Escape from Mr. Whitman (Emma and Theodore) novel Chapter 351

Theodore’s face had gone ashen. “I didn’t—I never did anything with Cici, I swear—”

He cut himself off mid-sentence, the truth hitting him hard. He didn’t have the right to deny it anymore.

But Cathie was just getting started, oblivious to the shift in his expression, charging ahead with her tirade. “Why should I care whether you and Cecilia slept together or not? That’s not my problem. I only care about Hanley. But Theodore, this has nothing to do with whether you two ended up in bed.”

Hanley, desperate now, kept glancing around, mortified that Cathie tossed the word “slept together” around so freely, and in the middle of the office, no less. Not caring about propriety, he lunged forward and clapped his hand over her mouth.

“Let her finish!” Theodore snapped, looking even more miserable. He wanted to hear just what Cathie would say next—maybe it was what he deserved.

“Fine, I’ll say it!” Cathie shoved Hanley’s hand away and raised her voice. “Theodore, you’re a jerk. The worst kind! You lap up all of Emma’s love while keeping this little thing going with Cecilia under the guise of ‘just being friends.’ Go look at Cecilia’s posts online—what kind of ‘friends’ sleep in the same bed together, stripped down?”

“Babe, it’s not what you think, that was all staged for photos, I was there too—”

A loud smack rang out as Cathie slapped Hanley across the face. “So you were there too? Well, thanks for confessing! We’ll deal with you when we get home, you worthless man!”

Then she turned her fire back on Theodore. “What kind of ‘friend’ buys a woman a house, a designer bag, or luxury jewelry? Why not buy Hanley a bag while you’re at it? What kind of ‘friend’ goes on island vacations and books a single hotel room for two? Oh wait, Hanley’s had that privilege too, but tell me honestly, Theodore—when you shared a room with Hanley, was your mind as pure as when you were with Cecilia?”

Hanley couldn’t help but laugh at that. Pure as when you’re with Cecilia? His wife’s mouth was something else.

But honestly, even he didn’t believe Theodore and Cecilia ever kept things “pure” when they were alone together.

“What are you laughing at?” Cathie rounded on him. “Theodore doesn’t have a brain—his head’s full of mush. But you? You think you’re some prize? Your head’s full of sawdust!”

“Babe, can you save the lecture for home? Please?” Hanley was practically begging. Cathie’s reputation was legendary around the office—everyone knew he had a firebrand for a wife.

“Let me finish!” Cathie huffed. She hadn’t meant to let it all out, but now that she’d started, she wasn’t about to stop until she’d said her piece. She fixed Theodore with a glare. “With your filthy little secrets, why don’t you dig deep—if you even have a conscience—and ask yourself: didn’t your heart skip a beat every time you got flirty with Cecilia? Didn’t you feel like a teenager again? Admit it! You’re way too old for this, but suddenly you’re acting like you found true love, and your life’s filled with excitement again. And for what? Emotional cheating—let’s call it hypothetical emotional cheating. Whether it’s in your head or your body, cheating is cheating! And yet you insist you’re just friends. Theodore, if you could just admit you were unfaithful, I’d almost respect you for at least having the guts. But you cheat and still pretend you’re some noble soul. You know what that makes you? A dirtbag. No, wait—make that a total loser!”

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