the wall. She couldn’t get further away if she tried. ‘Here are your earrings.’ She flung them at Jane’s feet. ‘Take them and go.’
The old Jane would’ve done exactly that. But if she wanted to make changes, she needed to start now, by regaining control after last night’s aberration.
‘I didn’t do it, Lou.’ She spoke so softly Louise inadvertently leaned forwards. ‘I didn’t sleep with Ed.’
‘You’re a bloody liar. He said so and you ruined my marriage—’
‘He’s the liar. I let you think it was me because I was so bloody jealous of your perfect marriage. Plus I still held a stupid grudge that you turned your back on our friendship after you got married and you didn’t ask me to be a bridesmaid—’
‘I had three kids under five and a useless cheating husband who was never around!’ Louise yelled. ‘What did you expect, for us to share spa days and long lunches?’ She shook her head. ‘Get over yourself.’
‘I was selfish and disillusioned, but I did not sleep with Ed.’
‘You’re lying,’ Louise said, her icy tone a match for her glare. ‘People said you screwed half the town back then and when you ran out of single guys, you came after my husband.’
Pain sliced through Jane’s resolve. Was this worth it? What would really change if Louise knew the truth? Then again, this was about her as much as her old friend and getting people to see the real Jane had to start somewhere.
‘There are a lot of assumptions about me that aren’t true. I swear I never touched your husband.’
‘Why wait until now to tell me? It doesn’t make sense.’ Doubt clouded Louise’s eyes, giving Jane a flicker of hope.
‘I’ve been in a bad place for a long time, but I’m done with self-sabotaging and regrets.’ She shrugged, like her plans for a new life meant little when in fact they terrified her—the enormity of what she faced in trying to regain respect from everyone, including herself, was difficult to contemplate. ‘Consider this my very own twelve-step redemption program.’
Her self-deprecating smile made some of the animosity in Louise’s wary gaze fade. Her shoulders slumped as she leaned against the wall. ‘Maybe I should embark on my own self-awareness program? Ed is a cheater and a liar and I keep him around because I’m petrified of being on my own. I don’t love him—I despise him—but if it’s tough financially now I can’t imagine what it’d be like with him gone.’
Jane’s heart ached for her friend. ‘I can’t tell you what to do, Lou, but if you’re considering giving him the boot, get some legal advice first and start consolidating your finances, stuff like that. Divorce is tough but for what it’s worth, you deserve so much better than Ed.’
Louise bit her bottom lip and nodded. ‘If you didn’t sleep with him, why did he tell me you did?’
‘Because he’s an arsehole.’
Her dry response earned a bark of laughter from Louise.
Jane hadn’t intended on telling Louise the whole truth but if it helped motivate her to kick Ed out, she’d do it. ‘He made a move on me. And I may have been in a bad place back then thanks to some stuff I was going through with my mum, but even I wouldn’t stoop so low as to get it on with your husband.’ She blew out a breath to ease the sudden tightness in her chest. ‘You meant a lot to me, Lou. We were best friends in high school and I would never hurt you that way.’
Louise sighed. ‘I think Ed might’ve always had the hots for you. He drove a wedge between us deliberately. He saw how close we were during the engagement and started implying you were into him, so I … backed away from you. That’s why I didn’t ask you to be a bridesmaid.’
‘Arsehole,’ she muttered again, adding, ‘Jealous dickhead,’ for good measure.
They laughed and, in that moment, Jane felt lighter than she had in years. Yeah, this confronting and confessing thing had a lot going for it.
When their laughter petered out, Jane said, ‘Do you think that maybe we could get together for a coffee some time?’
Louise hesitated. ‘Can I think about it? I’ve got a lot to do.’
Jane tried to mask her disappointment. Then again, what had she expected? She’d let Louise believe a lie for so long. ‘No worries.’
Louise slid a hand into her pocket and pulled out a mobile. ‘I do appreciate you telling me the truth. It’s