SIX

            Max was at a loss for words. She had a boyfriend. Correction. A fiancé. His son preferred the fiancé over him.

Spinning around, he went back inside, feeling dejected. How could he have been so stupid as to think Emilia still loved him? That they could still fix things between them and be a happy family? They'd been apart for nine good years. God knew how many men she'd seen at that time. It's not like he’d been a saint either. As she'd told him, he had been with Lisandra and even allowed her to move into their bedroom. Hell, he'd been with other women, too. So why did he expect her to still love him?

She was a beautiful, sexy, healthy woman. Of course, men wanted her. She also had needs. When he'd met her, she had been a virgin. He had prided himself on knowing that he was the only man who would ever be with her. Maybe that was why it hurt so much to see her with another man. God, he was so stupid. He should have known she wasn't back for him. Then why was she back? Why did he care? She was the one who left him.

Maybe she was back to collect her alimony or to make their Zander hate him so she would have full custody of their son and cut all ties with him. Why had he given her the benefit of the doubt? You're my husband, Max. Mine. Yeah right. He was stupid for falling for that. For a second there, he'd believed she hadn't stopped loving him. That even the years they'd spent apart hadn't come between the love they felt for each other. But then he had to stop and ask himself if she had truly loved him to begin with?

Would the woman he had married look at another man?

He tried to find the similarities between the Emilia he knew back then and the one he'd seen kissing another man, but there was none. The woman he knew nine years ago was sweet. She wouldn't have done anything to hurt him. The fact that he knew she was trying to get back at him by parading her boyfriend in front of him stung more. She was getting back at him for Lisandra. Because he'd allowed her to sleep in their bed. And she had every right to do it but did it have to be in his house? Couldn't she meet her boyfriend somewhere else? And dear God, why did it hurt so much to see her with another man? 

She pushed your mother down the stairs.

"Goddammit!" he kicked the door to the study open and slammed it shut. Then punched the wall beside it several times. Shouldn't he be focusing on the fact that Emilia had put his mother in a wheelchair instead of his jealousy?

That woman was driving him crazy. He didn't know what to think of her. One second she was saying something and the next her actions were contradicting what she'd said. How was he supposed to live with her without knowing what she was planning next? What if he woke up one day only to find out she had disappeared again? This time with his son. What would he do?

He wanted to know Zander. He hadn't been there when he was born or while he was growing up, but if Emilia had decided to let them meet; he wanted to make up for everything. He couldn't pass up this chance to show his son that he wasn't the bad person Zander thought he was. Max couldn't let them leave without bonding with him. At the very least, he wouldn’t let them disappear again. Moving away from the door, he sat behind the large mahogany desk and took out his phone.

"Hey Carter. What can I do you for?"

"Hello Davis. I need a favor"

"Anything for you, my friend. What is it?"

Max rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hand, "Emilia is back"

"Took her long enough. What does she want now? Money?"

"No. You won't believe it but she came back with my son. Turns out she didn't have an abortion"

Davis whistled. "I didn't see that coming. Are you sure the kid is yours?"

"Yes. Without a doubt, but that's not why I called. I want you to find out where she's been all these years"

"Now you want me to find out where she's been? I don't get it, man. Why don't you ask her where she was?" Max sighed. He'd gone to college with Davis, who was now a PI. His friend had offered to look for Emilia when she first left, but Max had turned down the offer. He'd told him that if she had left then he didn't want to know where she was. Besides, he was furious because he’d thought she'd had an abortion.

"I don't trust her to tell me the truth. I need you to find out everything about her and a man named Sawyer Jennings"

"Oh, I see. This is about her new boyfriend"

"I didn't say he was her boyfriend," Max replied defensively. He didn't want to come off like a jealous husband, even though he probably was.

"I'm a PI Max. It's my job to know why my clients are calling me"

"Fine. It's about him. Can you look into it, please?"

"No problem. I'll call you when I have news"

"Thanks, man. I owe you." He hung up just as the door opened and Lisandra walked in. She was in a black short dress and red high heels. Not a strand of hair was out of place. Yet Emilia surpasses her when it comes to, well, everything. The voice in his head taunted.

"Hey baby. What are you doing?"

"Nothing"

"Great. Let's go out then. A new restaurant just opened and I want to try it out"

"I'm not in the mood to go out, Lisandra"

She approached him and sat on the edge of the desk beside him. "Don't be such a grouch. Come on, let's go out like we used to. A few hours away from that mad woman will do you…"

Max sprang up, knocking his chair down, and bellowed, "I'm not interested. Why can't you understand that?"

"This is because of that bitch, isn't it? Now that she's back, you're not interested in me?"

"Get out of my office, Lisandra. I don't have time for your drama"

"You son of a bitch!" she stood up and slapped him. "You were just using me until she got back? How dare you, Max? When you didn't defend me yesterday, I let it go because I thought you had no choice. But now you're treating me like shit because your slutty wife is back?"

"Get out!"

"Is it because she's better than me in bed? Do she know how you moan when I massage your balls while giving you a blow job?"

Having had enough, he took her arm and dragged her out. "I don’t have time for this shit," he told her, closing the door on her face.

Not one to back down, Lisandra banged on the door with her fists yelling "I won't let you use me, then throw me away like trash Max Carter. I won't. Do you hear me?"

"Jesus, what was I thinking when I got in bed with her? She's fucking crazy," he muttered to himself, shaking his head.

Being on a Saturday, he had decided to stay at home instead of going to work. He'd spent his days trying to forget Emilia, but now that she was back, he needed to keep an eye on her. He couldn't trust her not to bring another man to his house. But what bothered him most was how comfortable Zander had been with those two men. How long had Emilia been dating him for his son to treat them like that?

Judging by their attire and car, they didn’t look like nobodies. What did they do for a living? Would Emilia’s fiancé try to adopt Zander? Max was out of his chair in a flash and pacing behind it. Was that really their plan? To make Zander despise him so they could take him away? Since they hadn’t gotten a divorce, Emilia knew she couldn’t show up, ask for it, and still hide Zander. He would eventually find out and try to take him away. So instead, they devised a plan to make him look like the bad guy. It would be easier for them if his son didn’t like him.

Son of a bitch!

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