LennoxFive years ago…As I was driving through the highway to my parents' villa, Diamond was watching a YouTube video on how to play football. The commentary got extra exciting and I watched as her eyes lit up for a few seconds only for her shoulders to fall back as she swamped into the chair. “He didn't score?” I asked, chuckling. She sighed. “He was going to. Everybody thought he was going to. But out of nowhere some guy came out and jumped on him, and he lost the ball.” She made a face. “I'm sure he must have broken a bone or two.”I couldn't help but laugh. “That's why they wear gears, babe. I'm sure he'll be fine.”“Are we going to be wearing gears?” She asked hopefully but unfortunately, I was going to crush that.“It's a lot less intense than actual football. It's a family thing and nobody wants to be throwing themselves into the other, you know.” I responded with a reassuring smile. “Plus, it's a house filled with doctors. If anyone gets hurt, we'll treat the person. We're
KarlEver since that call with Diamond and the kids, when I found out that Lennox had spent the night in her house, I couldn't shake off the thought that something was brewing between them again. I felt angry whenever my mind darted back to those years ago, those years I had Diamond with me and lost her to my brother and his sick smirk. Things were always so easy for him; our parents loved him so damn much, they didn't even bother hiding the fact that they absolutely hated my gut and everything I did. So what if I didn't want to become a doctor like them? There were already enough doctors in the family and I needed to find my own path because medical school was the last place on this earth for me. But since I made that decision, there has been a rift between us and them. Even before my decision not to become a doctor, they always favored Lennox over me. That decision just solidified everything and gave them a reason and excuse to treat me as though I was an outcast.But in that perio
Diamond It was the 4th of July already. Prior to the plans with Karl to attend the picnic at his family's villa, I didn't have any other plans. Usually, the 4th of July is one day that I get to rest, take a break from the hospital back in Texas. I've been paged and called a few times on those days but it only for emergencies. Though they try as much as possible to ensure that all emergencies could be covered and we could enjoy our holiday to the fullest. The kids didn't really want to do much in the previous years. To them, it was just like every other holiday. I always spent the day at home with them and always cooked their favorite meal and played games with them. But unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to do that this year. After getting the invite from Karl to the picnic in his favorite villa, it made me realize something. The reason the kids never really felt excited about the July 4th holiday was because I never really gave them something to be excited about. Unlike Christmas or
DiamondThe ride to the Winthrop's Villa was mostly silent. Karl and I didn't speak much, except for the time he complimented my dress. I didn't bother much with that considering that I was a tad bit nervous about everything that was going to unfold. If I manage to steer clear of Lennox, keep up with a bright smile on my face, and talk to everyone like they hadn't wronged me in the past, then I should be fine. After about a couple hours drive, Karl announced, “We're here.”I sucked in a breath then exhaled, ready to go in. As I reached for the back seat to get the bottle if wine I had come along with, Karl caught a hold of my hand. I was a bit surprised but it waned when he smiled reassuringly at me..“I really don't know how to thank you enough for coming with me today.”“It's alright,” I told him with a smile. “You don't have to thank me.” That was facts. As much as I was doing this to make Karl happy and support him, not because I actually wanted to be here, I also didn't expect
73: DiamondOn seeing Shirley, I stopped in the doorway leading to the living room and kitchen. She looked like she was multitasking between making mashed potatoes and baking cookies. It's been over five years since I last saw her, and five years later and five years older, she was still as hardworking as ever. Shirley carried this warmth around her, the way she speaks, the way she smiles, the way she makes everyone feel welcome. Although I hadn't really spoken to her after the whole drama that came along with the divorce, but the few times we saw, she wore a look of apology on her face and told me every time in the days leading up to the finalization of the divorce and the divorce itself that she was sorry about what Lennox did. Something that Lennox had never said then. She was the only one that felt and knew that I had truly been wronged. Everyone just went about the whole thing like it was normal for a married man to cheat on his wife with his wife's sister and even go as far as i
LennoxEvery July 4th, I had the job of picking out the wine from the cellar. It was something my father used to do when I was little but now, all grown up, he delegated the duty to me because I could now tell the difference between good wine and bad wine. Not that we had any bad wines in the cellar, my father always got the good stuff and saved them for special occasions like today. As I was browsing through the merlots, I stumbled upon a bottle my father and I had popped the day before I was to get married. I don't know why he had wanted to attend my bachelor's party, but he was so keen on it. I would have brought him along but my friends weren't really digging the idea of my father going with us to a club of strippers and what not. So, on the night before my wedding, he brought me out to the pool side and with a bottle of Quereu merlot, and he made a toast to a long lasting and happy marriage. We spent two and half downing glass after glass of wine as he educated me on the best
DiamondI never envisaged this day panning out like this. Sure, I knew that being in the same space with my ex husband and his family wasn't exactly ideal but I resigned to not think about it, move past and focus on doing something for Karl who has been nothing short of a very helpful friend to me. But the day had barely even started and here I was, trapped in a cellar with the one person I'd rather not be trapped in. At the thought of spending even the next minute alone with Lennox in the cellar, I shook my head and began banging on the gate. “Is anybody there?” I screamed at the top of my lungs. “Can anybody hear me?”Lennox threw his head back and groaned out in frustration. “I have told you, Diamond. Nobody can hear us. Everybody is outside and the only person indoors was my mother who is probably smoldering my brother with her hugs right now. Plus, even if she was in the kitchen, it would take a miracle for her to hear you. That's why it's called a cellar, it's below the build
DiamondMy heart was racing in my chest as I listened keenly to Lennox. I wasn't supposed to be feeling this way, I knew too damn well. But I couldn't control how my heart was palpitating as I anticipated what next he had to say. Was it going to make me feel better if he said he still had feelings for me? Was it going to somehow undo everything he did to me? What even was I expecting to happen? That he would leave his wife for me? Wait, no. Did I want to get back together with Lennox? I had never for once considered the possibilities of any of these questions. Ever since I came back to New York, the goal had been to stay away from Lennox because I needed to protect my children from him. Protecting my heart was never the question because why would I go back to a man that cheated on me? Why should I still feel anything but hate towards him? As the saying goes, fool me once, shame on you. And if you fool me twice, shame on me. Yet, with all of these thoughts, my heart seemed to have a m