CHAPTER SEVEN
"The Breakup"
Monica knew one thing was certain. She had lost Taron's affection, or at least the version of it that had been convenient to her.
Her fling with Taron had only ever been intended to hurt Tao's feelings, a strategic move in a longer game.
But with Tao gone, Monica had begun to understand the full weight of what the Montgomery family name could do for a person who positioned themselves correctly inside its orbit.
She had watched it work for Tao her whole life.
She saw no reason it couldn't work for her.
Monica wasn't a gold digger. She knew the difference between wanting someone for what they were and wanting them for what they represented, and she was honest with herself, in the private architecture of her own mind, about which category Taron fell into.
The Montgomery family had lost a daughter. A vacancy had opened.
"Monica, what a wonderful surprise," Taera Montgomery greeted her at the door, her smile as bright as the sun despite the grief that lived permanently behind her eyes now.
She welcomed her in with both hands, the warmth of it genuine in a way that always made Monica feel warm within afterwards, she often chose not to lean too much into it, lest she forget the real reason she had stuck so close.
Taera Montgomery had become genuinely fond of Monica since Tao's death.
The young girl had been of great help in the worst weeks of Taera's life.
She wouldn't admit it to the world, but she had developed a quiet guilt about the warmth she felt toward Monica, as though liking her was somehow a betrayal of Tao.
And her growing interest in the girl was her secret way of seeking a kind of redemption for failing so badly with her own daughter.
Monica knew all of this. She read people the way some people read rooms almost naturally. Having a woman like Taera Montgomery in her corner was the best and maybe the only play available to her right now, and she was not going to waste it.
"I made some cupcakes and I thought it would be lovely to have tea by the garden," Monica said, presenting the box with a smile that was warm and genuine enough to not call for any suspicion.
The cupcakes were exquisitely made, their multicoloured frosting precise and beautiful.
Monica had commissioned one of the best bakers in the area.
She had remembered, from a passing conversation eighteen months ago, that Taera Montgomery had a legendary sweet tooth, that she had been known to fly to Paris on a weekday simply for a particular patisserie.
Monica stored these details like currency.
"Oh dear, bless your heart," Taera said, pulling her into a brief hug.
Monica beamed. The plan seemed to be working at every level. She had been slowly gaining favour among Tao's old friends and colleagues and was well on her way to doing the same with the family. Each visit built onto the last. Each small gesture compounded.
Taera led Monica into the garden on the East wing of the compound.
The family had undertaken a complete redesign of the garden since Tao's passing, as a tribute to her.
Tao as an adolescent would spend her evenings reading and doing homework in this garden, sitting in the corner with the best afternoon light, her legs folded beneath her.
The garden was now filled with orchids and tulips, so much so that the scent of the flowers was almost nauseating to Monica, their sweetness thick enough to taste.
"I thought Tao would have loved it here," Taera said, gesturing around with pride. Her guilt often led her to try to honor her daughter in the most extravagant of ways.
"I'm sure she would have loved it," Monica replied, hiding her almost bitter tone beneath a layer of soft agreement.
The tea and cupcakes tasted awful in Monica's mouth.
They had spent the whole time talking about Tao.
It was more Taera gushing about how perfect her daughter had been, how brilliant and irreplaceable, while Monica stiffly smiled and nodded and said all the appropriate things, the cupcakes turning to cardboard in her mouth with every perfect anecdote.
"Thank you, Monica, for spending time with me," Taera said finally, pulling her into a deep and genuine hug.
"It was a pleasure, Mrs. Montgomery," Monica whispered, her eyes closing as she allowed herself to rest briefly in the warmth of it.
"Taron!" Taera called out to her son, who had appeared in the doorway. "Please take Monica home."
Taron appeared and nodded, leading Monica out without ceremony. Monica kept her face neutral, one of the few useful things she had learned from extended proximity to Tao. She noted his silence in the driveway.
?
With his palm placed on the small of her back, Monica was led to the West side of the driveway where Taron's Audi sat beside a row of his sister's old cars, all still parked there as though they were waiting for their owner to return.
"This looks new," Monica said as Taron opened the door for her.
"Yeah," he responded.
His short answers didn't go unnoticed by Monica, but she wasn't going to let that deter her. She was here for him and she only needed to play the part long enough. She knew exactly which levers moved him. She had made it her business to know.
"I missed you," Monica said, smiling sweetly at him, her hand slowly tracing up his thigh. Taron's grip tightened on the steering wheel.
"I've missed this," Monica said, cupping his balls through his trousers. Taron jerked, her fingers felt perfect as she fondled him.
Monica had a sly grin on her face as Taron pulled the car over to the side of the road. Monica let out a surprised yelp, Taron had given her no time to recover before attacking her lips.
The windows quickly fogged up at their labored breath. Taron was on the rougher side, he liked it wild and Monica let herself be swept up in it, because desire was at least one thing between them that didn't require performance. She moaned as he attacked her neck, his hands up her skirt.
Both lost in the throes of ecstasy, Taron pulled her on top of him, her back hitting the steering wheel as his hard cock moved through her folds. Despite the pause, their hands continued to desperately pull each other closer.
"Taron," Monica moaned, slowly riding him as she approached her peak. The car horn blared out as she hit against it again as Taron started thrusting up to meet her.
Taron grunted underneath Monica, his eyes locked on her bouncing breasts as she rocked up and down against his body.
Monica let out a loud moan, her eyes almost rolling to the back of her head in pure pleasure. Taron's soft moans followed, signaling he was right there with her, soon after releasing into her.
Monica panted, as she settled into her seat. Her pupils wide as she arranged her disarrayed clothing.
"That was amazing," Monica muttered, still reeling in her post euphoric haze.
Afterward they sat in the fogged car and breathed, and then Taron said her name in a tone that she already recognised as the opening of a conversation she wasn't going to enjoy.
"Monica," he said. His eyes were fixed on the road ahead. "We need to talk."
Taron's eyes held sadness, it was almost like the moment they shared was a figment of her imagination.
Monica's smile flattened. She sensed the conversation wasn't about the moment they had just shared.
"This isn't easy for me. But I don't think we should continue seeing each other."
"What do you mean?" Monica's body went very still.
"I'm saying it's better we end this," Taron sighed. He instantly felt the weight of the moments she had confided in him about her separation and loneliness issues pressing back against him. "I'm not in the right mental space to accommodate whatever this is."
He took his left hand off the steering wheel to gesture between them.
"Is it because of her?" Monica asked flatly.
"Her?" Taron was briefly confused. "I am my own person, Monica. Tao didn't approve of us and of course, I do want to honor that. But beyond that, this wasn't something I had ever planned to pursue long term. I can't give this what it needs right now. I don't have it in me."
"Taron, Tao is dead," Monica gritted out. Even from the grave that woman still had an active hand in the outcomes of the relationships around her
"I know," he said quietly. "I know she is. And somehow she's still the clearest-sighted person in my life."
Monica looked out the window at the dark road and said nothing.
"Look, Monica. I think you're a remarkable person. But this still wouldn't have been right even if she were alive. All I'm saying is, I won't be able to give enough of myself to any kind of arrangement given the circumstances," Taron said.
"Did you think about all of this while you were kissing me a while ago?" Monica said calmly, her anger buried several layers down. "Or was it while you were balls deep inside me?"
Taron sighed softly and reached out to touch her face. She slapped his hand away and pulled the car door open before he had fully stopped.
"Where are you going?" Taron called, rushing out to meet her on the dark road.
"I'm helping you honour your dead sister's wishes," she replied without looking back.
" It's a long walk home," Taron shouted, watching her put more distance between the two of them.
Taron knew it was the right decision, but he couldn't stop the heaviness in his heart. He had always enjoyed Monica's presence, he almost considered her a friend.
Monica looked heartbroken as she walked down the lonely road, but in reality she was seething with anger.
The street lamps were sparse along this stretch and the night was cold as she walked quickly, her heels loud on the empty road, and she let the anger carry her because it was the only fuel she had right now.
She was losing to a dead person. She could not believe it. No matter what she did, she’d always lose to Tao-Lee Montgomery.
?
She had walked further than she intended before she realised where her feet had taken her. St. Benedict's Catholic Church. The garden. The yellow police tape was gone now. Just the grass and the night air and the memory of lilac roses that were no longer there.
"How do you do it?" Monica asked, looking at the empty space. Her voice was low and raw in a way it never was in public. This garden held a significant tie between Monica and Tao, it was the last place her beauty was overshadowed.
" I can never win, can I? " Monica seethed.
The garden looked exactly like it had been the last time she was here. The only thing missing was Tao's cold body and the adrenaline that had rushed through her body.
"Why can't you just stay dead?"
"Monica?" Priya's flashlight cut through the dark, landing directly on her face.
Monica arranged herself quickly, portraying someone who had been crying with grief rather than seething with rage. "Priya. What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing," Priya said, her narrowed eyes cataloguing everything about Monica's presence here.
"Can you take the flashlight off my face?" Monica said.
"What are you doing here, Monica?" Priya repeated.
Monica knew she had barely any excuse to be here, " Taron told me about it, I was curious, I miss her" Monica let the last three words sit in the air between them, hoping they were enough.
Priya looked unconvinced. "Why are you here now? At this hour?" She pressed on.
"My god, Priya, are we playing twenty questions?" Monica snapped.
"Tao was my best friend. I miss her," Monica said, softening her voice. She wished she could say more. But Priya wasn't a friend. Priya was playing detective and she was running out of patience for her.
"I'm leaving," Monica said, moving away from the garden.
"Don't leave on my account," Priya said.
"No. I've paid my respects," Monica said, with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
Priya stood quietly and watched Monica's retreating figure until it disappeared around the corner. She stood in the dark garden for a long time after, the grass cool beneath her feet, the night air full of the ghost of orchids.
The girl was complex, Priya knew she had to be meticulous in her investigation if she was ever going to find out the truth.
"I'll find out your part in this," Priya muttered, to the garden or to herself or to whoever might still be listening. "I promise."