Free The Ultimate Betrayal by Kimberla Lawson Roby Page A

those nicknames were all that funny, however, and almost daily, she’d been furious with Melanie for being so heavy. So much so, her mother bypassed nicknames altogether and had flat-out told her she was fat. It was a wonder she’d still had enough confidence and courage to get her bachelor’s degree in nursing and then two master’s degrees. First, she’d completed a master’s in nursing, and then she’d gone back to get a second master’s with nurse practitioner specialization. She’d been practicing for two years, and the blessing, too, was that even though she hadn’t had the best childhood, God had given her a wonderful husband and a career she loved.
    Although, she had to admit, she was starting to worry about her marriage. It was bad enough that she and Brad rarely spent any special time together, but she also couldn’t totally get beyond his terrible investment decisions. Or maybe this was all her fault. Maybe he was taking on monstrous cases and spending more and more time away from home because he no longer found her attractive. As recently as Saturday, he’d told her she looked “perfect,” but she knew he’d only done so to make her feel good. Especially since she clearly didn’t look perfect and needed to lose weight. He also still hadn’t lost the desire to make love to her, but what man didn’t want sex? A man certainly didn’t have to love a woman or think she was beautiful in order to feel satisfied.
    Melanie glanced over at the coffee, waiting for it to finish brewing. She tried thinking about the positive things going on in her life, but soon, she heard her mother’s “size ten” words again. She couldn’t stop replaying them, and she also remembered her mother’s warning, something she hadn’t focused on much until now: “…the last thing you need is to go losing him…appearances mean everything…you have a responsibility to keep yourself up.” Her mother’s voice was deafening, and Melanie’s mind was made up. Today, she wouldn’t even have a salad for lunch. She would go straight liquid for the next five days. She’d be down ten pounds—or more—in no time.

Chapter 13
    I t was seven a.m., but Alicia hadn’t slept a wink. She’d cried so much, her eyes were nearly swollen shut. She’d tossed and turned, gotten up and paced the bedroom floor, and tossed and turned in bed again. For the life of her, she still couldn’t understand how she’d let something like this happen. Especially since she knew full well that sleeping with Levi had been the very reason she’d lost Phillip the first time. She wouldn’t lose Phillip again, though. She just wouldn’t. Not when she knew how much he loved her, how much she loved him, and how good he was for her. She’d spent four lengthy years doing everything she could to regain his trust, and finally, last year, he’d proposed. At that moment, he’d made her the happiest woman in the world, and she’d shed tears of joy before God. So there was no way she was going to ruin things between them. She’d made yet another grave mistake, but she was putting it all behind her. She would forget that yesterday ever happened. As it was, Levi had already called her twice last night and once this morning, but she’d ignored him. Interestingly enough, he hadn’t left any voice messages, but she was sure it was because he was dead set on talking to her. When he called again, though, she would answer and explain things to him, letting him know that what they’d done should never have happened. She would tell him how much she loved Phillip and how she was going to marry him two months from now as planned. There was no doubt Levi would try to make his case, attempting to convince her otherwise, but this was the life she was choosing and he would have to accept it.
    After Alicia went into the bathroom and washed her face with cold water, she walked downstairs to the kitchen. She turned on the television, pulled a bottle of sugar-free