Flawfully Wedded Wives Read Free

“No more Internet porn for you.”
    â€œMust you keep bringing that up?” questioned Angel, a little testy. “Mind you, my brief foray into porn also occurred during the time I was competing with my fiancé’s dead wife for his love and attention. It was my coping mechanism.”
    â€œ Coping mechanism? ” repeated Sullivan with skepticism.
    â€œYes, the same way downing bottles of tequila used to be your coping mechanism,” blabbed Angel. “We all have our vices. Mine just happened to be naked and online. These days, I only use the Internet for what it was created for—shopping . ”
    Reginell sifted through Sullivan’s assortment of gourmet cookies. “We’ve all made changes in the right direction except you, Lawson.”
    â€œWhat have I done?” balked Lawson, grabbing a smoked salmon finger sandwich.
    â€œIt’s what you haven’t done,” Angel informed her. “You still haven’t forgiven your husband.”
    Lawson averted eye contact. “I forgave Garrett for his affair with Simone a long time ago.”
    Angel softened her tone. “Yeah, you’ve said the words, but what counts is what’s in your heart. If you have truly forgiven him in your heart, you wouldn’t be still punishing him and little Simon.”
    Despite the effort Lawson and her husband had made to move past his one-night stand with his construction company’s interior designer, Simone, the evidence still lingered in the form of his four-month-old love child, Simon.
    â€œLike Garrett, I’m guilty of screwing up every now and then,” conceded Sullivan.
    â€œMore like ‘screwing around,’” Reginell said, butting in.
    Sullivan went on, ignoring Reginell’s dig at her. “All I’m saying is that we’ve all come short of God’s standards, and it’s not as if you’re blameless in all this, Lawson. Garrett never would’ve stepped out on you if you hadn’t lied to him for months, secretly taking birth control pills while knowing that he wanted a baby.”
    Reginell added, “Not to mention how crazy you got after Mark and I started dating.”
    â€œReggie, we all looked at you a little sideways about that one,” divulged Angel. “After all, Mark is Namon’s father and the man your sister lost her virginity to.”
    â€œThat’s not the point!” Reginell swept her braids off of her shoulders. “Lawson, the point is that you made Garrett feel disrespected and unloved. You shut him out.”
    For once, Sullivan sided with Reginell. “Between your lies and your neglect, you did everything except gift wrap Simone’s panties for him, Lawson.”
    â€œWhatever.” Lawson put down her plate, having now lost her appetite. “I’ve owned up to my mistakes, but no one, not even Garrett, can expect me to warm up to the one thing that’s a living, breathing constant reminder of my husband cheating on me.”
    â€œSimon is not a thing, Lawson!” blurted out Reginell. “He’s Garrett’s son and your stepson—”
    Lawson held up her hands to cut her sister off. “Simon belongs to Garrett and that tramp Simone. He has nothing to do with me.”
    Sullivan sat down next to Angel on the sofa. “And it’s that attitude and your refusal to accept his son that are going to drive your husband away and right back into Simone’s waiting arms. Is that what you want?”
    â€œNone of this has been what I wanted. My marriage would be fine— perfect —if it weren’t for that woman and her child,” griped Lawson, balling her fists in frustration.
    Sullivan shook her head and glanced over at Charity. “No marriage is perfect, honey, believe me!”
    Reginell wrapped her arm around her sister. “Garrett and Simon are a packaged deal, like you and Namon were when you met him, and you need to find a