“Michelle was in Paris! Have you been to Paris, Blaire?” Anya asks me, answering my question like she has just read my mind.
Well, Michelle looks like a person who would fit in perfectly well in Paris. Maybe she has been there for several months, and that is why I haven’t seen her around. And while the cat is away…
I feel a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach. I have been made a fool of all over again. How did I let this happen?
“No, I’ve never been to Paris, but I’m sure it’s beautiful,” I manage to croak the words out even though I feel like I’m going to fall. I know I’m deathly pale all of a sudden.
“We should let the nice lady get on with her day, sweetheart. Daddy has to go to work too,” Michelle interjects with a sweet smile. “I’m taking Anya to school today.”
I can’t manage a response. I can’t get the words out.
Michelle reaches for Anya, who holds her hand. I am suffocated. I can’t watch them together. Anya being so happy and excited to be around this woman almost feels like a much bigger betrayal than seeing her with Trevor is.
Anya waves goodbye, and I manage that somehow. Michelle takes her down to the elevator while Trevor waits a few beats.
I stare up at him with a heaving chest.
“I don’t want to hear your excuse for last night, for whatever emergency you’re going to make up,” I hiss at him. “But please don’t use me like that again. Find a different goddamned babysitter the next time.”
I don’t wait to hear what he has to say. Instead, I step back into my apartment and slam the door shut.
My friends are pottering around my apartment, making coffee and breakfast. They all look at me when I walk in.
“Forgot something?” Maria asks as I storm past them to my bedroom.
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I left my dignity back here somewhere,” I reply and lock them out of my room.
I can’t do it. I can’t face the world today. I just want to get back into my bed and go to sleep.
One of them called Kim when I refused to respond to their incessant knocking on my bedroom door.
I’ve just been lying in bed since. Kim finally shows up, and I hear her calling for me through the door. At first, I ignore her, but eventually, I give in. I can’t keep her locked out forever, and she’s not going to give up. She’s probably going to get the building security to come up eventually and break down this door.
I’m still in the clothes I had changed into for work. I’m pretty sure my hair is a mess and my makeup is totally smudged. I’m a disaster all-around.
“The others have left. It’s just you and me. Can I come in?” Kim speaks.
I say nothing but return to my bed. She looks around my room for a moment, trying to soak in the state of things. Then she comes up closer to me and sits on the edge of the bed.
“Do you want to tell me what happened, Blaire?”
“I have the proof I needed. The proof that I am an absolute idiot. I will probably never be happy.”
“Is this about Trevor?”
“Do you know he has a girlfriend? Like an actual, serious girlfriend, and the fact of the matter is she’s great! I met her. She’s beautiful and smart, and seems to have a great relationship with his daughter too.”
I buried my face in my pillow so my voice is coming out all muffled. I can feel Kim’s hand on my shoulder.
“I’m so sorry, Blaire. Some men are assholes, but not all of them are.”
“Well, then I sure know how to pick them out of a crowd.”
“You’ve been unlucky, but that doesn’t mean you will never find happiness.”
“And it’s not only the girlfriend. He’s been seeing his assistant too.”
“What are you talking about?”
“He took his assistant to the museum with Anya. It sounded like a pretty cozy date. Anya couldn’t stop talking about how much fun they had.”
When I don’t hear Kim speak, I look up at her. Her brows are furrowed; she looks suspicious.
“Is this the assistant who bitched to you about him?”
I nod.
“And after she warned you, she’s gone on a date with him?”
I roll my eyes. “That’s what it sounded like. I spoke to her briefly about it; she made it seem like she didn’t know what to do. He is her boss and she