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Jada looked at Ian to see if she could read what he thought of Sylvia’s confession A slight lowering of his eyelids and a barely-discernible shake of his head told her he wasn’t buying the story any more than she was
“What did you think when you sahat they did to ?” Jada asked “How they rakedshy of a Jezebel, and probably only left out that because they didn’t think of it”
Sylvia blinked, flinched
It was time to hit her where Jada hoped it would hurt “And what do you think about today, and the latest lies about amist, have you heard? It’s probably cost ers Glen forever because of this, even if my innocence is eventually revealed”
Sylvia’s lower lip quivered
Jada forged on with a final thrust “People will never look at me the way they once did Never They’ll only see the scandal, not the person And I may never be able to live that down My life will never be the same Because this happened”
Sylvia’s eyes slowly filled with real tears The tip of her nose turned red
Jada thought about what she’d said, about hoas true, and how painful it had been to say it out loud Her honesty radiated outward, reaching across the table and de Jada’s pain
Silence, but for a sniff from Sylvia Then another sniffle and another She blinked watery eyes, swiped her nose with the tissues still crumpled in her hand
Any second, Jada thought, willing herself into complete stillness To wait Wait until
Sylvia sobbed once, hiccuped, then burst into wholesale tears This time, when she buried her face in her hands, tears dripped between her fingers and splashed onto the tabletop
In between sobs, she repeated, “I’m sorry So sorry”
This time, Jada believed her She passed her all the tissues she had left “It’s okay It’s okay,” she repeated
It took a few minutes for the worst of Sylvia’s tears to subside Jada had to resist the urge to coave her a stern, approving nod, encouraging her to be strong, to stay firet the whole story
Sylvia’s wet face, her running nose and her bright red eyes, ainst her cheeks “Th-thanks for the tissues You’re so kind, and I’mI’m such a shit”
Jada straightened her back and her resolve while SylviaWhich was true, Jada told herself Sylvia had definitely done wrong
Ian brought Sylvia a glass of water, which she drank down quickly, thanking Ian profusely
“Are you okay?” Jada asked
Sylvia dabbed at the corners of her eyes “No But I’ll stop crying now Sorry I broke down like that I’ve been really stressed”
“I know the feeling,” Jada said drily
Sylvia’s thin shoulders sagged “And it’s all my fault I don’t knohat to say I’ I don’t knohy I did it Ito happen to me and my family when the truth comes out What I meant was that I don’t kno I convinced myself to do what the woet hurt Knohat I mean?”
Jada struggled to make sense of her jumbled sentences “I think so”
“I’ve been wishing so hard that I could go back in time, undo it all How could I do what I did? And how could I do that to you? There’s no way to ht You have to hate me, and I know Marina hates me, doesn’t she?”
“We don’t hate you”
“You should You don’t knohat I did All for h, but if I’d realizedit kills o away”
“Maybe not, Sylvia, but that doesn’tyou can do to help”
“I’ll do anything you want It’s only right and I need to do the right thing now” Sylvia looked down at the scratched formica tabletop She was li, evenyou know”
On their way to the motel, Ian had helped Jada build a brick wall inside herself as self-defense against Sylvia playing on her sympathies It had protected her well, until now When Jada heard the desperation and fear in Sylvia’s voice, the wall cru, too
“I’ like that, Sylvia,” she said “I wouldn’t do that”
Ian scowled at Jada and she ignored hiainst the plan He’d made it clear that they shouldSylvia to the authorities as ashe knew
Now Jada had removed that threat And she didn’t care that Ian wasn’t happy about it She had to go with her gut, and her gut was telling her to relieve Sylvia’s fears, not as a ploy, but as a simple act of compassion