Promises in the Grave

When Alfred caught sight of me, I saw a flicker of guilt cross his face.

However, Janet let out a tiny sniffle, and Alfred was all concerned, turning to me to say, "You're up, so get a move on and fix up a room for Janet. She'll be staying with us for a bit."

Janet shot me a wary glance, her eyes red. "Helen, if this bothers you, I'll leave first thing tomorrow morning..."

Alfred's eyes snapped to me, his voice hard. "Helen, don't start with the jealousy. Janet's my childhood buddy. To me, she's like a sister. She's been pushed around by Maverick, and I can't just stand by and do nothing as her big brother!"

I stared back at his hostile look and could not help but laugh. "Funny, I don't remember saying anything."

That was when Alfred realized he might have jumped the gun, but he doubled down. "You didn't have to say anything. Your face said plenty."

So, that was what 'give a dog a bad name and hang him' was all about.

I turned on my heel and walked away without another word.

Janet asked, "Alfred, did Helen get mad? Maybe I should just go to a hotel."

Alfred's annoyance was immediate. "Helen! What's with the attitude?"

I did not even look back as I said, "I'm not feeling great tonight, so I can't help Ms. Stewart with her bed. There are plenty of maids around to cover for me anyway."

With that, I headed back to my room and locked the door behind me.

Half an hour later, the sound of a doorknob rattling broke the silence.

Alfred's voice followed, soft with regret. "Honey, I never meant to boss you around like you're one of the maids. I wasn't thinking, and I upset you. I'm sorry. I'm tired, so just unlock the door and let me in, okay?"

I stayed silent, feigning sleep, while my tears betrayed me, soaking the pillow.

Suddenly, a scream pierced the quiet from next door, and Alfred rushed to check it out.

Soon, the rhythmic creaking of a bed came from next door, then Janet's uncontrollable sobs clued me in on what was happening.

I grabbed my phone and slipped out to the balcony. There was just a fence separating the balconies of two rooms, so I climbed over easily.

Peeking through the curtains, I caught sight of two figures tangled up with each other.

A wave of nausea hit me.

Janet had always played the victim, claiming that Maverick bullied her, but she could not wait to hop into bed with someone else's husband.

They were all despicable, every last one.

I held back the urge to vomit, recorded a video, and snuck back to my room.

As I lay in bed, it hit me. I had been feeling nothing but disgust, no heartache at all. That must have been what it was like when the heart went numb.

The commotion next door lasted until the crack of dawn, and I did not sleep a wink.

Come morning, I went downstairs only to find Ruby in tears.

Janet looked like she was trying to soothe her, but she was actually pinching her arm.

I could not stand it. I stormed over, yanked Janet away, and scooped Ruby into my arms.

That's when Alfred came thundering down the stairs, yelling, "What's going on here?"

He hurried to Janet's side and helped her up.

Janet played the victim perfectly, batting her eyes at Alfred. "It's nothing, Alfred. Ruby was crying, and Helen probably just panicked, thinking I was picking on Ruby. She didn't mean to push me."

Alfred's face was like ice as he snapped, "Don't make excuses for her! She's just jealous because I brought you home last night. She wanted to lash out at you."

He turned to me, his eyes filled with disappointment. "Helen, I never knew you could be so cruel. You should be looking out for Janet, especially since her husband's been so awful to her!"

Janet, ever the actress, said, "Alfred, don't be so harsh. Helen just lost control, that's all. I get it, Helen's been holding a grudge against me. After all, Maverick left her to those men to save me…

"She was passed around and tormented, and then you took pity on her. Of course, she's going to be all messed up over it. You should try to understand."

However, Alfred just scoffed. "She got herself into that mess because she was too dumb to see through Maverick's lies! If she's got hate to spare, it should be for Maverick, not taking it out on you."

I felt a chill run through me, but my cheeks were on fire. I never imagined Alfred would ever trash-talk me out in the open like that.

He had the nerve to pin all my nightmares on me, as if I conjured them up myself.

Once upon a time, he would have thrown punches for even a whisper of that old scandal around me.

There he stood as dashing as ever, but in my eyes, he was nothing but a monster, a fearsome, revolting creature.