4. Kai
FOUR
Kai
A melie stormed into my living room, seething with the kind of indignation that came easily to highborn women. For the most part, she was humble and composed. But she had once been an heiress, and every so often, her pride flared up.
Like right now. Her first act wasn’t verbal. The greeting was her right hand connecting with the left side of my face. “You’re trying to buy me? What the hell!”
“And how are you today, Amelie?” I asked brightly, lightly tapping the cheek she had slapped. Was it masochistic to want her to do it again, just to feel her soft hand once more?
“I’m frigging fine,” she shouted, sounding anything but. Fury somehow enhanced her beauty.
Yes. Anger was one of Amelie’s natural attributes. Weirdly, so was optimism. Even when her family went bankrupt and fate messed up her perfect world, she brushed it off with, “As long as I have love, I don’t need anything else.”
Amelie craved tranquility, naturally she sought contentment in her new reality instead of lamenting over what could have been. Someone born to luxury shouldn’t be able to withstand a penniless life, yet here she was, immune to suffering.
Don’t get me wrong.
She wept and felt pain like the rest of us, but she bounced back before the tears dried. Life couldn’t take down someone so resilient to challenges.
It was the reason I approached Stefan and not her. Amelie knew how to handle disappointment and forced herself to be cheerful and optimistic. Stefan, on the other hand, sought what he didn’t have. Turmoil could only touch those who grieved the cruel hand dealt by fate.
At first, I didn’t understand how their relationship came to be. Then it dawned on me. Their relationship was based on what they lacked. Amelie couldn’t understand Stefan’s desire to escape a love-filled life, and he didn’t understand her nonchalance toward wealth.
They returned to their hometown to take care of three kids and Amelie acted like she had won the lottery. In her eyes, life was perfect as long as a home was loud and lively. Nothing could have swayed her… except for his dissatisfaction.
Stefan feared Amelie would miss her pampered life and leave him for a wealthy man. A woman of her caliber needed to be indulgenced. Before, they could fall back on her father’s cushy life. Without the safety net, he grew anxious.
Ironically, his anxiety fed her fear. He wanted to escape his modest life for her sake and now they were stuck in it together.
How could I not exploit it? It was poetic.
I had watched them countless times over the years, waiting and gathering information with immense patience. It had to be the right time and the desperation for a better life had to be just enough. The kind of money I was offering could govern lives and change their futures. It didn’t grant them divinity but it would elevate them to a godlike status.
The dinner was a test round to see how hard I had to push Stefan. It turned out, not very hard. They didn’t spend a lot of time discussing the matter and succumbed to my first offer. I received a phone call from Stefan—they were on board but Amelie wanted to speak with me alone. I knew it was a ploy to vent her anger.
“Would you like a drink?”
My question made her angrier. “Are you an utterly insane person?”
“Is that a no?”
She breathed fire out of her nostrils. “Why are you doing this?” she asked through clenched teeth. “Are all the women in Darster dead for you to pursue a married one?”
“I believe I have been forthright about my reasons. Those women wouldn’t be the right choice for me.”
She snorted.
I calmly walked to the bar cart and poured her a glass of Syrah. “I’m offering a chance to change your lives,” I explained, handing her the drink. “On some level, you must feel the same way. Otherwise you wouldn’t be here.”
She set the drink on the coffee table without tasting it. This was a business meeting to her. “I’m here because you made my husband feel worthless and you’re turning our lives upside down.”
“You’re giving me too much credit. I didn’t tell Stefan he was worthless, rather I complimented his wife and family by valuing them at over market rate.”
She jabbed a finger at my chest. “You made an unethical proposition to people who don’t have a safety net. He feels his only choices are to either accept your offer or end things to make room for you. And I feel like I have no choice but to cave.”
“As I explained to Stefan, I enjoyed family time with you and the kids. I don’t have a family of my own, or the time to cultivate one. I made an offer for something that’s missing in my life. It was at his discretion whether to accept or reject it. I’m not holding a gun to his head.”
She wanted to defend his actions but also saw my point. Amelie picked up the glass and took a sip. She spared the drink a second glance as soon as she lowered it. She liked the wine but would never admit it.
“By now, you’ve figured out the kind of money and power I possess. If I wanted to break up your family through unsavory means, I could have done something unethical, such as extortion. I could close every avenue to you until the only one remaining is the path to me. But I didn’t want to destroy anyone’s happiness. You don’t lack love but the lack of money is stopping you—or at least him—from being happy. I’m adding that missing component without any guarantees in return. You and Stefan have a preexisting relationship. The kids are his siblings. The only person without personal connections in this marriage would be me. I’m the only one who stands to suffer damages if you change your mind and leave with him and the kids. But I’m not outraged. I’m fully cognizant that we have free will and make decisions that’re best for ourselves. So help me understand my crime when all I did was offer an option, not make a decision for you.”
Once more, she wanted to argue, tell me I was wrong, but couldn’t find the flaw in my logic. She took two more long sips of the wine and resentfully thrust the glass back to me.
With a small smile, I returned to the cart and poured her a second drink.
“How did it come to this?” she muttered, speaking mostly to herself.
I handed her the glass and sat on the couch. I motioned for her to do the same but she was busy pacing. I loved watching her, especially from this proximity. Soon, I could watch her to my heart’s content.
“There’s no precedent for something like this. What happens next?” she wondered out loud.
“You and Stefan will get a divorce,” I replied calmly.
She stopped pacing. Her haughty nature came out when the situation demanded. It subsided just as fast when she made peace with the outcome. That was why I knew she would eventually accept this proposal. “When?”
“Next week.”
“That’s so soon.”
“Best to rip off the Band-Aid, don’t you think? I’ll help you expedite it with a mediator. We’ll do a small ceremony right after. We’ll explain to the kids that you’ll be married to both of us. They’re still young and probably won’t ask too many follow up questions. As they get older, they’ll understand it for themselves. Triad marriages aren’t that uncommon, especially for the new generation. I believe they’ll be perfectly fine with it.”
She shook her head. “This doesn’t seem right. I think we need to discuss this more.”
“Talking will only delay the inevitable. Your bills at home aren’t getting any smaller, and isn’t back-to-school shopping coming up for the kids? I’m sure Stefan has already told them they can buy anything they want this year. If you back out now, can you face the kids with a clear conscience?”
She sat on the oversized armchair with a thump. “This is irreversible. None of us can come back from something like this. Why are we agreeing to this when all three of us know it’s insane?”
“Or is it what needs to be done? If you don’t go through with it, the resentment will break your marriage anyway. Every time you have another financial crisis, you’ll always remember the moment you could have changed your destiny.”
She glanced at me with a knowing look, as if the thought had already crossed her mind. “Aren’t you philosophical?”
“Determined, is what I am. If you love your husband, then you must sympathize with how unfair life has been to him. All his talent being shoved down for a job as an office manager. What kind of life is that? He’s losing himself every day, and you’re feeling the loss with him. What if you could give him the world? Why deny him and everyone in your family the opportunity of a lifetime?”
“We’re supposed to be the unbreakable couple, nothing in this world can tear us apart. What if our relationship doesn’t survive the repercussions?”
I watched her for a moment. “Then I suppose you were never the unbreakable couple to begin with.”