Zander had never believed in miracles.His experience with life had been that it was pragmatic, uncontrollable, and unpredictable—with a royal introduction to all three when he’d caught his lawyer with Kristal’s mouth wrapped around his dick when or when he caught Matheo with Kristal in the same compromising situations.Needless to say, Zander was not impressed with the way his ex-wife handled both men as they conducted their spontaneous playdates. It triggered the same loathing he had with Elvie and her brother, and he thought Kristal was different. And boy, was he wrong.Zander divorced her after a huge fight, and from that point forward, he couldn't remember a time when he was happy with a woman—not until Elvie came back into his life with Thea in tow.He was just happy.He had a family.For all the shit he had been through together, for all the affairs and infidelities and fighting through lawyers and stooping so low, they made him wonder just how bad, exactly, humans could be; th
The next day, Elvie was bouncing on the balls of her feet, staring at Zander’s locked office door.Happiness and fear tasted weird in her mouth—not unpleasant, but surprising all the same. She was so used to worrying that she’d forgotten how it felt to simply be. But this morning had started off with Thea dashing out to her little tantrums about not seeing her father all the time, to which Zander agreed to visit them often, grabbing the bag with the lunch and snacks she’d made for her on her way to the car waiting for her downstairs. Elvie had asked her daughter a thousand times if she was sure she wasn't keeping cookies under her little bed in her room, which she knew Zander had sneaked the day before, and Thea said yes.It made no sense that Thea started siding with her father over her and calling her daddy often, and Elvie couldn't help but fear that she was being spoiled too much by Zander, but she let it slide. It had filled her heart with hope, even before she got the text messa
“It was my fault. I took our marriage for granted. I was blinded by something deeper. Emotionally, I thought I was capable of handling it on my own.” He cleared his throat, flipping his wrist to check his Rolex."What do you mean?" Elvie asked. She had never seen him like this before—opening up while completely shutting down. His eyes were anywhere but on her, but the rest of his face was tense and strong.He didn’t want to break.But something told her the version of him she knew was already beyond cracked."I can't tell you yet, Elvie. I can't and I won't. Not yet.""Is this about your parents?""You don't have to know.""Why, Zander? Don't you think I deserve to know?""Now now."“Why?” she whispered, trying to coax him with her eyes, which he couldn’t even meet.“That’s why everything is a complete clusterfuck, Elvie. It was someone else's fault. My parents' deaths are the end of me. Suffice it to say I think I know who killed them—much like I killed my emotions and my relationshi
Zander looked at her with the same hooded look he always had when he was with Elvie. He turned around and headed for the building silently, and she followed suit. The entire elevator ride upstairs, she thought about Patrick. What must it be like for Zander to see him around after what happened? About the tattoo on Patrick’s forearm of the smiling girl. Of Kristal. Now, Elvie wondered why those tattoos seemed familiar—it was her number one nemesis, and her guy friend was in love with Zander’s ex-wife. How ironic, she thought. And how he, too, was still dealing with the aftermath of her betrayal. Damn! The woman was amazingly bad. Thanos-kind of bad. Elvie almost wanted to shake her head and admire Kristal for making the men of her life dance on her hands like puppets. However, she was sad about how it must feel for Zander to spend time with his father’s best friend here in the SBS every day or even look at his ex-wife’s face. Elvie’s mind reeled. Ironic, indeed. The elevator dinged
“Say it,” Zander spat. “Say it, say that it was my fault and I was too naive to even have this loyalty towards you.”“You did what you thought was right. You are a good man, Zan. I owe you!”“Fuck you, Patrick!” he yelled, “Fuck you!” He wanted to have that piece of positive vibe from him, but he couldn't for the love of God. He couldn't! The pain of losing his parents was too massive! Too—painful! Their deaths were his nightmare! Was it even his fault? Or was he just blaming someone with a new piece that would make him feel alive, even if just for a second?Patrick sat forward on the couch, his elbows propped on his knees. He clutched his head, staring down at the floor.“At that time, I told Kristal I was clean, that I’d changed, and that I was crazy about her and that I wanted her back. Damn! I know I love her, and she loves me back. She believed me. We talked about Thailand, and she said she was going to wait for me until I came back, no matter when it was. Do you know what I said
“Look, I get it, okay? I screwed up, Zander. Do you think I don’t know that? Do you think I don’t understand the gravity of my mistake? Of messing with Patrick while you were grieving your parents? Of messing up with his father before our divorce? Of messing with our contract? And messing with Elvie?”Elvie and Kristal were the same age—three years his junior—and had attended the same private schools. They weren’t friends. Barely acquaintances. Elvie’s brother, Joey, and he were the best of friends, while Elvie wrote journals, went to poetry nights, and was obsessed with autobiographies about high-end math geniuses, numbers, and math olympiads, while Kristal was focused on partying, boys, and diets. They had nothing in common, and even though Elvie had never said it in so many words, when he and Joey partied, Zander knew that before he came into the picture, Kristal had been harassing Elvie, bullying her to set them up when she wasn’t mini-bullying her in the high school halls for her
The cab came to a stop in front of Kristal’s parents mansion. He shoved his hand into his pocket, producing his wallet while thanking the gods for not driving the woman in his own car and plucking out a chunk of notes. He slapped the cash in the driver’s hand and told him to wait near the gigantic gate. Kristal stared at him, a slow grin spreading on her face.“If I’d known, that’s what it takes to get you into my parent’s place…”“Shut up, Kristal. I need to say goodbye to your Nana. This is not about you. This is not about our past. This is not about our deal, and especially not about us because there is no ‘us’ anymore. I hope you know that.”“Fine, but please don't mention Patrick. They didn't know that he was back. Please.”“Deal. But no mentioning of you helping me with your family’s share. Is that clear?”“Okay.”Half an hour later, Zander was back in the cab, his mood hitting an all-time low. Kristal’s grandmother wasn’t awake. Kristal’s parents—while happy to see me—were also
Zander had no business butting into her life more than she had allowed him to, more than she had willingly shared with him. Elvie didn’t share this with anyone. There was a reason why she’d never told him about her debt or her family life. Not even about how her parents treated her before, like how her dad used to hurt and abuse the hell out of her until she couldn't walk, or like how her mother verbally assaulted her.Her blood froze in her veins. No. There was no way. Still, she needed to ask, just to be sure.“Do you... do you know about my brother’s situation?”Zander got up from his chair, grabbing his pea coat and sliding into it.“I need another cup of coffee for this conversation. Walk with me, wife.”Elvie followed behind him. His broad shoulders were big enough to carry the entire world. He gestured for me to get into the elevator before him, and the minute the doors closed behind them, he turned to him.“You know about my brother, don’t you?”"Obviously, I know everything a