Page 96 of Havoc's Fox

“His wife?!” Analise exclaimed.

“Yep. Seems that all his commiserating about recovering from a broken heart and how I saved him after his wife walked out and left him were pure bullshit. He was happily married all along. Not deserted, not divorced, not single.”

“I want to kick his ass,” Analise said.

“Same. But it just destroyed me. I can’t believe I was so gullible, that I was so easily manipulated.”

“You’re an innocent soul. You put trust in people and it never occurs to you that they won’t be deserving of it.”

“When I did realize it, I came home and have been licking my wounds ever since as I hideaway.”

“You shouldn’t hide. He should.”

“His wife is near psychotic. It’s her I hide from. The social joke she made me out to be. She made my life miserable on campus. Walking into classrooms that had nothing to do with her husband and shouting at me across the classrooms. She called me whore and accused me of destroying her marriage. Then she’d change tactic and follow me across campus screaming and begging me to stay away from her husband because she just wasn’t strong enough to keep him if I didn’t walk away. Thing is, as soon as I found out about her. As soon as I found out he wasn’t mine, that he wasn’t in a committed relationship with me like I thought we were, I did call it off. I broke it off immediately and went to my advisors and had them transfer me to another professor’s section.”

“Didn’t they do anything about his wife?”

“They forbid her from coming onto campus, they fired him, and suggested I get a restraining order. Which I didn’t follow through on.”

“Why not?”

“Because then all my information would be public knowledge. And legally, I wasn’t a minor so I should have known better. And it’s his word against mine. He claims he told me he was married, but he didn’t. What he told me was that he’d been married once, but she’d deserted him after taking him for all he was worth. He said he’d never found anyone else he even thought he could trust, until me. His statement to the university was that I was equally responsible for any improprieties that took place as I entered into the arrangement knowingly. He blatantly lied; to them, and to me.”

“Did you not scent his lies?” Analise asked.

“No. I wasn’t there when he spoke to them. And all I can figure from his words to me is that maybe some of his words were true to an extent. Maybe he never had found anyone he felt he could completely trust until me. And the truths were just enough to confuse the scent of the lie that he wasn’t married. Or maybe he’s a pathological liar who believes his lies as he speaks them. Doesn’t matter now. I won’t go back now because the few times I tried to finish my classes, his wife always managed to show up at some point. Obviously, I’m the other woman, but I swear I had no clue. I didn’t know. Had I known I’d have never, never even tolerated his flirtatiousness. But now everyone thinks I’m this horrible person. All I did was fall in love. All I did was get caught up in the romance. I had no idea there were so many lies being fed to me.”

“I’m so sorry, Daisy. That’s horrible. Anyone who knows you knows that’s not who you are.”

“Everyone else in the world thinks it’s who I am. It’s humiliating. I just don’t know how to restart myself, you know?”

“I do know.”

“I was almost finished with my graduate program, my degree just right there. And because of the lies this man told me, and me being so gullible, it’s ruined now. I don’t want any part of it anymore. I will never go back there to finish it. It’s just left a stain on all of it.”

“Well, have you considered something else you might be able to do with your degree?”

“Not really. I just left the house for the first time a couple of weeks ago. I was just so embarrassed and afraid that she’d turn up somewhere screaming at me and hurling insults again.”

“What about working with kids? Maybe in one of the schools here? You could work with the littles or you could work in the high school, or you could even open your own art studio and teach kids that sign up for your classes. I think that might be better because instead of having to weed through the kids who just blow off art and goof off through the classes, you’d get the ones whose parents are paying for classes which means they really love art. And you could control who comes into your studio and up here, you’re two hours from New Orleans. And if she tries to come all the way up here, all it takes is a phone call and within minutes Uncle Vince would be there since he lives in town. She comes up here, she may not make it home, ever.”

“And I’d feel bad about that.”

“Why? She sounds crazy!”

“What would you do if it were your husband who was having the affair?”

Analise’s face went slack and she blinked a few times, pulling her gaze from Daisy’s.

“Oh, Analise! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s okay. He wasn’t my husband. And it was a long, long time ago. I’m trying to let go. But I see your point. Still, it’s no reason to let it stop your plans for your future. You didn’t know anymore than she did what he was doing.”

“You’ve given me some things to think about. There are options.”

“And maybe under the circumstances, the dean might allow you finish your work online and submit for your masters.”

“Maybe.”