Chapter Twenty-Nine
JIA HADN’T expected a party when she got home but when she opened the door to Katrina’s house, that was what it sounded like was happening. She followed the noise to the kitchen, where she found Katrina, Rhiannon, and Lakshmi gathered around the kitchen table. They wore comfortable clothes and had fruity drinks spread out in front of them, and the music piping through the speakers was loud. Prince, if Jia wasn’t mistaken.
They looked up when she walked in. “Well, well, well, look who decided to leave her man for a few—” Rhiannon started, then broke off. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Jia said.
“You’re crying,” Lakshmi pointed out, with a trace of panic in her voice, and came to her feet. “Again.”
Jia brushed her fingers over her cheeks. “Oh, am I?” She wished she’d thought to tape some affirmations for herself, but she’d had none to play while she drove up. Of course she’d cried.
The other women all glanced at one another. Katrina pasted a determined smile over her face. “Jia, come sit down.”
It was too much work to pretend nothing was wrong, so Jia did just that, dropping down into a seat at the table. “Are you hungry?” Katrina continued, but she didn’t wait or seem deterred by Jia’s anemic no. She whirled away to the fridge, and Jia didn’t bother to protest. If the world was ending, Katrina would pause while they were all running from zombies to make sure everyone was stuffed. That was how she rolled.
Rhiannon scooched her chair closer to Jia. “What happened? Did that inspirational body builder comment something passive-aggressive on one of your posts?” Her words were light but her eyes were serious.
Jia shook her head, wishing the water would stop leaking from her eyes. “No.”
Lakshmi returned with a roll of paper towels and tore off a handful for Jia. “Is it your husband?”
Rhiannon gave a low growl in her throat when Jia buried her face in the towels. “Do we need to kill him, Jia?”
“We don’t kill anyone,” Lakshmi chided her boss. “Sienna, turn off.”
The pleasant female robot voice came from the speakers. “Sienna is turning off.”
Lakshmi waited a beat, then leaned forward. “You want us to kill him?”
Jia choked out a laugh. Katrina placed a sandwich in front of her, and she picked up a triangle to give her hands something to do. “No. There’s no need for violence. It’s dumb. He did something that was objectively thoughtful, and I got my feelings hurt.” She nibbled at the sandwich.
“What did he do?”
“He bought us a house.”
“Well, that is nice,” Katrina said as she sat down. She picked up her daiquiri and took a sip. “But that can’t be the only thing he did. Did you disagree on what house to buy?”
“No, because I didn’t know what house he was going to buy. He just bought it. Like, done deal.”
Lakshmi drew in a sharp breath. “Oh no. I would hate that.”
“I did, at first, and then I saw the house, and it’s exactly what I would have wanted. So I kinda lost my annoyance over that.”
“Then why did you come here crying?” Rhiannon asked slowly.
“Because the place has a little house in the back, and he said I could stay there,” Jia wailed.
The women exchanged a look. “Wait. Like, by yourself?” Rhiannon asked.
Jia nodded and swiped the rough towel over her nose.
“Did you ever discuss living separately before?”
“No,” Jia said.
Lakshmi picked up her drink. “I know you don’t drink, honey, but you sure you don’t want a shot?”
Jia might have snatched the bottle of tequila if she didn’t know even a sip would leave her ill tomorrow.
Rhiannon drummed her fingers on the table. “I don’t understand. He doesn’t want to live with you?”
Self-pity settled into Jia’s bones. “I guess not.”
“That doesn’t sound right,” Katrina said slowly. “You’ve been telling us every thoughtful thing this guy has been doing for weeks. Why would he suddenly run cold like this?”
Jia dashed at her eyes with the backs of her hands. “Because he realized he doesn’t like me, only we’re married now, and he can’t back out.”
“Eh.” Lakshmi shook her head. “There’s ways out. That doesn’t hold water. There’s no need to banish you to the basement.”
“Then maybe he didn’t want it in the first place. Maybe he got pressured into everything and he’s making the best of a bad situation. Maybe he just wanted the money from his inheritance.”
“In that case, fuck him.” Rhiannon wrapped her arm around Jia’s shoulders, and she leaned into her friend’s side. “Tomorrow, we’ll go get your stuff from his place.”
Something broke in Jia at the thought of never seeing Dev again. Oof, that would hurt way more than any catfishing could.
Lakshmi cracked her knuckles. “We can still kill him, if you like. Make it look like an accident.”
“Wait, wait, wait.” Katrina reached across the table and grasped Jia’s hands. “Let’s all take a second. Jia, did you ask him why he did this?”
“No.”
“Because as someone who has been with someone for a minute now who doesn’t like talking or explaining themselves but is selfless almost to a fault, I can tell you that occasionally you have to directly ask them why they’re doing what they do. You might be surprised by the answer. No one tells you that this is a big part of relationships. Sometimes it’s not all about big misunderstandings.” Katrina’s eyes were warm and kind. “Sometimes it’s about learning how to talk to each other. We all have insecurities, and we have to help each other navigate around them.”
“Ugh.” Jia scrubbed her eyes. “It’s so much work.”
“Yeah, I know. I’d like to say it’s always worth it. For some people, it isn’t. I think for you, it could be.”
Lakshmi handed her another paper towel, and Jia dabbed at her eyes. “What if he gives me a terrible answer? How will I recover?”
“With us, silly,” Katrina said matter-of-factly. “With your sisters. Ain’t no man in the world who is impossible to recover from. You only need the right support to do it.”
Jia sighed. “Loving people is so annoying.”
“It is,” Rhiannon agreed. “I also have good feelings about you and Dev, though.” She rose to her feet. “Just in case . . . Sienna, turn back on and tell us what the maximum murder sentence is in the state of California.”
Jia’s watery chuckle fell over Sienna’s robotic confusion. “I’m tired.”
“Then you’ll sleep here,” Katrina said. She nudged Jia’s plate toward her, and Jia reluctantly picked up the rest of the sandwich. “Tomorrow, you’ll confront your husband and ask him what the hell he was thinking. And then you see what he says. He’ll either give you a good answer, or an answer that will result in us preventing Lakshmi from putting a hit on him.”
Lakshmi nodded, mouth turned down. “I am on board with this, though I really hate how little you all utilize my dark web skills.”