#Chapter 60 Renee

Renee My hand tightened around the glass. “What?” “She had a lover,” Arielle said gently. “Even before she married Philip. For years.” I stared at her. My brain didn’t know what to do with the information. “She was young when she married Phillip,” Arielle went on, quieter now. “It was strategic, on her part. But your mother wasn’t the only Mountainhowl woman with a similar arrangement.” I sat down, the cold water forgotten. I thought back to all the times Phillip had talked about my mother and their marriage, how he would hold her up as this ideal of a perfect wife. I remembered thinking about how many of the things that he said didn't quite add up. But I also knew that after she died, I just didn't have the energy to think more about it. It was so much easier to just give in and do what he said. For the sake of peace and being provided for. After all, he made it no secret that he'd probably dumped me on the side of the road, given half the chance. “You’re telling me I’