Luxury Model Wife by Adele Downs Read Free Book Online Page B

Now, more than ever, I respect him for that.”
    Beverly wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, but didn’t that take the shine off your own happiness? Didn’t you resent missing all the excitement and attention a new bride deserves?”
    Victoria blinked. “I’d never really thought of it that way.” Probably because, deep down, she never believed she deserved to marry a rich, powerful man. Maybe if they hadn’t been so secretive, the community would have been more accepting.
    She wished that part was true. They’d accused her of carrying on an affair with James long before Lydia died. Their marriage confirmed the unwarranted suspicions of her co-workers and his cronies.
    Spilled milk.
    She continued. “Once we were married, my other relationships fell apart. My friends at work were intimidated by my new circumstances and kept their distance, despite my efforts to keep them in my life. James’s friends suspected the worst and treated me like a pariah. The older wives hated me on sight. They were angry, too, that James had married outside his social circle. They took their anger out on me, since confronting James was unthinkable.”
    “That must have hurt,” Beverly replied. Her voice was gentle and, for once, she didn’t fidget.
    “I tried to pretend it didn’t, since I really had no other choice. The irony is that the women in James’s social pool would gladly have replaced Lydia with one of their own daughters, despite their alleged shock at our age difference. They would have married James themselves, given half the chance.”
    Victoria popped another bite of sandwich into her mouth and savored the textures on her tongue. She swallowed and took another sip of iced tea. “What they couldn’t forgive is that James loved me. And they sensed that I loved him, too. Deeply. I was no more than a common retail store clerk with a mongrel pedigree as far as they were concerned, but I had found both love and money. Being young didn’t help. I had more assets than they could tolerate.” Victoria shrugged her shoulders. “Heard enough?”
    Beverly rummaged through the takeout bag, pulled out the Cheetos then popped open the cellophane. “Not nearly. Go on. I love having my illusions about the one percent shattered. It’s good therapy for us plebeians.”
    Victoria laughed and then nibbled a cheese curl from the bag Beverly offered. It felt good to relax. Like a regular girl. Steve Carlson’s words echoed through her mind.
    “What the other wives failed to see when they snubbed me was that I had admired them. On the surface, they seemed interesting and accomplished. I wanted to be friends. But my age only reinforced the negative trophy wife stereotype and I was never accepted as part of the group.”
    Beverly tsk ed and her mouth tightened into a thin line. “Their stupid loss.”
    Victoria smiled at her new ally. “Except for James and his son, I was alone in my new life. But that was okay, I was used to being alone. Until James, I’d never been able to rely on anyone. Certainly not my parents.”
    Beverly opened a package of chocolate cupcakes, pulled one out, and began licking the icing off the top. She touched Victoria’s hand with her free one after taking a bite. “How did James die? Will you tell me?”
    Something in Victoria’s expression must have alarmed Beverly, because she then reached out to squeeze Victoria’s hand. “Forgive me,” she said. “I had no right to ask. I’m too nosy for my own good.”
    What Victoria didn’t say, and could never say, was that with each passing day James’s face became harder to recall. It was like her brain saw his features through a filter that grew increasingly dark. She wanted to keep remembering, but his image kept drifting further away. Emotionally, she was letting James go, and so she held tighter to his earthly belongings. She was healing, despite her best efforts to stay loyal to his memory. The worst of her mourning was done and that made her feel