(Sybil’s POV) I didn’t see the point in staying with the others. Unlike the rest of them, I couldn’t care less about how Willa was doing. I snuck away when I was sure that nobody was looking.I decided instead to take advantage of the fact that I was at the hospital, and go visit my brother. Charlie was one of the few people who were always happy to see me. When I got to his room, I saw that he was asleep. I didn’t want to disturb him, so I tiptoed into the room as quietly as I could and sat down in the chair next to his bed. Just being close to him was enough to make me feel a bit better. While sitting there, I noticed how thin and frail he looked. He also sounded like he was having trouble breathing. I hated what his disease was doing to him. I couldn’t help it, and I started crying. I tried my best to not make a sound.Charlie opened his eyes and looked at me. “Hey there, princess. What are you doing here at this time of night?” He was slurring his words. With visible effort, he
(Sybil’s POV)Mr. Worthington smiled at me and Charlie, although I noticed that he and his wife both looked overwhelmed. “Hi, Sybil. We thought we might find you here.” He turned to Charlie. “How are you doing, Charlie?”“Oh, I’m as good as I could be right now,” Charlie replied.I stood and walked over to them. “How’s Willa?” I didn’t really care, but I just felt that it was polite to ask.“She’s fine,” Mrs. Worthington said, “and the baby seems to be healthy.” She and her husband glanced at each other, confusion evident on both of their faces.I felt so bad for both of them. They had to find out about their daughter’s engagement on the news, then they probably just now learned about her pregnancy by talking to the doctor. They both looked so bewildered, all because Willa had kept such important information from them. If they were my parents, I wouldn’t shut them out of my life. They would hear about every significant aspect of my life from me, nobody else. How could Willa do this t
(John’s POV)Sybil walked over to where I was standing in the doorway. She seemed annoyed to see me. Exchanging a brief glance with her brother, she led me out of the room and closed the door. Crossing her arms, she looked up at me. “What do you want?”“Is that any way to greet your husband?” I took her hand and tried to pull her in the direction of the elevator. “Come with me.”“Where are you taking me, to see Willa?” She dug her feet into the floor, refusing to move. “I still don’t understand why you wanted me to come here. You know that Willa and I don’t get along.”“We’re going home,” I said, struggling to get her to move. She had the nerve to roll her eyes at me! “Excuse me, but I was in the middle of a conversation with my brother. I’d like to go back to him. You can go home if you want to, unless Willa needs you to stay with her.” She pulled her hand away. “When I’m ready to leave, I’ll go back to my apartment.”I didn’t even have time to respond before she went back into the
(Sybil’s POV)After spending a few more minutes with Charlie, I could see that his eyelids were starting to droop. “You should get some rest,” I said. “I’ll get going now, so you can sleep.”He nodded, yawning. “It was great to see you, though, Sybil. You’ll come back soon, won’t you?”“Of course.” I fluffed his pillow and helped him get comfortable, kissing him on the forehead before I left.When I got out to the parking lot, I took out my phone and was just about to call an Uber, when I heard Alex call out my name.“Over here, Sybil!” Alex waved to me, standing next to his car. “Want a lift?”I smiled and walked over to him. “Have you been out here this whole time? You really didn’t have to wait for me.” I hadn’t seen him inside the hospital when we all arrived, but that was normal. He had even less reason to be there than I did.“Willa has outdone herself once again!” Alex shook his head in amazement as we got into the car. “Anything to get attention.”“Do you really think that her
(Sybil’s POV)I woke up the next morning with a searing headache, and my mouth felt like something had crawled into it and died. I was in a bed, but I couldn’t remember how I had ended up there. The last thing that I remembered was drinking and talking with Alex and Emma at Darcy’s. Everything after that was a blur. From the way I felt right now, I knew that I had had a lot to drink.I tried to sit up and get out of bed, but found that there was a man’s arm draped across my waist. I panicked, trying desperately to remember what had happened the night before. My eyes hadn’t adjusted yet to the sunlight shining in the window, and I didn’t know where I was, or who I was with. This was awful!Or was it? I could use this to my advantage, I suddenly realized. John was stubbornly refusing to divorce me, even though I was sure that he knew it was the best solution for both of us. But what if I gave him a specific reason? If I confessed to John that I had cheated on him, maybe he would finall
(Sybil’s POV)I knew that I shouldn’t let John kiss me. I tried to resist at first, but found it more difficult as the kiss went on. The feel of his lips on mine had always sent a chill running down my spine, and now was no exception. Logically, I knew that it was a bad idea. We shouldn’t be doing this, not now. It didn’t solve all of the problems between us. It just provided a temporary reprieve from them.I couldn’t help melting into his embrace, though, and kissing him in return. It was as though my body and my brain were no longer connected. He’d always had this effect over me. Most of the time, I would ultimately end up giving in to his demands, whether or not I was in the mood.Now that I thought about it, our marriage was mostly based on sex. Sure, we enjoyed each other’s company in other ways. We talked to each other about all sorts of things, just not anything too personal. We also had a similar taste in movies and television. Sometimes we just hung out together. We usually
(Sybil’s POV)John looked at me for a minute, probably trying to figure out if I was telling the truth. Then he turned to walk out of the bathroom. “I’m going to the hospital to see Willa,” he said. Finally, he was doing the right thing. He should have been with her the night before, not with me.I decided to stay in the bathroom for a few minutes, to give John the chance to get dressed and leave. While I was there, I thought that it would be a good idea to take a shower. I knew that it would help me feel better, both physically and mentally.After putting on some clothes, I went down to the dining room for breakfast. I didn’t really feel like eating, but I thought I should at least try. I hadn’t eaten anything for dinner the night before. I had only eaten some pretzels while I was at Darcy’s.My mother-in-law was already sitting at the table, staring at me as I walked in and sat down. “You look terrible,” she said, “but then again, it’s no wonder.” She clucked disapprovingly at me.I
(Sybil’s POV)“I know you told me everything already,” Emma said as she handed me a cup of strong, black coffee and sat down with me in the same booth we had been sitting in the night before, “but I just want to make sure I understand.”I gratefully took the coffee from her and started drinking it. I knew that it would help my hangover. “What did I tell you, exactly?”“You said that your husband’s ex, who is now his fiancée, is pregnant.” She leaned back in her seat and looked at me quizzically.“Ex-husband, once he agrees to get a divorce,” I corrected her, “but, yes, that’s exactly right.”She shook her head in bewilderment. “I don’t get what he’s trying to do. Doesn’t he see how much simpler it would be for him if you were divorced? Then he could marry… What did you say her name was, again?”“Willa,” I said, “the one and only Willa Worthington.”“Willa Worthington? The actress?” Emma gawked at me.“That’s the one.” I always forgot that most people just knew Willa as an actress. The