“I’m go
ing to the beach house, and I’m taking Julia with me. Do not, and I repeat, do not come there. This marriage is hanging by a thread right now and, if you come there, I can promise you that it will be over. I need time.”
“How much time do you want?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I just don’t know,” I said as the tears wouldn’t stop flowing and I walked out the door.
The door shut and, just like that, she was gone. I walked over to the bar to get a drink. I picked up the glass and threw it against the wall. I grabbed the bottle of whiskey and took it upstairs. Whiskey wasn’t my drink of choice, but it was right in front of me. I reached the top of the stairs and stepped inside Julia’s room. As I looked around, tears started falling from my eyes at the thought that I wouldn’t see her for a while. In an instant, my life had unraveled right before my eyes because of my stupidity. I sometimes questioned how the hell I was the CEO of a billion-dollar company. This was not how I planned for things to turn out. Ellery didn’t even know that I called Peyton and told her not to come over. She’d find out soon enough after she called her.
I lay down on the bed and replayed the night over and over again as I brought the bottle of whiskey to my mouth. I wasn’t going to let Phil hurt Ellery in any way, but Justin slipped up when he let her leave the penthouse. I grabbed my phone and looked at it, hoping she’d left me a message of some sort. But she hadn’t. I wanted to know how much time she wanted and needed because I couldn’t give her time. She was my wife and the mother of my child
, and I wanted them back home. As I drank the last drop of whiskey, I threw the bottle across the room and watched it shatter as it hit the dresser. As the effects of the alcohol clouded my thinking, I felt myself slipping backwards to a time I never wanted to remember.
The nightmare of what happened jolted me awake. I looked over at the time and it was five o’clock in the morning. My head was pounding and my skin was drenched with sweat. I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and prayed Ellery had either called or messaged me. She hadn’t. The ache in my heart was back with a vengeance as it screamed in agony. I rolled over and fell back asleep.
***
“What the fuck is going on?!” Peyton’s high-pitched voice startled me from an alcohol-induced sleep.
“Jesus Christ, Peyton, this is my bedroom. Get out!”
“I’m not going anywhere, buddy. Are you hung over? You look like shit!”
The last thing I needed right now was Peyton. I stumbled out of bed and walked into the bathroom. “If you don’t mind, I need to take a shower.”
“Go ahead, but I’ll be downstairs making you a pot of coffee, and then we’re going to have a little talk.”
I stood in the shower and let the hot water beat down on my body. As I put my hands up against the shower wall and closed my eyes, thoughts of Ellery and Julia consumed me. I stepped out, got dressed, and headed downstairs for some much-needed coffee. Peyton had a cup poured and sitting on the table across from her.
“Sit down, now!” Peyton commanded.
“Can I get some aspirin first?” I asked as I shot her a look. “Have you talked to her?”
“Of course I talked to her
, and I was with her last night as she was crying her eyes out at Mason’s place. “What the fuck were you thinking?”
“It was the only way to trap him and stop this nightmare. I was afraid that if Ellery knew, she would give something away and he would get suspicious. It just wasn’t a chance I could take.”
“So, to end your nightmare, you created another one for Ellery. Am I right?”
I took two aspirin from the bottle and chased them down with a bottle of water. I sat at the table and glared at Peyton.
“No, you’re not right. To end one nightmare, I created two more. My nightmare and Ellery’s nightmare. And I have no clue how to end it.”
“Leave her alone, that’s how you can end it. She’ll come to you when she’s had time to think about everything. I know you’ll go crazy, so I’ll text you to let you know how she’s doing
, even though you don’t deserve to know.”
“Thank you, Peyton. I owe you big time.”
“That’s right, you do. In fact, I believe I’ve done this quite a few times. You owe me, Connor Black.” She smiled.
Peyton got up from the chair, walked over to me, and kissed my head. “You seriously need to sit and think about how you’re never going to keep anything from Ellery again. Because next time, you may not be so lucky, and she’ll leave your dumb ass for good.”
As I sat in the chair and finished my coffee, I stared out the window. The clouds were starting to roll in and a storm looked like it was brewing, much like the storm that blew through my life last night. I needed to get to the office and keep my mind off of Ellery, but I missed her and Julia so much. I picked up my phone and sent Ellery a text message.
“I know you said not to contact you, but Julia is my daughter too
, and I want to see her. It’s not fair that you took her away and won’t let me see her.”
About twenty minutes later, she replied.
“You’re right. I’ll send Julia to the penthouse with Mason tomorrow and then you are to send her back the next day.”
I didn’t respond because I would’ve told her that our child wasn’t a ping-pong ball
, and she didn’t deserve to be bounced around like that. At least she was letting me see Julia and that was more than I thought she’d do. I would give her the space she wanted, even if it ended up killing me.
***
The days were long and the nights were longer. I hadn’t spoken to Ellery in over a week, and every day, another piece of my soul died. Mason dropped off Julia a couple of times, and Peyton had been keeping me informed about Ellery. I had to keep the rumors at bay about Phil and tell everyone that he decided to leave Black Enterprises for personal reasons. I paid Detective James a great deal of money to keep all this quiet, and I made a huge donation to the New York City Police Department. After working all day and into the evening, I would go home and drink myself to sleep. Peyton told me that Ellery was okay, but that she was sad all the time. It killed me to hear that because I was the cause of her sadness and pain, and I didn’t think I’d ever forgive myself for what I’d done to her.
I finished up everything that needed to be done at the office, so I got in the Range Rover and started driving. While I was stopped at a light, I looked to my right and saw a place that I hadn’t thought about in a very long time, Club S. I didn’t want to go home, so I decided to stop in there and have a drink. The club was hopping, the music was loud, and there were wall-to-wall people. I walked back by the bar and saw there was an open table. I sat down and was immediately greeted by a waitress.
“What can I get you?” she asked.
“Give me a scotch, make it a double, and bring me three.”
“You got it, sweetie.” She smiled as she walked away.
While I sat in my seat, I looked around at the area that I had frequently visited before I met Ellery. The waitress came back and set the three glasses down in front of me. I drank them and wanted more, so I signaled for her to get me three more. As I was downing the fifth glass of scotch, I heard a familiar voice.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Connor Black.”
I looked over to the side as she sat down next to me. “Hello, Sarah.”
“What the hell are you doing here? Where’s Ellery?”
“She left me and took Julia with her,” I said as I leaned back.
“What? That’s crazy. What did you do to make her leave?”
“She thinks I put her life in danger because I didn’t tell her something. Fuck, maybe I did. I don’t know anymore,” I said as I threw back my last glass of scotch. “I thought I was doing the right thing. Maybe I was or I wasn’t. The only thing that mattered was Ellery thought otherwise and she left me for it.”
Sarah put her hand on top of mine, and I looked at her. “We had some good times, you and I. There was even a moment once when I thought maybe we could become something, even though it would be breaking your rules. Then Ellery walked into your life, and you instantly changed. I’d never seen anyone change as fast as you did. All those years, you were never the person you were meant to be until you met her. You’re a good man, Connor, and this is only temporary. I don’t know Ellery that well, but from what I do know, and from what I’ve seen, she’s a forgiving person and she’ll come around. Just give her some time,” she said as she got up and hugged me. “I’m with someone here, so I need to go and find them.”
I hoped Sarah was right and that Ellery would be back soon, but until then, I drank my sadness away. I lifted my hand as I saw my waitress walk by. “Bring me three more doubles,
” I yelled over the loud music.
The house felt empty without Connor. I heard Julia cry, so I walked upstairs to get her from her crib. It had been over a week since I’d seen or talked to Connor. Every second and every minute of each day was killing me slowly. As I took Julia from her crib, she looked at me and smiled. I bundled her up in her jacket and took her down by the water just as the sun was getting ready to set.
“Listen carefully, Julia, and you’ll be able to hear the whispers of the ocean.”
The soothing sound of the waves lapping against the shoreline made me think of the special times I was with Connor at the beach. My mind traveled back to when Connor proposed to me in California. When I first told him about my past after the autism charity, and when I ran to the beach in the middle of the night before I got the final results of my last treatment. But the most special memory was when Connor asked me to marry him. The ocean held so many memories for me, not only with Connor, but with my mom. The sun was starting to set and, as I pointed to it, I told Julia to look up.
“The sun setting over the ocean will be one of the most beautiful things you’ll ever see. Your daddy proposed to me on the beach, just as the sun was setting. He made sure everything was perfect.” I smiled.
Julia screeched and then looked at me and put her hand on my face. She knew I was sad, and I could tell how much she missed Connor. I sat down with her and let her run her hands through the sand. The beach, the ocean, and the sunset, would become as special to her as it was to me.
“He misses you, and he’s not doing good,” I heard a voice
say behind me.
I turned around and saw Denny standing a few feet away from us. I smiled and held out my hand for him to sit next to me.
“What are you doing here? Should you even be here?” I asked as I kissed him on the cheek.
“I’m fine. Dana drove. She’s in the house, talking to Mason. I don’t want to talk about me. How are you doing?”
“I’m okay,” I said as I looked out into the ocean water.
“No, you’re not. I know you, Ellery, and you miss him just as much as he misses you.”
“I’m so mad at him, Denny. How could he do that to me? How many times do I have to tell him not to keep things from me before it sinks into that thick head of his?”
Denny smiled at me and then looked at Julia. “Sometimes, we don’t always make the right decisions under pressure and stress. Need I remind you of a few times you didn’t make the right decisions where Connor was concerned?”
I laughed and shook my head. “That was different and we weren’t married.”
“You may not have been married, but you were a couple and you loved him. Listen to me, Connor is Connor
, and he always will be. It’s how he’s wired. His love for you is so powerful that it clouds his judgment sometimes. The only thing he saw when he made the decision not to tell you about Phil was keeping you safe.”
“You’re always defending him,” I said as I looked over at him.
“Not always. I had a talk with him too. Believe me, I yelled at him and pretty much called him every name in the book. I think he got my point. The two of you can’t even be apart for one night, let alone an entire week. Everyone makes mistakes, Ellery.”
I glared at him with knitted eyebrows. “Okay, some more than others.” He smiled. “Should I remind you about how you lied to Connor and went and saw Ashlyn?”
“Just another thing he didn’t tell me,” I said as I rolled my eyes.
“And for a good reason. You could have gotten yourself killed. You know that girl is crazy,” he said.
It was getting chilly and the winds were starting to pick up. “Let’s go inside.” I smiled as I picked Julia up and looped my arm around Denny’s.
As soon as we walked inside, Dana came over and took Julia from me. “Why don’t the two of you stay here tonight and then we can all head back in the morning?” I said.
“You’re going back home?” Denny asked.
“Yeah, I think it’s about time, and Connor and I need to sit down and have a serious talk.”
After I put Julia to bed, the four of us sat around the table and talked. It was eleven o’clock p.m. and my phone started to ring. I looked over and saw it was Connor calling. I wasn’t ready to talk to him yet, so I rejected it. A minute later, my phone rang, and it was him again.
“Connor, what do you want?”
“Hi, Ellery, this is Sarah.”
I froze as I held the phone up to my ear and my heart started racing with the thought that he was with her.
“I know what you must be thinking right now, and this isn’t what it seems. I took Connor’s phone to call you because he’s here at Club S, a drunken mess, and you need to come get him.”
“What the hell is he doing there?” I asked.
“I’m assuming he came in to drink his troubles away. Listen, I’ll wait with him until you get here.”
“Thank you, Sarah. I’m on my way,” I said as I hung up the phone.
Denny looked at me as I got up from my seat. “Now what?”
“Connor is drunk at Club S
, and Sarah told me that I need to come get him.”
“Do you want me to go and bring his sorry ass home?” Denny said.
“No, I’ll go.” I picked up the phone and called a cab. “Mason, can you pack up all of Julia’s things and bring her home tomorrow? I don’t want to wake her up.”
“Of course I will,” he said as he walked over to me. “Go get your man and spend some time alone. We’ll be fine.”
***
As I got out of the cab, I stood in front of Club S as the line of people waited impatiently to get into the now famous club. I walked up to the front and stood behind the rope as I called Frankie’s name.
“Ellery Black! How are you, girl?” he said.
“I’m good, Frankie. It’s nice to see you.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Connor’s inside and someone called me to come get him.”
Frankie lifted the rope. “Go on in, Elle. It was good to see you. If you need my help, come get me.”
“Thanks, Frankie. It was good to see you too.” I smiled.
The music was loud and people were everywhere. As I pushed my way through the crowd, I headed towards the bar. While I stood there looking around, I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. I turned around and saw Sarah standing there.
“Where is he?” I asked.
“He’s over there,” Sarah said as she pointed to a table in the corner.
Instantly, I started to have flashbacks of the night when I first saw him. I took in a deep breath and started walking towards him. Sarah grabbed my arm.
“Don’t be too hard on him. He’s full of regret, and he’s sorry.”
“So he told you what happened?”
“Not all of it, but I know he messed up. I’ve never seen love like I do when I see the two of you. It’s romantic, and I’m envious of what the two of you have. I didn’t think a love like that existed.”
“Thank you for keeping an eye on him. I appreciate it.” I smiled.
“No problem, Ellery,” she said as she walked away.
I stood there and stared at him from across the way. He could barely sit up. After being apart for a week, this wasn’t the way I wanted to see him. As I took in another breath, I walked over to him, sat down, and took the glass out of his hand.
“Ellery,” he slurred.
“Come on, Connor. It’s time to go home,” I said as I helped him up.
“Are you coming too,” he slurred.
“Yes, I’m coming home. Now let’s get out of here.”
He put his arm around me as I held him up and helped him to the door. He could barely walk and he was stumbling so badly that he almost took me down. We reached the doors and stepped outside. The cab was parked at the curb. I opened the cab door and tried to help him in.
“Get in the cab, Connor.”
“I want to talk first. I don’t want to get in the cab.”
“Get in the cab, Connor,” I said a second time as I pushed him in.
He wouldn’t slide over, so I shut the door, got in the other side, and gave the cab driver our address. Connor looked over at me. All I could see was the sadness in his eyes. I was really pissed off that he went to the club, but that was an issue we’d deal with later.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said as he ran his hand down my cheek.
“You’re so drunk,” I replied.
He leaned his head on my shoulder, but he kept falling forward. I brought his head down to my lap and softly stroked his hair as he
closed his eyes. Shortly after, we arrived in the garage of the penthouse.
“Do you need help getting him out, ma’am?” the cab driver asked.
“I think I can manage,” I replied as I handed him a large tip.
“Thank you so much, ma’am!” he said with excitement.
“Thank you for your patience.” I smiled.
I sat Connor up and told him to stay there while I walked around to the other side. I opened the door, grabbed his arm and helped him out. He stumbled and it took every bit of strength I had to hold him up and not fall.
“Isn’t this a familiar scene?” I said to him as I walked him to the elevator.
I leaned him up against the wall
while we waited for the doors to open. His eyes never left mine.
“I want to fuck you so bad,” he said.
“Not tonight, baby,” I said as the elevator doors opened and I helped him inside.
When we arrived to the penthouse, I helped him off the elevator and tried to get him up the stairs. He kept tripping over the steps and falling.
“Connor, you have to help me out here.”
I helped him climb up the stairs on his hands since he was way too drunk to walk up them. As soon as he made it to the top step, I stood him up and helped him to our bedroom. “Are you going to be sick?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he said as he nodded his head.
“Hurry and get to the bathroom!” I exclaimed as I pushed him.
He made it to the bathroom just in time, and he started vomiting in the toilet. I left him there, went into the bedroom, and turned down the bed. When I went back into the bathroom, he was lying on the floor. I shook my head and sighed as I ran a washcloth under warm water and put it on his head.
“Come on; you need to get in bed,” I said as I sat him up.
“I’m sorry for everything, Ellery. I wouldn’t blame you if you left me and never wanted to see me again.”
“I’m not going to leave you, Connor. Please give me some help here, so you can go to bed. You need to sleep the alcohol off.”
As he was sitting up on the bathroom floor, I lifted his shirt off and helped him up. With my help, he made it to the bed and fell back on it. As I unbuttoned his pants and started to pull them down, he grabbed my hands.
“I love you so much,” he slurred.
“I know you do, and I love you too. Now, lift your ass up and help me get your pants off.”
Once I had him stripped down to his boxers, I told him to turn around and lie down on his pillow.
“Now, remember to lie on your side,” I said as I covered him with the sheet and wiped his forehead with the cloth one last time before he closed his eyes.
As I sighed, I got up from the bed and changed into my pajamas. I washed my face, put my hair in a ponytail, and lay down next to him, watching to make sure he stayed on his side.
***
I opened my eyes and looked at the clock. It was nine o’clock a.m. already
, and I couldn’t believe I’d slept that late. I rolled over and Connor was still sound asleep. I got out of bed, washed my face, brushed my teeth, and headed to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. As much as Connor hated my hangover cocktail, he was going to need it desperately when he woke up. I gathered the ingredients and put them in the blender. I was pouring myself a cup of coffee when I heard someone clear his throat from behind me. I slowly turned around and stared at Connor as he leaned up against the wall with his arms folded.
“Didn’t I go over the rules with you last night?” he asked.
I couldn’t help but smile as I bit down on my bottom lip.
“Come here, baby,” he said as he held out his arms.
I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around him as tightly as I could.
“I’m so sorry. Please tell me you forgive me,” he begged as he buried his face deep into my neck.
“I forgive you, but we need to talk,” I said.
“I know
, and I’ll do anything to make things right. I love you, and I missed you so much.”
I broke our embrace and placed my hands on his face. “I missed you too,” I said as I kissed him. “Come sit down and have some coffee and the hangover cocktail I just made.”
“You know I hate that stuff, Elle.”
“I know you do, but it works and you have to be feeling pretty lousy right now.”
“I am,” he said as he rubbed his head.
I picked up the glass with the cocktail in it and sat down on his lap. He wrapped his arms around me as I brought the glass to his lips. “Drink.” I smiled.