She pointed to a man who couldn’t have been more than a few years my senior. “See that guy over there? Last time, I slept with him in Ronald’s spare bedroom.”
My eyes went wide at her.
“What have I got to lose?” She shrugged. “I’m not married and I don’t have kids. I’m doing what I want.”
“That’s great.” I took a gulp of my drink. What was she getting at?
“You should too. That’s what Maribel would want. She had you marry that man so you could do just that. She said you were a girl who stayed in this city and didn’t commit to anything because your parents messed your mind up.”
“Um…” She had way too much information. I glanced around, hoping no one was listening.
“Oh, don’t worry. No one’s paying attention to me. I’m the crazy old bat. But Maribel wasn’t. She thought you loved your parents too much and then they left over and over and it ruined you for commitment.”
I tried to cut her off but she held up her hand.
“I know she forced you into this arrangement. Perfect plan, in my opinion. Now, follow through and make sure you kick Ronald right in the balls by handing that stock over to Bastian. Don’t let us down.”
My eyes bulged at her confession. They’d all told Ronald his idea was great and I thought Bastian would be going against everyone. Turns out he was still winning the board members over one by one himself.
I turned to find Bastian as I patted the woman’s shoulder and thanked her. I needed to tell him that we were doing it, that this was all going to work in the end, that my city and his legacy would all be fine.
Then, I saw him.
And Elizabeth in pink bikini bottoms with no top.
She turned and brushed her chest against him as she said something.
He didn’t back away, instead his hand was on her back as he led her over to another couple to speak to.
Maybe the pain was in their perfection. They looked like a painting with the ocean as their backdrop.
My ocean.
My beach.
They tainted it standing there.
Then he looked over his shoulder and we made eye contact. He didn’t back away from her. He stayed right where he was.
She shouldn’t have been on his arm. He knew it and so did I.
I was his wife. Maybe my free spirit had deceived him. I might’ve been younger, dumber, and not as good looking, I could admit that.
Yet, Bastian was still my husband.
My heart shifted like the earth under the ocean and a tsunami surged. Underwater earthquakes, hidden beneath the sea, were the ones that caused the pain, the suffering, the suffocating power of those huge waves.
When I was young, I dreamed of riding one. I wanted to ride in on the power and see the world below.
I would do that with my own world. Bastian must have made the decision to move forward with our public displays of starting a separation.
So, I would too.
I wouldn’t care that he stood next to another woman. No, instead, I wanted to rock his world too. I wanted to drown him in jealousy and make him feel what raged inside me.
He wanted me to blend in and not draw attention to myself as his Untouchable. I’d never blended in. I flowed through the town and breathed life where I went. I may not have ever committed to anything but I was committed to being me.
Free.I sunk my feet into the sand and breathed in the salty air. The waves washed to shore again and again. They were slow and tranquil, unlike the one building deep in my heart. The tsunami was about to crash and it would feel like hell. Riding a wave like that would be dangerous. Falling in love with Bastian was the same.