"What about Alex?" Vanessa asked softly while glancing behind Cyndi as though she still expected him to walk through the entrance at any moment.
The question immediately caused Cyndi's heart to constrict painfully inside her chest. A deep ache spread through her body, but despite the pain threatening to overwhelm her emotions again, she still forced herself to remain calm. Slowly, she shook her head.
"He is not here," she whispered quietly.
The moment those words left her lips, Vanessa's face twisted with visible rage and disbelief.
"How could he do this to you?" Vanessa demanded angrily. "You have been nothing but a good friend to his wife all these years, and the nonsense spreading online only happened because people completely misunderstood the situation. How could he stay silent after everything?"
Vanessa's anger continued rising the more she thought about it.
"How could he not care enough to stand beside you at a time like this?" she added indignantly.
