Chapter 31
London
I'm shaking all over.
Marc glares at Alexander, while Stephanie sits, hands folded, eyes closed.
"I even think you've been in love with me for years. That's why you've always rejected Marc."
"But they got married," I whisper, confused.
"Yes," Stephanie breathes.
When she responds, Marc looks away. He's full of rage and both his hands clench into fists.
"Of course I’m in love with you," Stephanie says, tears rolling down her cheeks. "You're only realizing this now?"
She looks at Alex disdainfully. Marc doesn't comment on any of it, though I can clearly see how much it hurts him. I think I'm slowly beginning to understand what's going on here.
"And then you marry my best friend?" Alex sounds accusatory.
No wonder.
"Because you were supposed to stop the wedding! Instead, you help plan it and you’re happy for him!" Stephanie leaps to her feet.
"You pretended to return his feelings, marry him, even got pregnant! Just to make me jealous?" Alex finishes angrily. "How could you do this to him?" Alex leaps up too. "He has sincerely loved you from the beginning, and you're just pretending?"
"I had to find some way to bring you back to England! You would never have returned on your own!"
"I was planning to fly back after the wedding," he responds heatedly.
"That's why I talked to your father."
So, is Stephanie even admitting to manipulating his father?
"You put that idea in his head?"
“I needed you here! To realize you’d lose me if you didn’t stop the wedding!
” she screams at him desperately. Tearfully, she glances at me and sobs: "When London burst into the church, it was a blessing! I thought it was a sign from heaven. Everything could have all worked out perfectly, but then you ran after her and pushed me back into Marc’s arms. What was I supposed to do?
Even pretending jealousy over his supposed ‘affair’ didn’t stop the marriage! ”
"So that's why you were always asking me about Alex. You were jealous of me," I realize.
"And you said you weren't into him, but you still let him fuck you!" she hisses at me.
Wow. So, her interest in me was just an act too. Vanessa’s feeling was right...
But this isn't really about me, it's about Marc and Alex.
"Tell me honestly: Are you even pregnant?" Alex asks her.
"No, she's not," Marc answers for her. "But she was going to pretend she lost the baby so she could cry on your shoulder."
"That's not true!" she snaps.
“You would have tried to sleep with Alex to get him to impregnate you. That way you would have had a reason to get close to him, and eventually he would have fallen in love with you. Out of necessity,” Marc blurts out angrily, then glances at Alex guiltily. “That's why I wanted you to leave.”
"So, you switched the USB so that..." Alex begins, but Marc immediately interrupts him.
I’m sick to my stomach.
"So, you would suspect her and fire her. Then you wouldn't have had a reason to stay anymore. Back in the US, you would have been far away. Far enough to…” Marc trails off, glancing desperately at Stephanie.
"Oh, come on, I would never have fallen in love with you!"
So that was a plan too.
Marc wanted Alex to leave so Stephanie would have no chance of Alex falling in love with her.
The distance would have been too great. He probably hoped that she’d eventually forget about Alex and give him an honest chance.
She could have followed him to the States, but she didn't consider that option. I wonder why...
"Why didn't you fly to the States?" I ask her, but Stephanie just huffs indignantly, clicks her tongue, and turns away.
""She wouldn't have gotten a green card. She has a criminal record. No matter how much money you have, the US rejects you immediately. No chance," Marc reveals.
"Criminal record?" I probe.
"Drug use. It was a long time ago," Stephanie defends herself.
"You’re my best friend; you could have talked to me anytime. I would have always been there for you!" Alex addresses Marc directly.
"Talk to the man my wife is in love with? You were the root of my problems!" he retorts furiously.
I step between them, even though a table separates them. I raise both arms.
"Okay. Calm down. We have a lot of broken hearts and a whole lot of anger on all sides here. Shouting at each other won't accomplish anything. What we need is a solution—and some distance.” Otherwise, this will go on all night.
"What did you do with the drive?" Alex asks.
"Nothing. You were just supposed to throw her out and go back to the States."
"Give it to me. Now," Alex demands.
Marc hesitates for a moment and then walks away, while Alex turns to Stephanie. "And you. I don't even know what to say to you." He struggles for words. "What you did to my best friend, only he can forgive. And the only thing I can tell you is that I'm sorry."
Stephanie looks up at him tearfully.
"I'm sorry that I didn't notice it all these years, otherwise I would have told you much sooner that we're just friends. Nothing more."
"Why her and not me?" she sobs desperately.
“I don’t know. I just follow my heart. And it tells me I have feelings for her, not for you.”
Okay, wow. I wasn't even aware of that yet... Of course, I’d rather have heard this from him in private but today has been pure chaos anyway.
Stephanie runs out of the living room in tears, leaving Alex and me alone for now. However, we don't even get three seconds before Marc returns and hands Alex the USB. He takes it silently.
"You could have talked to me," Alex says.
It sounds like a peace offering.
"It wouldn't have changed anything."
"You can still talk to me. Anytime. Just not today."
Yep, that's an olive branch.
Even though Marc tried to blame me, I get it. No one deserves to have their feelings played with like that. No one.
Alexander and I leave their house without another word. He opens the limo door for me, waits until I slide inside, then climbs in beside me and closes it.
He presses the intercom to speak to the driver: "Before we go home, we’re going to London’s."
"London?"
"Um, yes, London’s place."
I lean forward and give the driver my address.
It's easy to get confused. The driver starts the car, and I shift a little closer to Alex so I can cuddle up to him. No matter what I say now, it wouldn't make the situation any better, but I can be there for him. Stand by him. We’ve probably left bad times behind. Now it’s time to enjoy the good ones.
We go up in my apartment, and I ask, “Would you unzip me?” I could do it myself, but I know how much men appreciate feeling needed. These little gestures are needed to make him feel good. Whether it's opening a jar or unzipping a dress—ultimately it doesn't matter.
Alex approaches me and slowly slides it down so that I can slip the dress off my body. Standing there in just my panties and gold jewelry, I drape the dress over my arm and say, "Thank you. I'll be right back." He doesn't even look at my bare breasts, he’s so lost in thought.
"I'm just going to put on something comfortable."
But I don't get far. He grabs me from behind, wraps his arms around me, and nestles his lips against my neck. "Or you stay here with me. I just want to hold you for a moment."
"Okay."
I close my eyes, let the dress fall, and place both hands on his arms. It feels so good to feel him and know he's with me.
"It made sense that it would be you. You wanted my PIN..."
"To unlock your phone."
"You applied to other jobs."
"Because I thought you were having an affair with Stephanie."
"At the boxing club, I didn't mean to embarrass you, just show everyone you were with me."
"Maybe we should have talked to each other."
"We should have."
But being silent together is also quite nice.
Eventually, Alex lets go of me. I go to the bedroom and put on something comfortable.
I'm supposed to pack for a few days so I can spend the weekend with him, so I have to cancel on Vanessa. She's happy for me, though, and can hardly wait to hear all the dirty details that will unfold over the weekend.
It's 4:02 in the morning. After some of my neighbors complained about the noise, we took a limo to his place. As soon as I packed my bag, we couldn’t keep our hands off each other in my living room. I enjoyed it. So did he. The neighbors, however, didn’t.
We're lying in his bed enjoying our time alone. Even so, it still feels a little strange after the exhausting weeks behind us.
"How could I not notice?" he asks me, though he's staring at the ceiling. Perhaps he just spoke the question aloud because he wanted it out of his head.
"Because she never said anything. Because you'd known each other forever. Because she got married. How could you have possibly guessed? You've known her forever. I think people just block out certain things."
"You suspected it..." He looks at me.
I sit up and tie my hair back.
"I found her behavior suspicious. When she was alone with me, she probably couldn't pretend as well." I want to be honest: "I feel sorry for her. For Marc too, of course. It's a terrible situation for both of them."
"I'm frustrated at both of them," he growls, briefly closing his eyes.
“Stephanie was desperately in love—and unfortunately Marc was too. She should never have married him. She hurt him terribly. But the fact that he tried to pin the theft on me is also pretty extreme."
If Alex had fired me, he would have certainly gone back to the States.
"The team is staying in America. They won't be moving here," Alex decides, which surprises me greatly.
"I'll commute for now and find someone to represent me there. But I'm staying here to take care of the company."
"You're just deciding that spontaneously?" I ask.
"Yes." Alex reaches out to me and brushes my neck. He gently pulls me to his bare chest, kisses me deeply and then wraps both arms around me. "I've fallen in love with London."
"With London?" I ask, examining his warm smile.
"With the city. It's beautiful here. I'm going to stay."
"Oh really? Why?"
"You're here. That's enough."
"You're staying because of me?"
"Would you come with me to the States?"
"Well..." I hesitate. "This is my home. My friends are here. My family. Vanessa, who's like a sister to me."
"If I left, this thing between us couldn't work."
"So, you want to give it a try?"
?” Without even asking what I want? But my smile probably gives me away.
"A woman like you comes along only once in a lifetime." He kisses my forehead. "You said you like flying, right? For the first few weeks and months I'll be traveling a lot. Will you come with me?"
"Of course. If you pay me well."
"I see..." He laughs. "I'll pay you with sex."
"Actually, I'd prefer money."
"Excuse me?" he asks in mock outrage.
"Just kidding." I kiss him softly. "I think it's good that you're not bringing the team here. If you can find someone to lead it on-site, that would be perfect. But don't rush the decision."
"Marc would be perfect for the position. He's doing something similar with his start-up."
Hmm, an idea comes to mind: "So, if things smooth over between you two, couldn't you migrate his company and send him to the States?"
"And trust him with my passion project?" Alex doesn't sound thrilled.
"I know. Stupid idea." It was just a thought.
"It's not stupid. But it's much too soon. I need to process all of today first. Being betrayed like that is quite heavy and it will take time before I can trust him again. Or if I even want to."
"It's late. Or early, depending on how you look at it. The day was long. Don't make any decisions now that you might regret later."
"I'll never regret choosing you." Alex pulls the blanket over our naked bodies and then turns off the light.
"Okay, I can agree with that." I make myself comfortable at his side.
Maybe all of this had to happen so we could have a chance. If things had gone differently, I’d probably be taking another job and never see him again. This way, we both have the chance to build something from our love. Whatever the future brings, I'm ready to find out.