She did. She got Zander, the mother of all leads. “Kristal’s father, did what?” Bella sprayed her coffee all over her iPad in the conference room. Elvie was an ambitious little wife. She managed the workload of two people. And she wasn't even a reporter; she was an accountant, but she did get the lead. Whenever anyone had a contact or a lead they didn’t want to chase—whether they were too lazy, too busy, or simply unsure if it would result in a dead end—they threw it her way. “My sources had leaked Kristal’s father's compromising emails.” Elvie nodded, typing away on her laptop. “Now people are saying that the old man knew, and they were meant to be leaked. If it’s true, it’s a game-changer. Right?” “How on earth did you have a source? Is this your payback? I mean, surely, Kristal is a bitch who took your husband before, but really?” Bella raised her brow. “Are we children here? I am not that stupid; we are professional, Bella, Jesus!” “How do we find out?” Gerald scratched his
“Touch yourself, wife.” She did as she moaned. Elvie was a lioness at work and a lamb in bed, the perfect combination for a predator like Zander. He wanted to fight her when they were in the office and fuck her when they were anywhere else. But it was the in-between part that worried him. Because he wanted to monopolise every second of her life, even when they weren’t doing either. “Oh, God,” she moaned. “Zander,” he corrected. “Call me by my name. Tell me what you want me to do.” “I want you to screw me.” She whimpered into her own shoulder, squeezing her eyes shut, her orgasm brewing, making her legs shake. He wished he wasn’t such a bastard in this moment. “Stop.” But he was. “W-what?” she stuttered, still masturbating with the sprayer head. Zander was so hard now that he could barely think clearly. All his blood had rushed to his shaft, and if someone had asked him for his own name, he’d have had trouble answering. “Stop right now.” A raspy growl slithered between his lips
One day, Elvie noticed Joey’s face was no longer the same pale shade as the bathroom wall.He was going through something called adoptive cell transfer therapy. The treatments were invasive and uncomfortable after he had been diagnosed with lung cancer, but every time he came back to the mansion, he smiled bigger than the last time. He was still weak. He was still grey. But he no longer spoke like he was ready to die but too ashamed to let go of life because he knew how much she needed him, and that made her heart soar. Even after what he’d done, Joey was still her family. Her brother.They spent more and more time out of the mansion with Thea—short trips around the block, arm in arm, admiring the festival of colours as the garden burst into full-blown summer. Green leaves rustled above their heads, and barefoot children ran around the neighbourhood, pointing the park’s hoses at each other and spreading wild laughter like confetti. Flowers unfurled in their sleepy beds on the edges of
Zander threw the phone into Elvie’s hands. It was fully charged and ready to be used. It should have made her happy, but it didn’t. She enjoyed having sex with him and butting heads with him in the newsroom, but what was the point of all this? Love might not be on the cards for him, but she was getting more attached, setting herself up to get hurt more than she already was.“Open the glove compartment,” he said, still staring at the busy road ahead.And yet again, Elvie had the feeling that he knew exactly what she was thinking. She opened the glove compartment. “What am I looking for?”“Just open it.”She patted the mostly empty space, her hand coming to rest on the familiar shape of her old iPod. She yanked it out and squeaked. Her precious iPod, with the thousands of songs she’d collected over the years, was back in her hand, and it felt glorious.“Did someone find it at your old mansion?” she turned to him.“Yes. I did. The night you bailed on me.”Elvie frowned. “Why did you neve
Zander grumbled between deep breaths, “I need myrevenge. II need it. Some bastard masterminds the death of my parents! Matheo fucked myex-wife,e and my friend betrayed me! Those bastards used me! Damn it!”Elvie halted, “Yes. I heard. Many, many times. So what if they did?” She cut him off, balling her hands into fists. "They did something wrong, which doesn’t give you the right to do something even worse.” She pushed his chest.Jesus Christ—what was I doing? She thought to herself.“Matheo was the one who sent Patrick to Asia. He was the one who insisted we keep it from Kristal and keep them apart. Insisted we keep it from my parents, knowing it'd disappoint them. But somehow their death is my fault?” he yelled in her face, as if she were the one accusing him. “Fuck. That.”“Stop the blame game, Zander. Every relationship you touch wilts. Every connection you make perishes. I don’t want to burn. I want to flourish. I deserve to bloom.”“Elvie—”"No, Zander. I know you hated the perso
That day, Elvie made sure she avoided Zander in the newsroom. He was business as usual, taking Matheo and a few other men to lunch and then disappearing in and out of the fifteenth floor for meetings all day. When she got back home, she was in no mood to fix something fresh. Her brother, however, had been eating a lot healthier since the experimental programme had begun. They sent him special meals to complement his treatment. Elvie untied her rain jacket and threw it on the couch after she started hot water on the stovetop. She kicked her shoes into the hallway, played with Thea for about an hour, and gave the nanny her break.“Joey?” She called.She checked the living room, balcony, garden, pool, and then his bedroom. He wasn’t there. Groaning in frustration, she texted him: Joey, where TF R U? When will you learn to give a girl a heads-up when you’re gone? I’m worried.And selfishly, she inwardly bit out. Having him around was convenient. She looked after him and reported to Zander
“I’m going to make your life a living hell, Zander. I have sacrificed a lot for Patrick.” Kristal wiggled her finger in my face. He took her finger and lowered it, wrapping her dress back around her waist for her.“By fucking his father?” Zander smirked.She sneered at him. “It was all a mistake. I didn't—”“Tell that to Patrick, not to me, Kristal.”“Fuck you!”“I dare you, sweetheart. It’s been too long since I showed you who I really am. I cannot wait for you to get reacquainted with the asshole version everyone else has been privy to for the past year, partly because of you.” He couldn’t dump all the blame on Kristal, though. Matheo had taken the Worst Dad of the Century trophy, leaving others to eat dust.“You’re insane!” she yelled in his face.“That’s rich, coming from a half-naked woman who just broke a monitor and fucked her lover’s father.”“You’re weird. And a smartass. I don’t even like you anymore.” She walked over to the door, made a U-turn, stared at him helplessly, and
Just smile and act normal. Elvie thought. Thea and Joey sat at her side; the little girl was wearing a pink jersey that matched her mother, and Joey was wearing his old jersey and a Lazio team baseball cap and drinking cold soda, which was definitely not on his current menu. She let it slide because he looked completely enchanted by the game. She, herself, wore a huge Roma flag hat and a pink Lazio shirt. Close enough, if you ask her.“Mommy, where is Daddy?"Is he not joining us?” Thea asked, her eyes shining with little hope that Elvie knew was there as she sighed.“Baby, daddy is busy, but don't worry, okay? He’ll be here soon.”“Promise?”“Yes, dear.”Elvie sighed as she broached the subject when she got back from refilling our bowl of popcorn in the kitchen—another thing Joey shouldn’t be eating, but a little couldn’t hurt.“Would you... would you mind if I took off this weekend?” She tried to sound casual through the lump of guilt forming in her throat, leaving her daughter and b