“Leave Cal out of it,” I said. “This is between you and me.”
“Cal?” She snorted. “You call him Cal?”
“Stop deflecting,” Caleb said quietly. “Start explaining.”
“Fuck d’ostie. Okay.” She drew in a shaky breath. “Zadie, when I met you, I told you I’d just ended a bad relationship. That was true. And it wasn’t.” She clasped her hands in her lap, knuckles white. “I’d ended things with Sean?—”
“Wait.” Something cold spilled through my chest. “The day we met. Did you know who I was?”
“Yes. I approached you on purpose. I wanted to meet you. To see what kind of woman you were…and how much damage he’d done.”
What kind of woman I was? “So you’ve been lying to me from the start.”
“Not lying. Not exactly. Sean and I never had a real relationship. More like an arrangement.”
“Stop talking in riddles.” I pressed my fingers to the throbbing spot above my brow.
“We were fucking.” The word landed like a slap. “But not just each other.”
“So you weren’t exclusive.” I kept my voice flat. “That’s hardly surprising, given Sean.”
“No, you don’t understand. We were exclusive. Very exclusive. But it wasn’t just the two of us.” She met my gaze. “It was three of us.”
“Dylan,” I said, the pieces slamming into place. “The three of you were in a relationship. Together.”
“Oui. Now you’re catching on.”
“I’m not sure I am.” I wasn’t. “How did that work? I don’t need the details—I don’t care who was on top or bottom or whatever. I just want to understand why two men, these two men specifically, would agree to share you.”
Chantel closed her eyes. For a moment, I thought she wouldn’t answer.
I turned to Caleb. He didn’t look surprised.
“You knew?” The betrayal widened.
“I knew something was going on between the three of them. Years ago.” His voice was careful. “I didn’t know the details. And I didn’t know about you.”
“They weren’t sharing me,” Chantel whispered. When she opened her eyes, the mask was gone. “Sean and I were sharing Dylan.”
She paused, letting the words settle.
“Sean and Dylan had a thing. Dylan and I had a thing. So the three of us decided to have a thing together. Alone, Sean and I had nothing. But we acted as a couple to cover up what the three of us really were.”
My head throbbed harder. “That’s not what I was expecting. But it’s not a big deal, Chantel. I wouldn’t judge you. Any of you. Why were you keeping this from me?”
“I’m the reason he left you, Zadie. Both times.”
“Were you still sleeping with him?” I didn’t want to know. But I needed to.
“No.” The word was immediate and fierce. “God, no. It wasn’t like that. I ended it, just like I told you. Other than running into each other occasionally, we couldn’t be bothered.”
“Then I don’t understand. How were you the cause?”
Her fingers worked the hem of her sleeve. The room went silent. Just the hum of fluorescent lights, the faint beeping of Sean’s monitor, and my own ragged breathing.
Caleb shifted in his chair, stretching to look at Sean. I followed his gaze.
Sean’s eyes were open. Staring at me.