Page 46 of The Wrong Husband

"I didn't even know it was going on until this morning, okay? And now that I know I will have a talk with the team. What do you want me to do about this resignation?"

"I'll let you know after I talk to her."

Pablo raised an eyebrow. "She resigned without telling you about it?"

"Looks like it." It wasn't a good look but there was no way to spin this. I left her all alone and hadn't checked-in with her in one…no two weeks, since I gave her the gold chain with the rings.

"Thanks, Pablo. I expect you to give me a report on how you've handled this case of bullying. I want an investigation and I want some heads to roll."

"Understood."

I called Emilia as soon as Pablo left my office and got her voicemail. I left her a message, asking her to call me back.

I had meetings all day back-to-back, so it wasn't until the late afternoon that I noticed Emilia had not gotten back to me. No calls, no text messages.

I tried again and I got her voicemail, again.

I called Liza. "Hey, is Emilia at home?"

Liza was silent.

"Liza?"

"She moved out, Damian."

"What? When?"

She told me. She left a week ago. A whole fucking week and I hadn't known.

"Why didn't you tell me, damn it?"

"Because she asked me not to," Liza snapped back, "She wanted to see how long it would take for you to notice she wasn't living in your apartment."

Liza never raised her voice at me. She'd been with me for eight years and not once had she ever said anything to me that was harsh. The fact that she was this pissed, spoke volumes about the magnitude of my fuck up.

"She went to her place?"

"Yes."

"How…how was she?"

I could hear her teeth clench, her silent irritation was loud. "Sad, Damian. She was sad that she was all alone. She didn't feel safe. This wasn't her space and…I don't think she was happy at work. I overheard her talking to her friend about how people were rude to her. And Mrs. Archer apparently ignored her whenever she saw her. What is going on? She's a sweet girl, Damian, she doesn't deserve this."

No, she doesn't. She's paying for my fuck up. I took advantage of her feelings for me and now her life is upside-down.

After all that I had done, I hadn't even had the decency to help her through it. I'd run away as I always did when things got uncomfortable. I didn't like conflict in my life. It was what I did with Bianca. Instead of forcing her to explain herself about Stanton, I went and seduced her sister. Instead of telling my parents about Bianca's betrayal, I had thrown Emilia under the bus.

"And, she knows you have Sunday lunch at the Archer house, and she's not invited. How do you think that makes her feel, Damian?"

I closed my eyes. Of course, she knew. The Winters had been attending those lunches since Bianca and I started dating three years ago. They were still joining us, which was why I didn't invite Emilia. I didn't want to create any unpleasantness.

I didn't think Emilia would care…no, that's not true, I didn't think Emilia even knew about them, so it seemed easier to keep the status quo. Go along to get along with my family. I was okay picking a fight when it came to professional matters but when it came to my family, I wanted, no needed to keep things smooth.

My getting married to Emilia was the first time I'd done something that had twisted my parents and brothers up.

"It broke my heart to see her so crushed. I expected better from you. I've seen how you treated Bianca. You were nice to her. Romantic. Kind. With Emilia? You were cold. Why did you marry her if you don't like her?"

Liza was on a roll.