【To dodge the death penalty, Bridget came crying to me, begging me to sign a statement of forgiveness. She burned through every cent Jude had given her over the years, and sold off the house back home on top of it.】
【Pity our dead-beat husband died so soon. If he'd known his own beloved mistress was the one who poisoned him, he'd have chewed his own guts out with regret.】
I read through the messages, and the pressure I'd been holding down finally eased.
I fished my mother's bracelet out from under the pillow and held it tight against me.
The bracelet that had shattered was a cheap glass knockoff I'd bought myself.
I'd broken it on purpose and glued it back together, so that the lightest touch would make it crack apart again.
I'd counted on him taking Bridget's side, no matter what.
So I used that. I stepped perfectly clear of that wedding, and made sure Jude's death would never trace back to me in any way.
Locked in that room, my phone never stopped lighting up.
Our mutual friends kept forwarding me stories of how lavishly Jude was throwing money at Bridget's wedding.
Because there was a "rose" tucked into Bridget's name, Jude had the freshest Milanese roses flown in to fill the entire venue.
He was even planning to make up for the fact that Bridget could never be his official wife.
At the wedding he intended to change the company name that stood for the two of us into "Love Bridge."
The sneering, the pity, the nosy gossip, I ignored all of it.
Bridget sent me plenty of messages to show off.
Either it was Jude sitting with her through the prenatal sessions,
or Jude resting his head against her belly, listening to the baby's heartbeat with his eyes gone soft.
"Such a shame. If you'd kept your head that day you went hunting for us in bed, maybe you wouldn't have lost the baby, and you could be enjoying all this too."
I didn't reply.
On the wedding day, a text from Jude came through to my phone.
"This is just to soothe Bridget for now. She is carrying my child, after all. From now on she and the child won't intrude on our life, and you and I will live well together."
"That bracelet, I really didn't put it there. I had my assistant order you a new Cartier bracelet. Wait for me to come back and make it up to you."
I deleted the messages, then opened the wedding livestream.
On screen, Jude stood in a custom-tailored suit, smiling as he took Bridget's hand and poured the champagne tower with her.
The host asked them to do the couple's toast.
Jude lifted his glass and looked at Bridget.
"Bridget, these years have been hard on you. From now on I'll make it right for you and the child."
Bridget leaned into him, eyes red, and raised her glass to his lips.
Jude tipped his head back and drank it down.
The next second his face changed, the glass crashed to the floor,
and he staggered backward and heaved up a huge mouthful of blood.
