“Seventeen years, Rachel. You know everything worth knowing about me.”
“I know. That’s why this is going to be fun.”
We spent the next hour discussing the plan.
I wouldn’t insult Vanessa. I wouldn’t spread rumors about her. I wouldn’t manufacture evidence or accuse her of anything she hadn’t actually done.
I would simply return everything she’d given my husband and allow her to explain herself in front of the people she’d invited to witness her supposed victory.
There was one more detail.
For months, Vanessa had been telling neighbors that Irvin and I were practically living separate lives. She’d hinted that he was lonely, that I was controlling, and that he stayed with me out of habit.
A few neighbors had repeated those rumors to me, usually with the awkward expressions of people who wished they hadn’t become involved.
I hadn’t confronted them because I knew the truth.
But now Vanessa was organizing an event designed to showcase her relationship with my husband.
