“Yes, but the past is the past, and interestingly enough, Pierce and I have never been closer. Even more so now than before all this happened. It did take some time for us to work through everything, but we have, and that’s all that matters.”
“Yeah, but Pierce still hates me.”
“Yeah…he sort of does, and unfortunately, I think it’ll be a long while before he feels any different.”
“I did a lot of stuff to both of you, though, so who can blame him?”
“True, but you’ve been hurt, too, Paige, and that’s what I finally had to think about. It’s also the reason I spoke on your behalf at your trial during sentencing. Mom really has treated you badly your entire life, and it wasn’t until you pointed it out to me that I took time to recognize it. I guess I saw what I wanted to see when we were kids because that’s just what kids do. Then when we became adults, I just thought you and Mom were like so many other mothers and daughters I know who don’t get along. But I never once stopped to wonder why, and that’s where I was wrong.”
“But it wasn’t your fault. You never treated me terribly, but somehow in my mind I saw you as the enemy. I got things all twisted, and the next thing I knew, I made you responsible for everything. Sometimes there would even be this voice in my head, demanding that I get revenge on you, and I always felt like everyone was against me. I was paranoid all the time, and I couldn’t help how I felt,” Paige said, wondering why her brain didn’t work the way it was supposed to. She wondered why some people were born with normal thinking while others came into the world with loads of mental issues. It was all so humiliating, but at the same time, she was glad her doctor had finally gotten to the root of her problem, delusional disorder, and found the perfect medication for her. In the beginning, he’d prescribed a few different types, searching for the right one, but it was Abilify that had finally worked. Thankfully, Paige still experienced no major side effects, and she’d been happily taking it for months.
“What are you thinking about?” Camille asked.
“This last year and how grateful I am I was able to get help.”
“I’m grateful, too. Also, Paige, I hope there’s one thing you’ll never forget,” Camille said.
“What’s that?”
“That I really do love you.”
“I love you, too. You’re my rock, Camille, and if I have to spend the rest of my life making things up to you I will.”
“You don’t owe me anything. Your love is more than enough, and that’s all I want from you.”
Tears flowed down Paige’s cheeks, and Camille hugged her again.
Paige held her sister close and thought about how blessed she was. She also thought about all the sins she’d committed, how she’d reaped all of what she had sown, and how she’d basically lost everything—her condo, her car, her PR business. But what made her smile was the fact that none of those things really mattered to her anymore, and that she was finally happy for the right reasons. She was finally living and thinking the way God wanted her to, and life was good.
But more important, she thought about the scripture Camille had told her to trust in, believe in, and the one she should recite daily: Matthew 9:22, which stated, “Daughter, be encouraged! Your faith has made you well.”
God was so amazing and so very true to His Word, and Paige couldn’t help smiling through all her tears. She was overjoyed and would forever be indebted—to Him and also to Camille.
She would always be thankful to both of them for their unconditional love…the one thing she’d always wanted but had never truly felt or been able to accept—until now.
Discussion Questions
Forgiveness is a virtue, but oftentimes, when people have hurt us, finding the strength to forgive them isn’t easy. Paige’s actions are cruel and destructive, yet her sister, Camille, finds it in her heart to forgive. How do you think Camille is able to do this? Is it for her benefit, Paige’s, or both? If you were in a similar situation, do you think you’d be able to forgive as Camille did? Is it ever okay to put conditions on forgiveness, such as insisting a person go to counseling or stop a certain behavior in order to retain your forgiveness, or must forgiveness be unconditional?
While Paige’s scheming pushes her sister’s marriage over the edge, there are already some issues brewing between Camille and Pierce. Camille mentions that Pierce feels she is putting outside activities ahead of her family. While these activities make her happy, she considers giving them up to preserve her family. Do you think Camille is right to continue her activities outside of the home, or should she have given them up the first time Pierce mentioned it? Should Pierce be more supportive of her endeavors, or is he right to want her at home more often? What can a woman who is a wife and mother do to find balance between her family life and her personal life?
Infidelity can be difficult to overcome in a marriage. Camille and Pierce are able to get past her perceived affair and his actual one; however, Andrea isn’t able to forgive Derrick for his cheating. What are some of the reasons Camille and Pierce are able to stay together while Andrea and Derrick divorce? Setting aside a scheming sister-in-law manipulating the situation, is adultery ever excusable? If you were in a relationship where your partner had been unfaithful, what would you need him or her to do in order to move beyond the affair and rebuild trust?
Are Camille and Pierce right to keep the truth from their children early on in their separation, or should they be completely honest with them from the beginning? What are some of the ramifications that a parent’s affair might have for his or her children?
Paige, by her own admission, uses Owen for her personal gain, but as Owen later admits, she is far from the only woman to have ever taken advantage of his generosity. Do you think Owen’s reactions—first demanding Paige repay him for the money he spent on her, then telling Camille what he knows—are justified? If a woman accepts gifts or money from a man she’s dating, is she under any obligation to him?
At the end of the story, Maxine admits she was never able to love Paige because of the circumstances under which Paige was conceived. Paige’s doctor adds that because Maxine never sought counseling after her own rape, she never dealt with the trauma, and that made her behavior toward Paige worse. Does this excuse Maxine’s poor treatment of Paige? Do you think Maxine made the right choice by keeping her baby, or would Paige have been better off if Maxine had given her up for adoption? How might Paige’s life have been different if she had been raised in a different home? Would she still have the same mental issues she does now, or do you think a more nurturing environment might have helped her?
Siblings raised in the same house can sometimes have very different experiences during childhood. For example, Paige remembers mostly hardship and anger, while Camille remembers nothing but a loving, happy family. Why do you think it was so difficult for Camille to notice what was happening to Paige when they were young? If you have siblings, can you think of any example of how your individual perceptions color the memory of an event?
Also by Kimberla Lawson Roby
Love, Honor, and Betray
Be Careful What You Pray For
A Deep Dark Secret
The Best of Everything
One in a Million
Sin No More
Love & Lies
Changing Faces
Too Much of a Good Thing
A Taste of Reality
It’s a Thin Line
Casting the First Stone
Here & Now
Behind Closed Doors
Contents
Title Page
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
C
hapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Epilogue
Discussion Questions
Also by Kimberla Lawson Roby
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2011 by Kimberla Lawson Roby
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Grand Central Publishing
Hachette Book Group
237 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017
www.HachetteBookGroup.com
www.twitter.com/GrandCentralPub
First eBook Edition: September 2011
Grand Central Publishing is a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
The Grand Central Publishing name and logo is a trademark of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.
ISBN: 978-1-455-50472-5
Secret Obsession Page 15