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‘And she is…?’ Justin probed, knowing it couldn’t be Rachel’s best friend, since she was overseas on her honeymoon Thank God

‘The real-estate agent who sold him the fancy unit which was supposed to be our marital home,’ she elaborated bitterly

‘I see And are they married now?’

‘No Living together, I presume from the conversation I overheard at the desk Either that or they just go away together on what he called weekend junkets associated with her job’

‘I see,’ Justin said again, trying to think of so to say to pacify her But he kne hard that hen your emotions were involved ‘Look, you don’t really knoas carrying on with this wo to conclusions’

‘No, I’ about theining the intimate little looks which used to pass between them, and the many excuses he made to meet up with her at the unit when I was busy at work Eric’s a top lawyer, you see, and can pretty well coo as he pleases’

‘OK So he’s a two-ti rat as well as a shmuck What does it matter now? You can’t possibly still be in love with hio was it?’

‘Four years, give or take a month’

‘See? Now, if you’d said a year hteen months…’ like in his case with Mandy ‘…then I’d understand why you’re so upset’

‘Love doesn’t stop simply because you want it to, Justin Even if I didn’t love Eric anyhim with another woman like that But I’nised led sob

Sympathy and e Her hurt was not solely because of this Eric’s fornised her physically

Justin understood that type of humiliation well and his heart went out to her

‘Maybe he wasn’t really looking at you,’ he tried excusing ‘Maybe he was off in another world’

‘I wish But no He bumped into me when he turned away frorabbed ht at h and there was not a hint of recognition She didn’t recognise h I can’t really blame her She didn’t know me all that well We only ed a lot But Eric should still have known me We were lovers, for pity’s sake!’

‘Did you say so to him? Call him by name?’