Derek’s face drained.
“You lied about that too?”
“I needed you to understand why I couldn’t just walk away!”
“You could have said you were cheating on your husband!”
“I loved you!”
“No,” Derek said.
His voice had changed.
The swagger was gone.
“You used me.”
That was the moment I understood the entire shape of it.
Derek had not seduced my wife away from me.
Claire had selected him.
Young.
Impulsive.
Protective.
Proud.
A man easy to provoke.
A man who would call me.
A
man who would create conflict.
A
man who might make me walk away from the house voluntarily.
And, perhaps, a man foolish enough to take the blame if the financial crimes surfaced.
Derek had never been the replacement husband.
He had been the fall guy.
