The Affair - Danielle Steel Page 0,89

the other two as though Will had run away, judging by Venetia’s questions: “When did he leave?…Did you see him go?…Do you know where he went?…” She promised to call Olivia back later, ended the call, and stared at both her sisters in disbelief.

“Olivia had too much to drink last night, and she said that what she told us on the Fourth of July has been weighing on her ever since. She told Harley about Will last night. He locked himself in his study and wouldn’t talk to her afterwards. He was gone when she got up this morning. He didn’t leave a note. She doesn’t know where he went. He left her, and he told her last night he would never forgive her for lying to him about something so important, and for cheating on him….” Venetia looked panicked for her sister, and the other two stared at her, too shocked to speak for a minute.

“Oh my God,” was all Athena could say, as Nadia glanced at her watch.

“Oh shit…I have to dress for my flight. What is she going to do? And what did she tell Will this morning?”

“I have no idea. She’s panicked. She thinks Harley’s going to divorce her.”

“He might,” Athena said solemnly, “he’s a pretty rigid guy. I’m not sure he can recover from a blow like this. A lot of men wouldn’t.” She couldn’t imagine him swallowing it. The others didn’t disagree with her, and they sat staring at each other, then Nadia rushed up the stairs to dress. She hated to leave them in a crisis, but she had to get back to Paris for the girls. She knew that Nicolas was leaving for London the next day to see his publisher there. All Nadia could hope as she dressed in haste was that Harley had somehow made his peace with Olivia’s confession and would come back, and forgive her. If not, Olivia would be getting divorced too. She thought it was a terrible mistake to have told him. They had warned her not to. And now there was no telling what would happen. Nadia felt sorry for both of them, Harley and Olivia. She could only imagine how Harley must feel. What a god-awful mess. She felt terrible about it, but she had to leave.

She called Olivia from the car on the way to the airport, but it went to voicemail. Will was out with friends by then. Olivia was lying on her bed, after crying for hours, convinced that Harley would never forgive her. And knowing how stern and uncompromising he could be, and how moral he was, all of her sisters were afraid she might be right.

Chapter 12

Nadia tried Olivia again when she got to the airport, and that time, she picked up. Olivia was crying when she answered.

“I was so stupid, Naddie, I shouldn’t have told him. But it’s been driving me crazy. After I told you all last summer, I realized that our marriage has been a lie, and he had a right to know. You don’t know how moral he is. He thinks cheating is as bad as murder. He doesn’t talk about it, but he’s a very religious person. He told me he would never feel the same way about me again. He wouldn’t even talk to me after that. I’ve been calling him all morning and he’s not picking up. I don’t think he’ll ever speak to me again. We’ve been married for fifteen years,” she sobbed. “I love him so much. I’ll die without him.”

“You won’t die,” Nadia said in a stronger voice, so her sister would hear her. She hadn’t died from losing Nicolas. Things happened in life. People died, broke promises or each other’s hearts, or ran off with someone else. She realized now that you couldn’t count on anything or anyone staying the same forever. And whatever happened, you had to get through it. Even more so if you had kids. You had to stay alive and keep on going for them. It was what she was doing now with Sylvie and Laure. She had to be okay for their sakes, no matter how broken she felt inside, or how hard it was.

“If he’s that religious, he’ll forgive you,” Nadia said. Though maybe not. She hadn’t forgiven Nicolas, and she wasn’t going back to him. But his sins were fresh, and he had humiliated her publicly. She thought that made a difference. What mattered to Harley was that his