I wanted to see her eyes. So, I waited until Jake drove off. Then I stepped out of the cab and headed straight for that house with the green shutters. Alex couldn’t have been older than thirty. Blonde hair falling around her shoulders, an oversized sweater slipping off one side. She blinked at me, confused. “Yes? Can I help you?” I took a breath that scraped my ribs raw. “I think you can. I’m Jake’s wife.” For a second, she just stared. Her mouth dropped open, then snapped shut again. “His… wife?” “That’s right. Martha. The woman who’s paying the bills. The one he’s building his
dream farm with.” She let out a half-laugh, half-scoff, but there was nothing funny in her eyes. She swung the door wider. “Get inside. We’re not doing this on the porch.” I stepped in. I could see her hands trembling. “Why are you here? To call me a witch? Tell me to stay away?” I almost
laughed. God, what a mess we’d let him make. “Who are you to my husband? Why did he come here instead of going to the business meeting?” Alex’s eyes darted away, but she lifted her chin. “I’m the woman he’s going to marry. After he leaves you.” “Marry you? He told you that?” “Yes. He said you’re impossible to live with. Controlling. And I… I’ll give him everything to help.” “Money?” “Yes. He said he needed it for lawyers. To pay off the divorce settlement. And alimony for your kid.”
I stared at her. “I sold my parents’ lake house so he could start a business. I was on my way to the bank this morning to give him every last penny I had.”
“You didn’t?”
“No, Alex. But I almost did. Until I picked up his phone by mistake. Heard your sweet little voice.”
She stared at me like she was seeing her own face cracked in a dirty mirror.
“I sold my shares in my father’s company for him. He said we’d get a new place together, far from here. He swore he was done with you.”
“Then why did he hide you? Why lie to me that this was all for us?”
Alex looked up, her mascara smudged at the corners. “So what do we do now?”
“If we let him think he still has us both, he’ll walk straight into his own trap.”
Alex wiped her cheek with the back of her hand. “And then?”
“Then we take back what’s ours.”
She finally smiled. “Tell me everything.”
I told Jake I’d wired all the money straight into his account — and smiled like the trusting wife he always counted on.
“It’ll go through in three days.”
Alex played her part too. She told my husband she’d have the rest of the money ready for him, just like he wanted. They arranged their little date at a restaurant.
We’d already agreed — I’d be there too. Hidden in plain sight.
I got there early, before either of them, and slipped into a seat just one table behind.
I wore an old coat I’d borrowed from Alex’s closet and a cheap blonde wig I’d picked up that afternoon. It scratched my scalp under my scarf. But I didn’t care. From there, all I needed to do was listen.
Three days, Jake. You really thought you’d get both of us to pay you before you disappeared?
Ten minutes later, the game began.
“Hey, beautiful,” Jake said, leaning across the table to kiss Alex’s cheek. “Sorry, I’m late. You look… incredible.”
Of course she does, I thought. She’s the latest investor in your fantasy.
Alex didn’t smile back the way she used to. “I wanted to talk about the money again.”
Jake frowned. “Again? Alex, we’ve been over this.”
“Yeah, but I want to be sure. Why do you need so much, Jake? Where does it go?”
I could hear the forced patience in his voice. “It’s all for us, baby. You know that. I have to keep Martha off my back. The lawyers cost a fortune. She wants to bleed me dry in the divorce.”
I bit back a laugh.
Losing my mind? You have no idea how calm I am, Jake. Calm enough to burn you to the ground.
Alex tapped her nails on her glass.
“So you’re really leaving her?”
Jake let out an annoyed sigh. “Of course I am. I need you to trust me, Alex. I’m doing this for us.”
Alex dropped her napkin to the floor. OUR SIGNAL.
I stood up slowly and stepped up behind Jake.
“Hi, honey,” I said sweetly, ripping the wig off my head and dropping it on the table. “Looks like your big deal is almost closed, huh?”
Jake’s face drained of color.
“Martha? What the hell…”
Alex smirked. “Surprise, Jake. Looks like your wife and your girlfriend finally agree on something.”
Jake tried to laugh, but it came out wrong. “You were both ready to give me your money. Who’s the fool here?”
Alex raised her brows. “Oh, you’re not getting a dime from me now. Not after this.”
“Fine. Don’t. But Martha already wired me everything anyway. You should learn from her. Loyal to the end.”
I leaned down to my husband. “No, Jake. I didn’t send you a damn cent. One call from Alex saved me. Remember when you left your phone at home? Next time, be more careful when you’re playing two women at once.”
Jake’s mouth opened, then closed. I stood back, yanked one dollar from my purse, and tossed it on the table.
“Enjoy the dinner, sweetheart. I’ll pay what you deserve.”
Alex grabbed her coat. “We’re gonna get pizza. Real food — cheap and honest.”
I watched Jake sputter behind us as we walked away — the two of us laughing.
Outside, Alex nudged me with her shoulder.
“So. You ever think we’d end up here?”
“Not once. But I’ll tell you what — you ever need a partner in crime again, call me.”
She threw her head back and laughed. “Deal. But first — extra cheese?”
“Extra cheese. And maybe, extra drink.”
We walked down the street together — two women who’d given too much, and finally took something back.
