"Matthew," Haven spat, poison binding his words. "I’m not a blockhead, Alexis. I’ve seen the way you’ve been with him of late. You think I haven’t noticed? Is that what it’s about? You’re leaving me for him?" She shook her head, tears welling in her eyes. "It’s not that simple." "Of course, it’s that simple!" Haven yelled, his face ruddy with outrage. "You’re tossing away everything we’ve built because you need to run off with a few old fires? How long has this been going on?" "It hasn’t been like that," Alexis cried, her voice breaking. "I didn’t plan for this to happen, but it did. And it’s not because of Matthew’s arrival. I haven’t been cheerful for a long time, Haven." Haven giggled sharply, his hands running through his hair. "So that’s it at that point? You’re leaving me for him? After everything we’ve been through? So he comes back to town and swoops you off your feet, after I deliberately sent him away because of his same situation." Alexis was left dumbfounded at the r
His once best friend. His brother. The one individual he trusted with everything. Haven paced back and forward, waiting for Matthew to show up. He had needed to see him, texting in a rage-filled flurry. "We ought to talk. Meet me at the old park by the field. now." Haven knew this discussion would not end gently, not with the way his feelings were bubbling over, but he didn’t care. The bond he once shared with Matthew was smashed past repair. The faint sound of a car drawing nearer snapped Haven out of his thoughts. He turned, his eyes narrowing as Matthew’s recognizable dim car pulled into the park. The headlights enlightened the concrete, casting long shadows, and after that the motor cut off. Matthew walked out of the car, his expression reluctant, his movements moderate, as ifhe was walking into a minefield. In multiple ways, he was. “Haven,” Matthew called out, raising a hand in a peace signal. “Let’s talk, man.” Haven's chest sank as he took a step forward. His eyes bursted
“Don’t tell me sorry Matthew! This wasn’t the first time it’s happened, the last time it happened, see what it caused between us, it made us separated even though it was for the best. But you still going for it again is beyond my imagination.”Matthew wanted to try and talk but he couldn’t speak, words were stuck in his throat. He gave up and tried to get as much breath as possible because he was running out of them. He wanted to just end this once and for all and not have a tail called Haven on his back when it comes to Alexis. He couldn’t as well give her up, he loved her dearly as well, and was ready to go at any length to get her to his side forever, even if it meant fighting Matthew for it all over again.Haven shook his head, his eyes filled with unshed tears. “Sorry doesn’t cut it, Matthew. Sorry, don't settle this.” Before Matthew could react, Haven thrusted at him once more, this time with recharged wrath. The two men collided with a sickening crash, their bodies tangling as
And Matthew had stood there, powerless, taking hit after hit, knowing full well that he merited each single one. Matthew moaned as he moved, the weight of his body pulling on bruised ribs. Each movement hurt, but nothing stung as much as the realization that he had lost the one person who had continuously been there for him. Haven had been more than just a friend, he had been a brother. They’d developed up together, explored life’s trials side by side. And now, it is over. The reason? Alexis. Matthew could still listen to her voice, the way she’d whispered his name in the dark, the way her lips had felt against his. He clenched his clench hands at the memory, outrage surging inside him, not just at her but at himself. He had known earlier. Alexis wasn’t just anyone, she was Haven’s wife, the lady he had promised to love and protect. And Matthew had taken that away. He moaned once more, this time from the enthusiastic weight squeezing down on him. The disgrace of it all was choking
The man had stood next to him through each important minute of his life, counting his wedding to Alexis. And now, he was the reason Haven 's life was falling short. His breath came in shallow pants as the memory of the battle replayed in his mind. He had known about the situation for weeks but had kept it bottled inside, hoping it wasn’t genuine, hoping Alexis would come back to him before it was as well. They have had back and forth about Matthew the first time and he personally saw to it that he left the city, but now a second wave of Matthew destroying his marital life and this time for good seem almost unstoppable. He tried thinking about everything all from the scratch hoping he had missed a vital part out that may at least serve as an explanation to all this drama unfolding in a hug face that he has no answer to.He looked at the rear view mirror to examine his face and he could see how swollen his left cheek was and also his lips were swollen as well. I’m closer examination ,
Each moment felt like another cut piercing in his intestine. As he walked back toward his car, his legs felt like they might give out. Everything he had built, everything he had accepted in, was crumbling around him. And for the first time, he realized that there was nothing left to salvage. He slid back into the driver’s seat, his hands shaking as he began the car. He didn’t look back as he pulled out of the park. There was no reason to. The sun had set, casting long shadows over the street ahead. And as Haven drove away from the park, away from Alexis and Matthew, he felt the smashing weight of his modern reality settle on his shoulders. He was genuinely alone now.Haven sat at the edge of the worn-out couch, his hands clenched firmly in his lap, his knuckles white with the pressure he couldn't shake. His eyes, obscured by restless evenings and disappointments profound to specific, gazed vacantly at the TV. The news stayed on, but Haven couldn’t center. He was long lost in his own
He grabbed the cup from the coffee table and threw it against the wall. The plastic broke because it hit the concrete wall, breaking into pieces, but it wasn’t enough. It didn’t calm the concentration of his outrage. His chest hurled as he stood there, gazing at the mess he had made, feeling feeble. “Goddamn it!” Haven hollered, the sound filling the empty house. His voice bounced off the walls, resounding back at him. His hands shook with the concentration of his feeling, and for a minute, he didn’t know what to do with himself. He collapsed back onto the couch, burying his face in his hands. The outrage, the disloyalty, it was eating him alive, tearing him apart from the inside. He tried to make sense of it, tried to see how everything had gone so wrong. “Was there something I missed? Was I the problem?” He replayed their last year together over and over in his mind, searching for signs, for anything that might have told him this was coming. But all he saw was the life they had bui
Haven sat in his living room, the ticking of the clock echoing uproariously in the quiet. The once energetic room, where giggling and discussion filled the air, now felt like a spooky shell of its previous self. He looked at the phone on the table, holding up for a call that never came, his leg jittering with on edge vitality. It had been weeks since Alexis left, and the developing chasm between them felt agonising. He replayed the occasions of that night over and over in his mind, each time pondering how things had spiralled so out of control. The argument, the hollering, and after that his clench hand meeting with Matthew’s face. He could still feel the sting in his knuckles from the punch. He hadn’t meant for things to go that far. Matthew had been self-centered, provocative, and Haven had just snapped. But Alexis… she hadn’t seen it that way. She had looked at him, not with stun or concern, but with disgust. The sound of a key turning in the door startled him from his considerat
“Did you hear that Haven got a huge contract deal? I continuously knew he’d arrive on his feet,” Alexis commented one day over brunch with friends. Her voice was casual, but there was a glimmer in her eyes, one that hadn’t been there in a long time. Matthew took note of it as well, and it chewed at him. To begin with, it appeared harmless, just sitting still in conversation, about an ex. Everybody does it, right? But as Haven’s name crawled up more habitually, a shadow of envy started to cloud Matthew’s mind. He tried brushing it off. "Why do you care what he’s doing?" Matthew inquired one evening, casually mixing his drink. Alexis looked up from her phone, her expression garbled. "I don’t. It’s just... curiosity, that’s all. I thought he'd separate after the divorce, but it looks like he’s doing better than ever." Matthew gritted his teeth but constrained a grin. "Great for him, I guess." Haven hadn’t expected Alexis to take note of his success, or care. But it didn’t take long
Alexis's voice calmed down. "Take care of Haven." He stopped talking, emotions swirling through him. A part of him wanted to scream, to let go of the anger and pain that stuck with him like a second skin. But another part - the part that has already started to be built - will be released.Two days later he called. "Mrs, Rennie's voice is clear and professional. Altheon has decided to proceed with your request. Thank you." Haven was silent for a moment, relief washing over him like a tidal wave, almost knocking him off balance. "Thank you, Mrs. Chambers," he managed to say. "I won't let you down." "I hope not," Reni replied. "Our team will contact you to complete the paperwork." Haven hung up and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He has done it. That night, Haven found him in a small village near his house, milking whiskey on the rocks. The site was quiet, with the faint hum of conversation settling in the background. His phone buzzed with a text from Darnell: You d
He then hugged her and gave her a kiss on her forehead. Vanessa felt so secured and relaxed almost immediately but Haven knew there was more adventure to come from here with Vanessa over-commitment. He couldn’t say no to her anymore, he loved her and he just wanted her to stay and be with him always but he respected boundaries over everything.Haven stood in front of the windows of his house and saw the first sign of sunrise in the city skyline. The distant rumble of the morning traffic was faint, but a sense of life returned to the town with him. Haven's name hasn't been associated with anything good for months. His reputation, solid in the business world, has been thrown into the dirt since his wife left him for another man, Matthew, his former best friend. The tragedy sent waves through his personal and professional life, leaving Haven struggling to recover from the tragedy. Now he has a chance to change everything. Today he is about to sign a major business deal, one that could
“I’ve been through that before. I’m not going to let it happen again.” Haven mollified marginally, detecting the helplessness underneath her words. “I get that, Vanessa. I do. But I’m not him. I’m not going anywhere.” She was calm for a moment. “Promise?” Haven murmured, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, I promise.” Vanessa’s quiet settled like a cover over the discussion. At that point, unexpectedly, she said, “I’m coming over.” Haven scowled. “Now? It’s late.” “I don’t care. I ought to see you.” Before he could dissent, the line went dead. Haven gazed at his phone in skepticism. “Damn it.” He reviled beneath his breath. Forty minutes later, a knock shook his front door. Haven dragged himself off the couch and opened it to discover Vanessa standing there. She wore tight pants and an larger than average hoodie, her dark hair pulled into a tall bun. Her eyes looked at his face the moment the door swung open. “You didn’t seem that tired,” she said with a black out smile, vent
“I did,” Alexis answered, assembling his look. “I needed to see Fiona.” Matthew’s jaw clenched. “We had things to do, Alexis. You chose her over me.” “That’s not fair,” she said, her voice trembling. “I’m permitted to spend time with my friends. This wedding doesn’t mean I need to give up everything else.” He took a step toward her, his eyes dim and difficult. “When you wed somebody, they ended your need. I thought you caught on to that.” “I do,” she whispered. “But I need space as well, Matthew. I can’t live like this, constantly stressed about annoying you.” Matthew’s expression flickered with something unreadable, hurt, outrage, or possibly fear. “I’m trying to protect you, Alexis. I just don’t want to lose you.” “I’m not going anywhere,” she said softly. “But I need you to believe me. If you can’t do that... possibly we shouldn’t get married.” The words hung between them, overwhelming and last. For a minute, Matthew just gazed at her, as if trying to choose whether to fight
Alexis felt a chill creep up her spine. It wasn’t the first time he’d acted like this, his words wrapped in sweetness but with a suggestion of something unsettling. Still, she smiles, pushing away the questions inching into her mind. He’s just defensive, she told herself. Nothing wrong with that. “Sorry, Matthew,” she mumbled, constraining a little snicker. “Next time, I’ll keep my phone on me.” He came over to the table and put his hand over hers, pressing a bit as well firmly. “I don’t like feeling disregarded. You get it, right?” She gestured, indeed in spite of the fact that her intestine bent. “Of course. It won’t happen again.” Satisfied, Matthew leaned back in his chair, the pressure in his pose facilitating. “Good. I just care about you, Alexis. That’s all.” But something about the way he said it made the words feel like a caution. Later that evening, Alexis sat on her bed, looking over through old pictures on her phone. Most of the photographs were from the early days of
"I’m sorry, Haven. I trust you to find peace." Peace. He sneered. How could he find peace when everything still felt so unsettled? He placed his phone away and stood up, choosing that staying in the café wasn’t going to help. He needed to clear his head.Afterward that evening, Haven found himself standing outside the old loft he and Alexis had shared. It was interesting being here once more. The place had been empty since Alexis moved out, and now someone else lived there. But the memories waited, as new as ever. He didn’t know why he’d come. Perhaps it was to discover closure, or perhaps he was just tormenting himself. Either way, standing here felt like confronting his past head-on. He had to make a choice. All of a sudden, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out, seeing a message from Vanessa. "Hello, I’m back home. Let me know if you need to come over and talk." Haven gazed at the message for a minute, his mind hustling. He cared about Vanessa, but he couldn’t shake t
Haven gazed at the coffee glass before him, the steam rising gradually, disseminating into the cool air. His fingers followed the edge of the ceramic edge, but his mind was far away, lost in an ocean of tangled thoughts and feelings. Alexis’ snicker reverberated in his head, frequenting him. He could nearly see her, the way she used to sit over from him at the café, her hands wrapped around her own face, eyes filled with the warmth of shared minutes. That was a year back. Now, Alexis was planning to wed somebody else, Matthew. His chest fixed as he thought of it. It wasn’t the reality that she left. It was the suddenness of it, the way their once-perfect life had come slamming down in a matter of months. He hadn’t seen it coming, hadn’t been ready for the hurricane that had turned his world upside down. One minute, they were arranging their future together, and the next, she was gone. Haven pulled himself back to the show, shaking his head as if to clear the cobwebs. He looked up jus
Haven didn’t know why he chose to go to the coffee shop that evening. Maybe it was propensity, or possibly he was just trying to elude the limits of his house and the perpetual thoughts swirling in his mind. He requested a dark coffee, found a seat in the corner, and tried to lose himself in a book. But as he sat there, flipping through pages without pursuing a single word, he listened to a recognizable voice. His heart stilled. Alexis. She was sitting just a number of tables away, snickering softly with her friends and talking about wedding plans. And next to her, Matthew, tall, the man who had taken his place in her life. Haven’s breath caught in his throat. He hadn’t seen her since she’d left him, and hadn't talked to her since the breakup. Seeing her now, gleaming with joy, felt like a punch to his intestine. Without thinking, he stood up, expecting to leave. He couldn’t handle this, not nowadays. But as he turned, his eyes met Alexis’s. She solidified, her smile disappearing,