A Cold Wife, Sweet Husband

I'm not sure what his father's plan was and Harrison said it was best if I stayed out of it. I know you think Harrison isn't a good person, but I believe in him. I think when push comes to shove, he makes the right decisions.

Jessica wondered if that was true or not. She wanted to believe that Harrison was a decent person underneath it all for Julie's sake, but it was hard to accept that notion when her father was forced out of town because of the Grants. Julie studied her.

You think he's as bad as his father, don't you? She wanted to tell her friend no. She tried to form the word in her mouth but it wouldn't come out. I see.

Julie, I hope you're right. It was the best she could offer her friend. He wasn't responsible for what happened to your father. Then who could it have been? Her friend hesitated to answer but finally did.

Did you ever stop to consider that your father may have made some bad decisions that led to his bankruptcy? Her face flushed in anger at the assumption. No. He was always careful in his work. Besides, how do you explain Mr. Rivers and Mr. Dean? I can't but I know Harrison.

Do you know him well enough? Who told you that Harrison is behind all those bankruptcies? It makes perfect sense. Why else would Harrison feign interest in me if he wasn't trying to take my father out of the competition?

He and his father are building a monopoly in town. When they're done, how many people will have lost their homes and fortunes because of their greed? The words were out before Jessica had time to debate whether or not saying them was a good idea. It wasn't.

Julie was married to Harrison and would be loyal to him. I think I'll go see Veronica now, Julie softly said. Jessica closed her eyes as her friend left the bathroom. She steadied her emotions before she went to her temporary room to check the clock. It wasn't even eleven and the day was already proving to be a disaster.

When she went downstairs, the maid informed her that she would not clean up the mess that Jessica created when she tripped over the cat. I have enough to take care of with the ungodly bunch of animals living here. I don't need you to add to my workload.

Then she shoved the broom and other cleaning supplies at her and motioned to the broken lamp, a white rug with drops of blood in it and the bird poop on the walls.

Birds are messy but I didn't bother them this time so I won't clean that stuff up either. Realizing that Veronica no longer wished for her company, Jessica mutely nodded and went to work. An hour later, she was done and looked for Veronica, but the maid informed her that the woman had taken Julie shopping in town.

What am I supposed to do until my husband returns? Jessica asked her, bewildered and hurt that Veronica would leave her like this. I don't know and I don't care. I have animals to bathe before her majesty returns, the maid bitterly replied.

Deciding that sitting in her room was probably the safest bet so she could stay out of trouble, she went back there. She began reading her book but as the hours passed, she grew more and more restless.

She was tempted to leave the room but didn't dare. When two o'clock came and went, she became aware of the growing sense of foreboding in the pit of her stomach. An hour later, she was even more hurt and angry than she had been with any of the events that occurred earlier that day. At four, she was fuming.

She knew that Leo's work was important, but it didn't dawn on her until that very moment that he preferred his work to her. It seemed that he was always running off from one business meeting to another, and she was left to sit around and wait for him to return.

At five, she was fighting back tears of rejection and fighting the urge to take all of Leo's things and throw them out the window. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She grabbed her suitcase and left the house.

Veronica and Julie were still gone, so no one cared or noticed that she left. She paid the stagecoach driver to take her to the train station. She boarded the train and went back home. If Leo was smart, he'd leave her alone for the rest of the weekend!