Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
“If anything is gonna give me a migraine,” I muttered to Levi, “it’s this damn car dealership.”
“Not funny,” he replied.
“I finally have someone who knows everything and I can’t even joke about my disability?”
He huffed out a laugh. “You can after I’ve had five to ten business days to process the trauma you put me through.”
“We live in fast times. Get with the program.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“But you like me.”
His hand threaded through mine. “That I do.”
Levi wasn’t going to have me join him at the dealership after working the morning in the office, but my being here made it easier to put the car in my name. It should have been a simple transaction, yet we had to wait way too long as salespeople tried to get us into a more expensive car.
One look at it told me that I had what I wanted. I didn’t consider myself very picky, but this car had features I could only dream of. It was the highest trim with floor liners for all of the gardening I was about to do. The second I got behind the wheel, it felt like mine.
“I could pretend to have a migraine to get us outta here faster.”
“I don’t think it’ll work,” he said. “They should be getting the paperwork ready.”
Levi was right, and thankfully, we were able to sign and leave soon after. I couldn’t help the excitement that hit me as I drove in something that was mine .
On the way to get an early dinner, I called Emma to tell her that Levi had held up his end of the deal and that she had no reason to worry. We talked until I pulled up beside Levi’s car at the restaurant.
After eating, I was still feeling good about life, but when I got home, I received a text from Calvin.
Calvin
Are you coming to my party? It starts soon.
It’s the only way I get to celebrate your wedding, after all.
“You’re gonna have to work on your parking in the driveway,” Levi said. “You’re used to smaller cars.”
“Ah, yeah. Probably.”
He turned to me. “What’s wrong? And don’t say it’s nothing.”
I wanted to, but his call out made me rethink my choices. “Calvin just sent a reminder about his dumb party.”
“The stock price one?” he asked before rolling his eyes. “And, of course, it’s because of this damn mental health thing he’s pushing.”
“So then we have plans tonight. We need to go.”
“You just recovered from a migraine. There’s no way we’re going.”
“I’m over it. I can easily go.” At his answering glare, I added, “The whole point of this was to piss off Calvin and we’ve not done very much to accomplish that. I’ll be fine.”
“You keep saying that, but I don’t think you know what fine means. Migraines take days to recover from.”
“Levi,” I said as we entered the house. “I truly am okay. The medicine I’m on is very effective and getting back on it so quickly helped. But if I feel anything in my head, I’ll tell you, okay?”
“Will you really?”
“ Yes. But you’ve said Calvin is hurting your business, and you just spent days taking care of me. Let me do this one thing for you.”
He sighed but nodded. “Fine. But only if you’re honest with me.”
“I promise I will be.”
“Do you still have the invitation?”
“Yeah, I think I threw it in my mail sorter.” I grabbed it and handed it over.
“It says it’s at five. Does this man ever work?”
“And yet you’re here.”
“I’m here because I had to help my wife. Trust me, I have plenty of things I need to do when I get back tomorrow.”
“Like find a way to make him look bad for poaching your employees?”
“I can’t believe what he’s doing is even legal,” Levi muttered. “But no. I have a connection with a talent agency and I’m making sure my benefits are as good as his. Even though he’s offering things he can’t afford. I’m working on expanding to rural areas right now on top of everything else.”
“Rural areas. I remember something about that when I was asleep in meetings.”
He laughed. “They’re underserved. Very much so.”
“Then it sounds good. And you know what’s even better? You telling me these things.”
“I’m really surprised you care, considering how little you liked your parents’ company.”
“I disliked it because they steamrolled me. You’re not doing that.” I checked the time. “I would talk longer, but I do need to get dressed. At least I already did my hair.”
I had quite a few cute things, but one of my favorites was a dress with lemons on it. It had a fitted waist and made my curves look even better than they usually did. I’d yet to have a place to wear it, and Levi told me to wear something nice, so I threw it on and did my makeup while Levi grabbed a dress shirt and slacks and got changed in the bathroom.
Levi waited in the living room in his new outfit and watched me as I walked down the stairs.
He froze. “You look . . .”
“Is it too much?”
“I was gonna say incredible.”
“I’ve had this dress forever and?—”
He crossed the room and pulled me into his arms. “And you’ll have to wear it more often. This is my favorite thing you’ve ever worn.”
“What about my wedding dress?”
“Ah. Well. I suppose this is a close second.” He looked down. “Maybe it takes the number one spot. I can’t tell.”
A giggle escaped me and I grabbed my purse. “You’ll have all night to figure it out, I guess. Ready to go?”
“More than anything.”
Going to Calvin’s house always solidified my confusion on why he wanted Gram’s so bad. And why she had given it to him in the first place. To say he had a mansion wasn’t enough. He had more than that, all sprawled out on perfectly mowed land. Cars were parked on the grass and people were everywhere, reminding me just how many people he’d gotten in his corner over the years.
I took a shaky breath. I was dreading how poorly this could go. I was dreading even seeing Levi and Calvin in the same room, because when my brother wasn’t present, it was easier to pretend that Levi was here for me and no one else.
When we got out of the car, I felt like I couldn’t move.
Then a hand grabbed mine.
“Say the word and we’ll leave.”
I shook my head. “We have people to piss off.”
“I don’t give a fuck. You’re my wife and you come first.”
I loved it when he called me his wife, but I also hated it. Deep down, I knew more than anything that I wanted to be someone’s something . Whether it be wife or a friend, or even a partner. For far too long, everything was about Calvin, and I wanted Levi to be mine .
But all roads led to Calvin in the end. This had been the way of the world for so long that I didn’t feel sad about it anymore. It was only a fact of life. I was not as important as my brother.
Still, Levi’s hand helped as we walked through the front door.
We waded through the people, all there for him. Did other people throw a party like this over rising stocks? I had no clue.
“Son of a bitch,” Levi muttered. “He has five of my practitioners here.”
Levi was looking at a group of guys huddled in the corner, all talking among themselves. I hadn’t seen him look this irritated in a while. It was a sore reminder of his competitiveness, no matter what he had said previously.
“We should go say hi. I bet they wouldn’t expect to see you here.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. In this group of people, there’s no one that I’d like to talk to more.” I followed him through the crowd. I smiled and waved as if I knew his former employees. “Hi! It’s nice to see you! Have you met my husband, Levi?”
Levi took over, calling them each by their names. He plastered on an easygoing smile and asked about their personal lives. I did my best to play the happy wife while he schmoozed.
But then I saw a flash of brown hair and a familiar face.
Ava was staring at me from within the crowd.
Calvin was nowhere to be found, and I wondered if she’d been left in the dust while he found other people. A wad of cotton formed in my mouth. I knew that feeling better than anyone else.
“Excuse me,” I said, patting Levi’s shoulder. “I’ll be right back.”
His hand on my waist gripped me tighter. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I said. “I saw an old friend in the crowd. I wanna say hi.”
He nodded and let me go, and I moved in Ava’s direction.
She walked off and into the kitchen, head hung low. I followed her.
“Hey,” I said. “Enjoying the party?”
She turned. “Are you ?”
“Kinda. It’s a lot of business talk. Is Calvin not hanging out with you?”
“It’s fine. I got all of him this morning.”
I cringed. I did not need to know that.
“So, are you two dating?” I asked.
“Of course. I couldn’t believe when he contacted me a few weeks ago. I thought he’d forgotten about me.”
He probably had. Until I got married to his enemy.
Calvin knew that Ava was my friend first. And he’d gone after her anyway, just like he always did. I didn’t want to pop Ava’s bubble, but I didn’t want to leave her in the dark either.
“That’s funny,” I said. “That’s right when I announced my engagement.”
“Oh yeah. Levi, right? Kind of a bold move, going after an enemy like that.”
“He’s not my enemy.”
“Sure, but there’s a history there. You really hurt Calvin’s feelings.”
I blinked. “I wasn’t aware that I had to consider his feelings when choosing a partner.”
“I know you don’t want to. Leave it to Amy to make it all about her.” She walked to the doorway and glanced at Levi. “Seems you’re in familiar territory. He’s over there talking business without a second thought about you. There’s not even a chair for you.”
I followed her line of sight; Levi did seem focused on his conversation. He’d found a seat, the only one open, chatting away with the clients Calvin was trying to steal.
“Are you trying to make me feel bad?”
“It’s pretty easy to,” she said with a smile. “You have so many insecurities.”
That familiar feeling of rage flooded me. She used to be my friend. Why would she want to pick at all of my insecurities? Why couldn’t she simply be my friend ?
“I don’t have any insecurities.”
“We’ll see if that’s true the longer he ignores you.”
“You have no idea what our marriage is like.”
“Oh yeah? I bet it’s quiet. He works all the time and you’re left at home by yourself. I can tell by the bags under your eyes that you had one of those headaches of yours. And I have a feeling he didn’t even notice.”
I laughed. Everything she said was wrong. I shrugged. “If that makes you feel better.”
“Calvin tells me how jealous you are. About how you’ll do anything to pull ahead. And marrying Levi? We both know it’s not because you love him. You might love his money, though.”
I wasn’t going to let her make me feel bad about my marriage. Not after everything Levi and I had been through.
“You know, I was hoping to catch up with you, but your conversation skills suck. I’m gonna go to where I’m actually appreciated.”
“So you’re just gonna stand by his side like a good little wife?”
“No. You might have missed it, but my favorite seat is open.”
I brushed by her and walked right to my husband. And without another word, I plopped myself right into his lap.
Levi didn’t miss a beat. His hand curled onto my hip, pulling me closer.
“Hi, darling.” His voice was low and warm. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I missed you,” I said loud enough for everyone to hear, but I leaned in and lowered my voice. “And my former friend Ava is here.”
“Is this all for show?”
“Well, it is a comfortable seat.”
“It’s always open for you.”
His hand tightened on my hip and I turned to everyone and asked what I’d missed.
The conversation between Levi and his clients went well, and I smiled whenever they laughed. Eventually, we moved to one of the other rooms to let someone else have the one chair, yet Levi’s arm was still slung around me no matter where we went.
“I got one of them to send me the offer letter they received,” Levi said once we’d broken from the group. “I didn’t think I could do that. They seemed to only want attention.”
“And the free food.”
“Is this what he does? Charms people with these parties?”
“It’s not just the parties. People have always been drawn to Calvin. He makes them feel what they want, and ultimately, he gets what he wants. It’s how it works.”
“Flattery doesn’t work on everyone.”
“Does it not?” I asked. “He gets all the attention.”
Levi opened his mouth to argue, but we were interrupted by cheers for the man of the house. Calvin came out, all smiles, as he saw everyone.
It dropped when he saw us.
I excused myself to get a drink, Levi following me. Calvin found us not long after.
“Hi,” he said, looking in between the two of us as Levi slid an arm around me. “There’s the happy couple. I can’t believe I missed the wedding.”
“I can,” Levi said. “Considering I told you to leave.”
He shrugged as if it were water under the bridge, but his eyes zeroed in on Levi. “Always good to see you. Tell me, did it get any better after I left?”
Levi’s arm tightened. “It was perfect after you were gone.”
“You’ll have to send me photos. Gram’s old shack doesn’t usually clean up that well.”
“It’s not a shack,” I hissed, “it’s a house.”
“It’s something. I bet there are far nicer things that could fit on that land, don’t you think?”
“No. Families and memories are enough.”
“You’re so ... hopeful.” Calvin turned to Levi. “Is that what you saw in my dear sister? I can’t really think of anything else that would bring you two together.”
I gripped my water cup tighter. “Damn. You’re really choosing to be an ass tonight. I thought a part of this party was for the wedding.”
“It was on the invitation. I can’t help it that people came only for me.”
“For all your success, right?” I asked. “How’s your real estate business venture going, then?”
I smirked when he frowned. I couldn’t wait to see Levi’s face when he found out that they’d been shut down.
“I’ve hit a snag with the government, but I’ll get it sorted soon enough. It’s just a temporary pause.”
“Such a shame that the city cares about historic homes and stopped demolition,” Levi said.
“Yes, it’s—wait, how did you know?”
I could have asked the same question. I told him about the house—not the delay in demolition. Then my brain slowly caught up. Maybe he walked by the house and saw it. Duh.
“When my wife told me, I was shocked that they’d tear it down, considering the historical significance. I called the city to double-check and they said they didn’t have the required permits.” Levi took a sip of his drink. “Odd.”
Calvin’s eyes grew wide. “You called them on me?”
“Just out of curiosity. You know how it is. But they tend to look closer once they know you’re trying to fly under the radar. I hope you have everything under control and didn’t do anything unsavory to get that house.”
Calvin’s jaw ticked at Levi’s thinly veiled threat. He was good at this.
And as much as I wanted to revel in Calvin’s annoyance, a prickle of discomfort made its way up my spine. Sure, getting him mad was the goal, but good things didn’t happen to me when Calvin was like this. Usually, he made my life a living hell.
“We should let you say hello to your other guests,” I said, grabbing Levi’s arm. “Don’t worry, we’ll entertain ourselves.”
I dragged my husband away to the hallway where I took a deep breath. “What’s going on?” His hand touched my elbow. “Do we need to leave?”
“I forgot how scary Calvin can be when he’s angry. Sorry, I’ll be up for more revenge in a second.”
“Scary? Has he done anything to you?” Levi’s voice was low and dangerous. It made my skin tingle.
“He just finds a way to make me miserable, mostly. Like with trying to tear down that house and firing me. Apparently, it makes me nervous when I purposefully test him.”
“Whatever he does, we’ll handle together, okay?” His hand moved to my chin and he tilted my head up to look at him. “And if he hurts you, then he deals with me .”
“Levi, there you are. I’ve been looking for you everywhere.” We both turned to see one of Levi’s practitioners coming down the hallway. “I wanted to discuss some business with you. Do you have a second?”
“I was talking to my wife about something.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “I’m fine. It sounds important.”
Levi frowned. “But?—”
“Seriously, it’s fine. I’ll be outside, okay?” I walked off before he argued any further. I didn’t know what he was doing talking to me when he had so many other things to deal with.
When I got out into the fresh air, I could breathe better. I was on my own, and through the glass door, I could see everything that was going on. If Levi needed me, I’d know.
I had a few blissful minutes alone before the door opened and the last person I expected walked out.
“Ava,” I said. “Still alone?”
Her eyes were devoid of any kindness. I didn’t have a doubt that she was back to make me feel even worse.
“Is your husband done with you again?”
“He has some business to talk about. He’s a CEO, after all.”
“I find that the right CEO always has time for those around them.” She flicked her hair over her shoulder. “Mine always makes time for me.”
“That’s great.”
“He’s so sweet. Attentive too. He sent me the biggest bouquet of flowers at work. What did Levi get for you again?”
“Books, mostly.”
“Oh, interesting.” She waved her hand. “Cute, if that’s your thing.”
“I think I see Calvin in there. Don’t you wanna go talk to him?” At her shrug, something in me snapped. “Unless he sent you out here for me.”
Ava rolled her eyes. “Obviously, he didn’t. You think he’s obsessed with you.”
“That she does. She always thinks everything has to do with her.”
That wasn’t the voice I wanted to hear. Chills broke out over my skin and I turned to see Calvin had joined us. He threw a casual arm around Ava and pulled her close.
“Hi, babe.” She smiled and pulled him into a frankly gross kiss that I had to look away from.
“What are you doing out here, Amy?” Calvin asked.
“Just wanted some air.”
“Or did you want to look at my empty yard? The pool would have been long open if you’d let me have my way.”
Oh, come on . Was he still on about this? “I’m sure you’ll find a way to get your pool. Stocks are up.”
Ava scoffed. “You do realize it’s the principle, right?”
“You do realize that your little boyfriend has money, right? I mean, look at this house. It’s so big it’s ridiculous. I got Gram’s old ‘shack,’ as you called it. There’s no reason for us to be fighting over this.”
His eyes narrowed. “You took what’s mine.”
“And you have everything else,” I snapped. “Let it go.”
“Like you let it go? You married Levi to get under my skin.”
“What?” I asked, voice high. “No, I didn’t.”
“You know what? That sounds like something she’d do,” Ava said, rolling her eyes.
“Just like he found you to make me jealous?” I said to her. “Do you really think he found you just because he missed you? He did it right when I got engaged.”
Ava stiffened. “You don’t know anything.”
“It’s just perfect timing.”
“Just like your marriage,” Calvin added. “Ava, go inside. It’s time for me to talk to my sister alone.”
I thought she would fight him on it, but all Ava did was nod and leave us. I didn’t realize how much I didn’t want to be alone with Calvin until I was. My heart stuttered as I faced him down.
“Right when I finally get everything, you have to ruin it. I don’t know how you found him, but I don’t buy your little love story. I know he only cares about making me mad, and he’ll never care about you.”
“And if you’re wrong?”
“Oh, I’m not. I know how you work.” He stepped closer, now in my face. “You always have to have something from me because you can’t accept that you’re second best.”
“You think I don’t know that?”
“Not enough, apparently. Because you’re still in my way. And I will stop at nothing to be sure you get what you deserve.”
Something about his voice, the dark tone of it, the way he glared, sent me back to when we were kids, when he would push me down the playground stairs for interrupting him or yell at me for being in the way.
Back then, he’d just been a kid. Now, he had power . He’d taken away my job and my health insurance. He was trying to ruin my neighborhood.
And my life .
What else was he capable of? What would he do if he found the few people I cherished? The ones who liked me for me?
“Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to?” A hand clamped around my arm, pulling me away from Calvin’s too-close position in front of me. Levi’s voice was angry and when I turned to him, my breath caught. His eyes were narrowed, his chest puffed up. He looked like he was one word away from punching Calvin.
He was this mad for me .
And while it shouldn’t have, it filled me with a warm feeling that someone cared enough to get this angry for me.
“I think I’m talking to my little sister.”
“Actually, you’re talking to my wife . And I don’t tolerate your bullshit like everyone else does.”
“You’re really getting defensive over her ? You do realize who you married, right?”
“I’m very aware of who I married. The only person fucking lost is you , so let’s clear a few things up. Amy is my wife , and I’m in love with her. If I ever catch you intimidating her like that again, I’ll show you exactly what a weak little bitch you are. Do I make myself clear?”
“T-this isn’t wrestling in freshman year anymore.”
“I’m always up for a rematch, Calvin. Especially when you mess with someone I love.”
“You can’t touch me.”
“Can I not? Remember, Calvin, it took one call for me to shut down your little revenge tactic on your sister, and you cut all control you had on her when you fired her. And I’ll be sure you can’t do anything else to her.”
“And when you’re done with her?”
“You’ll be waiting a long fucking time for that.”
Calvin’s eyes widened and then his anger returned.
I didn’t have time to feel anything about Levi’s declaration. All I knew was that my fear was back and my stomach was roiling with unease.
“W-we should go,” I said, grabbing Levi’s arm. “I think I’ve hit my limit of drama.”
Levi turned to me, his expression softening the second his eyes met mine. “Okay,” he said. “Lead the way.”
“What, you’re just leaving?” Calvin demanded.
“Yes,” I said. “I just wanna go home.”
“And where is that? His fancy penthouse in downtown?”
“I’m selling that,” Levi said. “I’d much rather have the beautiful four square Amy lives in. I hear it has a lot of ... history for this family.”
Levi grabbed my hand and led me away, leaving Calvin sputtering after us.
“That was a dumpster fire ... in a bomb ... in hell,” I said as we drove away.
“It could have gone worse.”
“How?”
“I could have not held back.”
“That was you not holding back?”
“Amy, think about what I saw,” he said. “I saw him crowding you while you looked one step away from crying.”
“And?”
“ And? ” he snapped. “That’s all I needed. He doesn’t get to talk to you like that.”
“I hate to tell you this, but he’s always been like that.”
“That’s why you got nervous, isn’t it? Because he corners you?”
“That’s the least of what he’s done.”
“Excuse me?”
“He was worse when we were kids. He would push me down in the playground?—”
“Wait, is that where you got the scar?”
“W-what?”
“You said you got the scar on your lip from falling down in a playground.”
“I told you that nine years ago .”
“And I remembered. Did he do that to you?”
“Well, yes , but?—”
Levi pulled the car off the road and we came to a jerky stop. His knuckles were white on the steering wheel.
“That fucking asshole.”
“It’s not a?—”
“Don’t tell me it’s not a big deal. It is. To me.”
I could only stare. Mom and Dad hadn’t been this protective when they found out. All they asked was what I did to deserve it.
What did that say about them?
“We were kids. He stopped doing that in adulthood.”
“You covered for him.”
“I was told I shouldn’t have antagonized him.”
“So he got away with it?” he hissed as he turned to me.
“He always does. They never see what he does as wrong, and all I’ve ever been is in the way.”
“You’re not in the way. You’re a person too. You’re more than that.”
“To who?”
“To me.”
That did unfair things to my heart. Levi had proven time and time again that he cared, yet it was still so shocking every time.
“You know he’s an asshole, right?” Levi’s words pulled me out of my thoughts. “That this isn’t how life should be?”
“I know it’s wrong,” I whispered. “If I saw Lily getting treated the way I did, I would be on her side. But inside of me there’s still that little girl who thinks it’s all my fault. No matter how old I get, she’s still there, begging to be loved by the people who are supposed to love her. And sometimes she wins. And I go home thinking things will be different.”
“But they never are.”
“No. They aren’t. Calvin is possibly the worst person I’ve ever met. And so are my parents because they enable him.”
“I should have kicked his ass in wrestling more.”
“That wouldn’t have changed anything, but it would have been fun to see. Thankfully, he moved on to more ... manipulative practices.”
“Thankfully?”
“When I kept my mouth shut, it was easier. But him not getting the house made him worse than ever. Especially when the court ruled in my favor.”
“You needed the house.”
“I did. But I still feel bad.”
“You have nothing to feel bad for.”
“You can feel guilt and be right,” I said. “And that’s how it is for me.”
“What you experienced tonight is not how it’s going to be anymore. I’m done letting him hurt you.”
“You can’t always be here.”
“I can always be a call away. I’m telling you right now, if you need me, I’ll be there.”
“And what if ... this doesn’t last? If things change and you don’t want this anymore?”
“That’s not gonna happen.”
“How do you know?”
He opened his mouth and shut it, obviously unsure of what to say. I prepared myself to hear him correct himself and tell me he would only be here for the time we had.
“Because I like you. And I want to keep liking you. Is that so hard to believe?”
“Kinda. Most people use me as a stepping stone to get to Calvin. Ava did. And when she had him, I was dust.”
“Is Ava the woman you went after?”
“She was a friend from a long time ago, but then she was his girlfriend. And she is again. For now. I think he did it right when we got married.”
“He found your old friend just because we got married? Do you know how sad that is?”
“I mean, you married me for revenge.”
“It was not just for that.” His voice was so sharp that it made me pause.
“But that’s what you said.”
“That was the reason you’d believe.”
“You hate him. Anyone can see it.”
“Yes, but I don’t care about the revenge part of it.”
“Then what do you care about?”
“You.”
My eyes grew wide.
“Since when?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“It has to be after the honeymoon. Or maybe just before, but?—”
Levi cut me off with a laugh. “When you’re ready to know the truth, let me know.”
“And until then?”
“I’ll be doing what I have this entire time: proving you wrong. About us. About Calvin. All of it.”
I swallowed. “That’s what you’ve been doing this whole time?”
A slow smile spread on Levi’s face. “Yes. Glad you finally caught up.”