His Other Wife Read Online Free Page A

physiological thing happening to me,”
     Hilary said. “Like my body required a certain number of tears every day just to sustain itself.”
    The diners beside them were clearing their table themselves, carrying their plates and baskets to the self-service tub. “It
     helps so much to hear it. Really.” Julie lowered her voice as a restaurant employee followed them and wiped the table with
     a rag. “It helps so much to know that I’m not the only one to go through this.”
    “It gets easier, Julie. It takes time, but, eventually, it does pass. You stop trying to second-guess yourself. You stop asking
     yourself what you could have done differently.”
    As the other women returned to the table, it was Julie’s turn to grip Hilary’s hands. “Thank you.”
    “Call me any time you want to talk.” Hilary scooted sideways to make room for Fay next to her. “And you’ll see. You’ll figure
     out who you are without him. You’ll wake up and realize one day that you aren’t thinking about your divorce all the time.”
    “You have no idea how much I need to hear this, Hilary.”
    “You’ll see yourself through God’s eyes. You’ll see how much you’re worth. How much you can do .”
    Yes, Hilary could speak with authority on this subject. This was exactly how it had happened for her. Somewhere along the
     way, after her pain had been replaced by anger, after her anger had ebbed into a dull sadness that had seemed to sap every
     ounce of strength from her body, she’d awakened one day and felt like someone had turned on the sun in the sky again.
    Because of Seth, her sleep had started to come easier. Mothering Seth had become good therapy for her. Maybe, in Eric’s eyes,
     she’d failed as a wife. But just let anyone try to accuse Hilary of not being a good mother! Now Seth stood six-foot-one and
     could bench-press 230 pounds. But he’d better know good and well that his mother still laid down the law around this place!
    It was time to let him go. Although Seth wouldn’t leave for Emhurst College until late August, Hilary had felt his presence
     fading from the house for months now, each milestone of his senior year at Jefferson — the SATs, the college acceptance letters,
     scholarship night, the senior prom — drawing him one more step away.
    While Hilary had been in her own thoughts, the subject at the table had shifted to husbands. “I was looking at Don across
     the table the other night,” Karen was saying, “and I kept thinking, What did we do together before we had kids? I honestly don’t remember.”
    “There’s that line in Failure to Launch ,” Fay said, “when Kathy Bates finally tells her son that she’s terrified of being left alone in the same house with her husband.
     I thought that was the best scene in the whole movie.”
    Well , Hilary thought. At least I don’t have that problem. Hilary caught herself eyeing her empty ring finger, the small indentation from her wedding band still visible despite the
     years she hadn’t worn it.
    When Fay glanced at her watch and announced she needed to get back to the office, Hilary knew she’d found her perfect exit.
     She needed to get back to her nursing duties; she had several new care plans to write up this afternoon. But as Hilary wadded
     up her napkin and gave Julie one more reassuring squeeze, her cell phone played its song inside her purse. The interruption
     sent her rummaging through the zippered pockets, trying to find her phone so she could silence it. She saw the flash of light
     to the left of her keys. Just as she reached to push the vibrate button, she saw the caller ID.
    Eric. Speaking of.
    Her breath caught in her throat.
    What on earth does he want?
    Hilary knew she ought to be able to ignore him, turn him off, pay no heed to his summons. But she was still programmed to
     answer to this man. Even after everything they’d been through over the years, after the way he’d hurt her, after all the promises