Chapter 41
Colette’s body trembled as she sat there, her chest rising and falling rapidly, her breaths shallow and erratic. Her mind struggled to process what Zoe had just revealed. The world around her spun in dizzying circles, and a sickening sense of disbelief washed over her, threatening to drown her.
“You… you planted drugs on Iris?” Colette whispered, her voice barely audible, as though she were speaking from a distance.
Zoe didn’t respond, but the triumphant smirk on her face was answer enough.
Colette’s stomach lurched, and she felt as though she might be sick. “You stupid—stupid girl, if Matt finds out, he will—” She couldn’t finish the sentence, the enormity of the situation choking the words in her throat.
But Zoe just laughed, a light, carefree sound that sent chills down Colette’s spine. “Oh, sweetheart, your husband already knows,” Zoe said, her tone almost sing-song as she giggled like a child sharing a juicy secret.
“What?” Colette’s heart skipped a beat, her eyes wide with shock and horror.
Zoe’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “Oh! Your husband already knows, in fact. After I had left the building. It was him who had tipped off the cops. That as the boss, he had grown suspicious of his secretary’s activities and was afraid she was involved in some kind of drug dealing……yada-yada-yada. My guess is, Iris full-of-lies-son, is being arrested and charged with possession and dealing of drugs as we speak.”
Zoe laughed again, but Colette could only stare, her mind reeling.
Matt knew about this?
“Matt knew?” Colette repeated, her voice barely a whisper, thick with disbelief. She couldn’t wrap her mind around it. The man who had left her in that apartment, after Iris had announced her pregnancy, had been orchestrating this behind her back?
“Yup,” Zoe replied casually, leaning back against the seat, clearly relishing the moment. Zoe shrugged, utterly nonchalant. “Yea, turns out he is smarter that we give him credit for. Well, at first he was a gullible little fool of course, when that bitch had been manipulating him left and right and trying her best get him in her panties, but somewhere along the line he caught along too. He wanted to be rid off her too. And knew that she would create trouble the moment, he does so.”
“So?” Colette’s voice shook as she asked this, her eyes wide in disbelief as she looked at her friend her mouth left slightly open. “So, he let me do what I had been dying to since the day I learned about Miss. Husband-stealing Iris Lawson. Well, apart from the punching her in her face of course. He said, even his millions wouldn’t be able to keep me out of jail then, or something like that…..Anyway….” Zoe shrugged. “It was…”
As Zoe continued talking, recounting the details of her “adventure” as though it were some harmless prank, Colette felt her entire world unravel. She sat there, numb, her mind struggling to keep up with the deluge of emotions crashing over her.
And then, something broke inside her.
Tears began to well up in her eyes, hot and uncontrollable, spilling down her cheeks as her body shook with silent sobs. She tried to hold it in, tried to keep her composure, but it was no use. The floodgates had opened, and there was no stopping the torrent of pain, confusion, and heartbreak that poured out of her.
Zoe stopped mid-sentence, her eyes widening in surprise as she saw the state Colette was in. “What? What did I say now?” Zoe asked, panic creeping into her voice. She had always been quick to act tough, but Colette’s tears unnerved her.
Colette couldn’t answer. The words wouldn’t come, only sobs—deep, guttural, ugly sobs that wracked her body and left her gasping for breath. She wiped at her face, but the tears kept coming, mixing with snot, making her feel even more humiliated, even more broken.
“No—nothing,” Colette managed to choke out between sobs. “It’s just—everything—it’s too much.”
Zoe looked at her, baffled, as though she couldn’t comprehend why Colette was reacting this way. “Why are you crying like the world is ending today?” she asked, her voice a mix of confusion and frustration.
But for Colette, it did feel like the world was ending.
But for Colette, it did feel like the world was ending.
She sat in the taxi beside Zoe, her body trembling, the flood of emotions too powerful to contain. But as she stared out the window, seeing nothing but the blur of streetlights and passing cars, a new thought slowly began to take shape. It was terrifying and uncertain, but it was there, nudging at the edges of her mind, demanding to be acknowledged.
What if she had been wrong?
Her tears slowed as the question sank in, though her heart still ached with the weight of everything that had happened. What if Matt had been trying to get his act together? The party, the smiles, the laughter—they had felt so real. His joy when they talked about the baby hadn’t seemed fake. And now that she thought about it….
He had looked at her tonight with a kind of tenderness she hadn’t seen in a long time, as though he wanted to be close to her again, to rebuild what had been lost. He’d kissed her in front of everyone, held her with pride, something he hadn’t done in what felt like ages. Was it possible that Matt really had been trying to become her husband, her partner, once more?
Colette’s breath hitched as she considered it. Could he have really been ready to let go of Iris for good? And then, her mind took a darker turn—a terrifying realization that sent a cold shiver down her spine.
And then there was Iris.
The thought of Iris, and the possibility of her being pregnant, made Colette’s stomach churn with dread. If Iris was telling the truth, if she was carrying Matt’s child, everything would change. Colette wasn’t sure if she could handle that.
What if Iris was actually pregnant with Matt's baby?
The thought hit her like a punch to the gut, winding her, leaving her breathless. If he had cheated—if Matt had been unfaithful to her with Iris—what would she do then?
She clenched her hands in her lap, her nails digging into her palms as a fresh wave of tears threatened to spill over. This overwhelming sadness, this fear—there was more to it. She had been carrying so much for so long. Her insecurities, her doubts, her fears about the future—they had all been bubbling under the surface, festering, waiting for something like this to push them over the edge.
It was a terrifying thought, but one that offered a glimmer of hope.
The taxi pulled up to Zoe’s apartment, and the two of them climbed out. Colette followed Zoe inside, feeling like she was walking through a fog, her mind still racing with everything she had just realized.
Once inside, Zoe tossed her duffel bag onto the couch and turned to Colette. “Hey, are you feeling better now?” she asked, her voice uncharacteristically soft.
Colette nodded, though she wasn’t sure if she truly felt better. She felt… different. As if a shift had taken place inside her, but it wasn’t necessarily a relief. It was more like she was finally starting to see things clearly, even if the truth hurt.
“I just… I need to figure out what to do,” Colette said, her voice shaky.