Imogene Scott I haven’t heard from Rita in five days. I don’t expect to hear from her but it’s a shame our relationship had to end like that. Of course, I’m never going back to Kennaway, or taking the chairwoman position because I can’t be around people who don’t actually trust me.As for Diane, I’m almost done gathering evidence that she stole my work. I’m having my engineer retrieve the work materials from my junk files since I placed them all on that USB I gave to Diane.While waiting on that, Keith and I have been planning a demo event for our virtual reality gallery. It’s just a little workshop we have to do before the convention starts. We’re planning on doing little test runs on the gadgets, where attendees can wear VR headsets and step into a virtual gallery of artworks. It’s happening next week. So, we’ve already invited a few people for the test run but I do plan on inviting Elinor so she can see the work we do. I mean, the work Keith and I do, because Damien only j
Imogene Scott I press my thumb to my temples as I try to wrap my head around the whole thing. Damien and Diane? Could any if it be real? Well, it only made sense that he would go for the better woman. But so soon? Only a few weeks ago, he was telling me how much he wanted Lily and I, but now he’s seeing someone else. And it had to be Diane Johnson of all women?This is a cosmic joke. I try to ignore the slight ache in my chest. I take deep breaths and rise to my feet. So what if Damien and Diane are together? It’s not like we were ever going to get back together anyways. I hear the door bell ring and I walk out of my room, and across the living room to answer it. The hi-res security panel next to the door shows the person on the other side. My breath catches in my throat. Damien. Why’s he here?“Imogene can you please let me in? I can explain.” comes his voice from the other side.I blink quickly, trying to clear the fog in my mind. Explain what? He’s the last person I want t
Imogene Scott Laguna Villa. It’s owned by Damien and I haven’t been there in years. Not since our fourth wedding anniversary when I forced Damien to celebrate it with me. Forced him. Thinking about it now, I had always forced him to do everything during our marriage. Forced him to come home. Forced him to have dinner with me. Forced him to stay. From the start, Damien had been selfish. So self-absorbed that it was as if I had to beg for scraps of his attention. Gathering my thoughts, I realize that deep down, I’m not surprised that Damien and Diane might be at Laguna Villa together. I should’ve seen this coming. There’s no shock, no sense of betrayal, just an overwhelming numbness that wraps around my heart like a vice. Either way, I grab my car keys and place Lily on my waist before walking out of my apartment. I can’t leave Lily on her own and I sure as hell can’t call Breonna because it’s almost 8pm.When I get to the parking lot, I place Lily in her strapped chair in the ba
Imogene Scott As soon as we’re alone, I meet her gaze. She looks so confident, so sure of herself, and it only fuels the fire inside me. I refuse to let her win.“What do you want, Imogene?” she asks, her voice dripping with false sweetness. “You’re interrupting our lovely dinner.”I suppress the urge to roll my eyes and instead smile. “Oh, I’m not here to ruin your evening. I’m just here to see you.”Her eyes narrow slightly. “Me? Well, aren’t I lucky.”I take a deep breath, trying to keep my voice steady. “I have evidence now, Diane.”She laughs, actually laughs, as if what I said was a joke. “Oh, Imogene, is that what this is about? The campaign?”“You know it is,” I say sharply, but still keep my tone calm. “You took my design, passed it off as your own. You know it was mine.”Diane tilts her head, studying me with that same smug expression. “And what makes you think anyone’s going to believe that?”“Because we both know the truth, don’t we?”She sighs dramatically. “Loo
Damien ShawI had no idea things were going to go with with Diane. After Imogene refused to listen to what I had to say last night so I figured I had to get things over with Diane. That’s why I invited her right to dinner tonight to get the truth out of her.But Imogene showed up. It all kind of went well, at least until Diane spiraled and almost killed me. My arm stings due to the cut as I stand my Imogene’s car, waiting for her.Imogene soon returns with a first aid kit, her face set in determined lines. She doesn’t waste any time; she’s focused, her movements precise as she sets up the supplies on her car. The cool night air feels sharper now, and the gentle rustle of leaves is the only sound that punctuates the tension between us.As she begins to clean the wound, I watch her carefully. Her fingers are steady as she applies antiseptic, the scent of alcohol mixing with the crisp, night air. Despite the pain, there’s something oddly soothing about her presence. It’s strange, cons
Imogene Scott I’d kissed my ex-husband.I’d kissed my ex-husband and liked it.What the hell is wrong with me?I bury my face in my pillow with a groan. My alarm clock has gone off three times already, but I can’t bring myself to get out of bed. Getting out of bed means facing the aftermath of my choices again, and I’m content to stay in my bubble of delusion.Sadly, the universe doesn’t agree. Less than a minute after I settle on the decision to loiter beneath the covers all morning like I did yesterday, my phone rings. I ignore it. It rings again.Another groan travels up my throat. I almost wish cellphones didn’t exist, then I wouldn’t have to talk to anyone at—I peek at the digital alarm clock—eight fifteen on a Monday morning.I press answer and put the caller on speakerphone without lifting my head or checking their identity. “Hello?”“Good morning!” Elinor chirps. “Where are you?”“Home.” The pillow muffles my response. My kiss with Damien had lasted both too long and not
Imogene Scott“Hii. I’m sorry.” I finally say as I stop in front of Keith.His expression is ragged and it somehow scares me. He takes a deep breath and doesn’t say a word for a few seconds. When he finally does, his voice comes out condescending.“Sorry? We’ve been planning this VR workshop for days and you suddenly just backed out?”“I was caught up…”“In something personal.” he finishes for me, scoffing hard. “That’s the thing, every one of you just upends our work anytime something personal happens. Y’all don’t get to abandon this project just because you feel out of place. I also feel out of place, every damn time, but you don’t see it affecting this project. Be fucking considerate for once.”I flinch. Flinch at the agression. Flinch at the venom in his words. I’ve never seen Keith so pissed. I’ve really fucked this up.“I-I,” I stutter, barely above a whisper. Lifting my eyes, I see the incredulous look on his face. “I’m really sorry.”He laughs, but the laugh holds no humor.
Imogene Scott I’m not sure my mind was able to register Fiona’s sob story. How Damien left her after I left town. And how she found out she was pregnant but never told him because he seemed to have lost all interest in her after he lost me.No matter how much she tries to explain like she’s doing right now, it still doesn’t add up. But it doesn’t stop the ache in my chest either. The thought that this might actually be true, scares me. Fiona had Damien’s child?“Here.” Fiona says, as she pulls a piece of paper out of her purse, then slides it across the table. “Take a look.”With shaky hands, I grab it and stare at it for a moment. It’s a paternity test and it says Larry’s matches Damien’s. My blood runs cold and I raise my head to meet Fiona’s gaze. To see if I can find any sign of deceit, any little sign that all this is made up.But there’s none. The last part of my heart breaks and I clutch the paper tightly to stop the pain from ripping through my guts. It’s true. It’s really