to. And they lied blatantly to her face, of course she was a poor, simple-minded girl! She was a fool who had fallen in love.
"This is nothing more than a comfortable entertainment for Daniel."
"He'll put you in his bed until he's tired of you!"
"A beautiful woman full of life, you attract them like flies... Your naivety makes it easy for them."
"Why is it so hard to be married to you?"
A single tear escaped her. But it would be the only one she would shed, she would never cry for him again. He had lied to her, betrayed her, sworn love between the sheets; she could forgive him anything, but this... This was an open insult, a joke to her own face; a way of assuring her that she would always be a plaything to his whims.