It was a low, dark sound that scraped against my nerves. He stepped closer, kicking the ring off the table. It skittered across the floor, lost in the shadows.
"Divorce?" he repeated, his voice dangerously soft. "You think I would let you go that easily?"
I frowned, my heart hammering against my ribs. "Why not? You just said I’m useless. I can’t give you an heir. I’m damaged goods. Why would you want to keep me?"
"So you can run to him?" George sneered, his face twisting into a mask of ugly jealousy.
I blinked, the room spinning slightly. "Him? Who are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb, Eliza!" he roared, the smell of scotch on his breath making me gag. "Do you think I wouldn't find out? Do you think I’m that stupid?"
"I don't know what—"
"I know you cheated on me!"
The accusation hung in the air like a guillotine blade.
"Cheated?" I whispered, my voice trembling. "I never… I have never looked at another man since the day I met you."
"Liar!"
He marched to the dresser and snatched up a thick envelope. He threw it at me. It struck my chest, the corners sharp, before spilling its contents onto the bed.
Photographs. Grainy, blurry photos of me. Me having coffee. Me walking out of a building. And in every single one of them, a man was nearby. A tall, indistinct figure with his back turned or his face obscured by shadows.
I stared at the images, my mind racing.
"Who is he?" George demanded, looming over me. "Tell me his name!"
I picked up a photo, my hands shaking. "I… I don't know."
"Don't lie to me!"
"I'm not lying!" I cried, looking closer at the stranger in the picture. "I’ve never seen this man in my life, George! He’s just… he’s just some random person walking by! I don't know who he is!"
"You expect me to believe that?" George scoffed. "You expect me to believe you don't know the man you were sleeping with? The man who fathered that bastard?"
"The baby?" My breath hitched. "Do you really expect me to believe that child wasn't yours?"
"Of course it wasn't mine!" George yelled. "If it weren't for Donna, I would be raising another man's mistake right now!"
"Donna?"
The name was a slap in the face.
"She saw the texts, Eliza. She saw the way you sneaked around. She hired the investigator because she couldn't stand seeing her sister make a fool of me."