Chapter 8
Rosale hadn’t expected Arlene to be quite this indifferent. For a moment, she even forgot the lines she’d prepared to flaunt her victory
Emery was just as surprised by Arlene’s easy agreement. He was about to say something but Rosalie clung to his arm, her voice turning tweet and coy
‘Emery see? She’s already agreed.”
The protests Emery had lined up caught in his throat, stifled by Rosalie’s words.
He glanced at Arlene, finally noticing something off about her demeanor His brow furrowed
“Arlene, do you really not mind?“%
Her gaze was calm, almost detached. “There’s nothing for me to mind. She can stay if she likes
With that Arlene signaled for the housekeeper to serve breakførk, then glided back to her room as if none of this concerned het
Rosalie, delighted with her triumph, humed home to pack her suitcase..
Emery, however, was left standing there, at a loss.
All moming, he couldn’t shake his unease. Several times, he found himself inventing reasons to knock on Arlene’s door)
“She’s a handful, you know, Aren’t you worried she’ll make a racket once she moves in?*
“If you don’t like this, just say so. I won’t let her move in if you’re upset’s
Arlene, I’ve told you before–those other women, they don’t matter. No one compares to you. Don’t keep your fealings bottled up.“I
Again and again, he tried. Eventually. Arlene grew tired of it, pinching the bridge of her nose!
“The already told you. Treally don’t care “?”
Seeing her like this, Emery–usually so blase and careless–found himself uncharacteristically rattled
“Why don’t you care? You never used to be like this.
Arlene looked at him, smiled as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
“Isn’t this what you always wanted? Haven’t you always hoped I’d just keep acting like this?%
With that she excussed herself, daiming she needed rest, and firmly saw Emery out
That very night, Rosalie waltzed in with her luggage, taking up residence as if she owned the place.!!
Arlene watched her bossing the staff around, playing lady of the house, and said nothing. Instead, she quietly tore another page from the calendar on the wall”
The sound–like fingemails dragging sooss a chalkboard–pent a strange chill through Emery, who was standing nearby
He noticed how few pages were left and couldn’t help but ask, “You tear a page off that calendar every single day. Is there something important coming up?”
“No, just for fun”
Her tone was light, unconcerned, but it only made Emery more anxious!
He thought back on all of Arlene’s recent odd behavior. It had all started after Rosalie showed up, and suddenly, it all clicked!
Watching Rosalie parade around upstairs. Emery finally stood up.
“Arlene, this is our home. My promises to you haven’t changed. Rosalie doesn’t belong here–111 take her back tonight”
Without waiting for an answer, he humed upstairs. No one knew what he whispered to Rosalie but soon after, she came down, eyes red and suitcase in hand, trailing after Emery as they left
At last, the house was quiet again.I
Emery didn’t come home for the next few days!
Arlene didn’t mind. She busied herself packing her own things
Three days before the deadline, she went to the notary’s office and made sure all the properties sho’d bought on Emery’s card were officially in her nameš
Two days before, she sent all the jewelry–enough to fill dozens of display cases–to the bank, locking it away in a safe deposit box. She planned to move it to her new home once the divorce was finalized.
She’d spent five years of her youth on Emery. She wouldn’t leave without every penny she was owed
Consider it compensation for the damage done to her heart
