Betrayal (Infidelity Book 1) - Aleatha Romig Page 0,2

my life. I loved everything about the West Coast, from the beautiful campus nestled in the Palo Alto valley to the winding beautiful coastal highway. The idea of heading back east made me physically ill.

“Stop that,” Chelsea said with her hand on my arm. “Stop thinking about it. You know applying to East Coast schools made the most sense.”

“I know. But I would’ve loved to have stayed here.”

“Just like Professor Wilkerson told you, you’ve made your mark here. Summa cum laude. California knows you. Now it’s time to make your mark back east. In three years you’ll be the most sought-after attorney from coast to coast. Every big firm will want you.”

“Chels, I really don’t want to think about any of it. Not this week. This week is for us.” I grabbed her hand and squeezed. “I don’t want to think about being without you next year. I want us to have the time of our lives.”

“You know I’d love to pick up and move with you. But when it comes to right now—I couldn’t agree more. For this one week, let’s forget about everything. Let’s be the opposite of ourselves.”

Let’s be each other?

I stopped myself from saying the thought aloud. Instead, I looked out over the gorgeous view. The setting sun was casting shadows over the cliffs in the distance, as rolling white-capped waves crashed against the rocks and shore. This was one of the scenes I’d miss on the East Coast. There may be an ocean, but never on the beaches of Georgia had I ever seen waves or felt the refreshing breeze as I did here.

“I’m in. As a matter of fact,” I whispered with a grin, “no more Alex or Alexandria. For the next week I’m Charli.”

Chelsea’s eyes narrowed.

“It’s short for Charles, one of my middle names.” I lowered my voice, but before the pounding surf and murmuring voices around us could dominate, I added, “I think Alex needs a break.”

Locking our elbows, Chelsea sighed. “Girl, that’s the best thing I’ve heard since we’ve met. If you ask me, Alex has needed a break for a long time!”

As we made our way to our suite, I contemplated the possibilities of leaving Alex behind, if for only a week.

Can I do that?

I could. I’d done it before.

I’d put away the pretentious snob I’d been raised to be when I left Alexandria Charles Montague Collins in Savannah. The minute I’d stepped off the airplane in California and made my way to my freshman orientation, I’d vowed that Alexandria had been left behind and I became Alex.

She was a clean slate, with no demons on her back or skeletons in her closet. I had the rare opportunity to reinvent myself into someone I liked to be, and I did.

Alex was everything I’d wanted to be growing up: a hard worker, a good student, and someone who refused to stay trapped in the cage created by the Montague name. After my mother shared a secret with me right before I left Savannah, I had the confidence to do what she was never able to do.

For that one evening, with her husband Alton out of town on business, I had a real mom. It’s a night I’ll never forget. She even looked different. Instead of her normal designer clothes, when she came to my room she wore shorts and a t-shirt. I hadn’t known she owned regular clothes. With her hair pulled back in a ponytail and little to no makeup, she knocked on my bedroom door. The knock had been so faint that over the sound of my music, I almost didn’t hear it.

For a change, the sound didn’t alarm me. I knew Alton was away and I knew I’d be gone before he returned. When I peered around the door, I almost gasped. Adelaide Montague Collins Fitzgerald looked like she could have been my sister instead of my mother. With her large blue eyes, she looked at me with a mixture of love and regret. Though everything within my eighteen-year-old self wanted to tell her to leave, I couldn’t.

There was something final about that night. Though neither of us came out and said it, I think she understood I didn’t plan to return. I sometimes wonder just how much she knew.

Instead of saying anything, I opened the door and welcomed her into the chaos. My bed was covered in suitcases. The drawers to my dressers were in all stages of openness while my closet doors were spread wide. Not