Best Friends Forever by Kimberla Lawson Roby

because I wasn’t even sure when you’d have them.”
    “Well, Dr. Jones called this afternoon, and my tumor is malignant.”
    “I’m sorry to hear that, but I know you’ll be fine.”
    “Yes, I will be,” she said matter-of-factly, and Keith looked shocked.
    “You sound a lot more confident than you did a couple of days ago, and I’m glad to see it.”
    Celine shook her head. “You never cease to amaze me, you know that? But right now you’re the least of my worries. Kassie is my main concern, and she should also be yours.”
    “What is that supposed to mean? I love my daughter, and I’m always going to be there for her.”
    “How?”
    “What do you mean, how?”
    “How can you move out and still be here for her?”
    “Easily.”
    “Yeah, well, we’ll see.”
    “I guess we will.”
    For a second and only a second, Celine had wanted to plead with him to postpone his plans, at least until she finished her radiation treatments. But no matter how much she still loved him, she wouldn’t beg a man who’d become as cruel as Hitler. She wouldn’t ask him to do anything, not when he was callous enough to leave a daughter who adored him.
    “So when do you want to tell Kassie that we’re separating?” he said.
    Celine frowned. “Separating? No, you’ve got it all wrong. What you’re doing is walking out on us.”
    Keith glared at her. “Why do you insist on trying to make things difficult?”
    “This is all your doing, but just so you know, we’re not telling Kassie anything tonight.”
    “And why not?”
    “Because I just told her about my surgery. She had a lot of questions about cancer, and we’re not piling any more bad news on her.”
    “Fine, but it’ll have to be tomorrow or Friday because I’m moving out on Saturday.”
    Celine wanted to ask him why he was moving in such a hurry, but she still didn’t have the energy to do it.
    “I’m really sorry you’re sick,” he said, opening the door. “I’m sorry about everything.”
    “Please don’t say that anymore.”
    “What?”
    “How sorry you are. If you were that sorry, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. You never would have started sleeping around, and you wouldn’t be abandoning your daughter. You wouldn’t be deserting either one of us.”
    “I can’t talk to you when you’re like this,” he said, and left.
    Celine knew it wasn’t right to hate anyone, but she was starting to feel that way about Keith. She was beginning to loathe the ground he walked on, and she knew that wasn’t good. She was hurt, but she was also infuriated. She was trying her best not to become a woman scorned, however, Keith wasn’t making it easy. He was pushing her to her limit, and she wanted to get back at him. Maybe then she could feel better about all this. Although, truth was, she didn’t have to do anything. The reason: Everyone on this earth paid a price for treating people badly, and Keith would be no different.

Chapter 14
    T his was a call Celine had hoped she wouldn’t have to make. But she also knew it wasn’t fair to keep them waiting and wondering when she knew she couldn’t work with them.
    She dialed the prestigious advertising firm in Chicago that had contacted her earlier this week.
    “Tom Blakely’s office,” the woman said.
    “Hi. My name is Celine Richardson. Tom contacted me about a marketing campaign, and I was wondering if he was in.”
    “Yes, of course. I know he’s been waiting to hear back from you. I’ll send you right through.”
    “Thank you.”
    After a couple of seconds, Tom came on the line.
    “Celine? How are you?”
    “To tell you the truth, not as well as I’d like to be. I just learned yesterday that I’ll need to have surgery.”
    “Oh no. I’m very sorry to hear that, and I hope it’s not too serious.”
    Celine wasn’t planning to tell anyone in the industry about her illness. Maybe once she’d been given a clean bill of health, but not before then. “I’ll be down for a