CHAPTER 23 #2
She went to get the drinks, leaving an awkward atmosphere behind her.
Nobody was speaking, and it felt more and more uncomfortable the longer it went on.
There was no eye contact either, so no dirty looks to decipher.
Just nothing. Bobby was getting restless, but he had to let Mr M drive this.
He was still reading his newspaper and didn’t seem to be in a hurry.
Mrs M brought the drinks back in and passed them to Alex and Dillon. They both took a drink, and the silence continued. When was someone going to speak?
“I was listening to something interesting recently,” said Mr M from behind his newspaper. “Well, interesting is the wrong word. It was more illuminating. Your brother shared it with me, Alex.”
“Okay,” she said, sounding unsure.
“Yes, it was quite fascinating. Would you like to hear it?”
“What?”
He folded his newspaper up and eyed his daughter. She shifted nervously in her seat, looking anxious. She clearly knew her dad was up to something. Dillon was sipping his beer, seemingly oblivious to the dramatic drop of temperature in the room.
“I asked if you’d like to hear it?”
“What’s it about?”
“I wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise.”
“Okay . . . just send me the link, then.”
“We can listen to it now. Gabriel, would you kindly do the honours?”
Gabriel nodded and took out his phone. His hands were shaking, so Bobby took the phone from him once it was unlocked and located the audio clip.
“What’s going on, Dad?” asked Alex. “Why wasn’t I told they were going to be here?”
“We’ll talk after we’ve listened to this. It’s not very long.”
“No, they are clearly up to something. I’m not going to stay and listen to more of their lies.”
“Alex, sit down and shut up,” said Mr M in a tone you didn’t mess with.
Her eyes widened, and she complied. Dillon didn’t say a word or offer her comfort.
Mr M nodded at Bobby, so he hit play. In seconds, Gabriel’s and Dillon’s voices could be heard.
Bobby had only listened to this twice before because it made him so angry.
He took hold of Gabriel’s hand as the conversation played.
Bobby looked at Dillon, who was red in the face, but it wasn’t embarrassment; it was anger.
“This is fake bullshit,” Dillon shouted.
“Do not use that language or raise your voice in this house,” said Mr M. “Play it again, Bobby. This time I don’t want any interruptions.”
He did as he was told, but Bobby could see it was distressing Gabriel. This would be the last time he had to listen to it. Bobby wouldn’t let them play it again, even if that meant pushing back against Mr M.
Dillon was standing with his fists balled, seething with rage. They knew he would say it had been faked, but they were prepared for that. The recording ended, and it was Mr M who spoke first.
“Did you find that as illuminating as I did, Alex?”
“Don’t listen to them, babes. It’s clearly bullshit.
Your brother just wants to get back in with your parents, so they’ll accept the fact he was jealous of you being happy and stole your fiancé from you.
Remember that your own brother stole him from you.
What kind of person does that to their own sister? ”
Bobby stood up. “Do you want to sit down and shut up before I make you?”
“Touch me and I’ll call the police. You’ll get disbarred and fuck up your career.”
“Mr M asked you not to swear in his house. Show some respect.”
Bobby felt Gabriel’s hand on his shoulder, and it calmed him instantly. He stepped back from Dillon. Mr M was running this show, so he needed to let him lead.
“I would like to hear Alex’s view,” said Mr M.
“It’s like Dillon said. It’s fake. He would never say things like that. If he felt that way, why would he be with me?”
“I see. Well, let’s look at Exhibit B, shall we?”
He pulled an envelope out from under the coffee table. Bobby knew what was in it as he’d given him the envelope. He pulled the photographs out, stood up, and passed them to Alex.
“What’s this?”
“Those were all taken in the last month.”
Her eyes widened as she looked at the photographs. Dillon looked over her shoulder, his jaw clenched, and he snatched them off her and ripped them up.
“You two are really desperate if you need to fake this shit. You’re the one who fucked your fiancé’s brother like some pervert. This is the same as the voice recording. All bullshit.”
“I won’t ask you again to watch your language in this house,” said Mr M.
Alex wasn’t saying anything. She was in shock, which wasn’t surprising, as the photos had shown Dillon cheating on her with five other women. They had more evidence than pictures. Daniel’s guy was very thorough, and he’d found everything.
“Why are you doing this?” asked Alex, her voice breaking and tears rolling down her face.
These weren’t her usual fake tears either.
“Haven’t you caused me enough pain, Gabriel, by marrying my fiancé?
Now you want to destroy the fact that I’ve found some happiness as well.
You always wanted Bobby. I saw you looking at him, and now you’ve got him.
Why do you have to destroy what I have as well? ”
Gabriel looked close to tears. Even though Alex was the one completely in the wrong, Gabriel would always want her to be happy.
That’s the sort of person he was, and from what he’d learnt, not just over the past few weeks but in the two years Bobby had seen them interact as siblings, he would often do something he didn’t want to, or go against what he believed was right, just to make her happy.
She knew that and used that kindness against him.
“Mr M, can I have the other photos, please?”
He was going off script, but Mr M seemed on board as he passed the envelope to him. Bobby took out the other photos. There would be no way they could say these were faked, and he hoped they would sow a seed of doubt in Alex’s mind.
“These photos are proof that you two have been together since last year. There’s one of you both kissing at the Halloween party,” he said, holding it up.
“Here you are on romantic dates, holding hands. These are you coming out of Dillon’s flat late at night, which aligns with the dates you said you were working late.
And these are your text messages to each other, which include nude photos, and some messages which I wouldn’t allow your parents to read. ”
“How did you get those?” she asked, snatching them from Bobby. “This is an invasion of privacy.” She looked mad.
“So, these aren’t faked, then? Just an invasion of privacy.”
“I . . . no, that’s not what I’m saying. They’re obviously fake.”
“Okay, well, if that’s not you in the pictures, your dad can look at them.”
He took the pictures back off her and walked towards Mr M, with no intention of giving them to him, but it was enough for Alex to crack.