Authors: Vivienne Harris-Scott
She
had called him back to let him know his intimidations tactics were lost on deaf
ears, and if he knew what was good for him, he would stop hijacking her phone.
What
she hadn
’
t
expected was what Ethan told her. They had stayed on the phone for over three
hours until I walked into the kitchen.
She
had relayed the key elements of the conversation to me, and given me her
opinion before going to bed. Now, I was in turmoil.
I
am carrying a child from my husband
’
s closest friend, and I simply want to
hide under a rock and make myself forget I even exist.
Everything
I thought I knew, everything I believed I knew to cement the decisions I have
made when I left Ethan to never return, and every decision I made ever since,
has been shattered to pieces.
Just
like that, in a matter of seconds, I went from a quaint conundrum to a complete
cluster.
-
fuck
.
Vi
July 2005. Darling Harbour. Sydney. Australia.
“
Why
are you here?
”
I ask coolly, as my eyes settle on the unexpected visitor.
The
blonde woman gives me a smile and asks, always polite,
“
May I come in?
”
Static,
I repeat,
“
Why
are you here, Anna?
”
The
woman inhales loudly as to give herself courage and states in one breath,
“
I
’
m here because now that you don
’
t have a son anymore, Ethan has no reason
to stay with you. I
’
m
here because I
’
ve
been having an affair with your husband for years and it
’
s about time you knew. I
’
m here because being with you is ruining
him and his career. And, I am sick of watching it happen! He has a great future
if he can remain focused, and with you, he can
’
t! The elections are coming and I
’
m tired of having you in my way,
…
and I
’
m here because, I think, now is the perfect
time to deal with it, woman to woman.
“
she punctuates with a smile, as if proud
to have been able to state her purpose in just one breath.
They
say timing is everything in life. I guess, it couldn
’
t have been truer.
I
look at her and take a step forward on the porch, she steps back. I think she
is scared I am going to hit her.
Instead,
I smile and say, almost eerily,
“
There
isn
’
t
anything to deal with, Anna. You can have him. I
’
m leaving the country in about 4 hours.
”
“
You
…
Y-you
’
re leaving?
”
she stammers, obviously surprised,
watching me with a stupefied look.
Ethan
hasn
’
t
said anything to her, evidently.
“
Yes, I am, and I won
’
t be coming back. Ethan is all yours. You
can be his permanent ego booster, a position you relish if memory serves me right...And
as luck would have it, currently open
…”
I pursue, my lips curve into an even
broader smile as I see her becoming uncomfortably squeamish, her face becoming
ashen. I add, my hand showing the house,
”
And you
’
re welcome to redecorate to your tastes
when I
’
m
gone, but for now
…”
I say, my voice cold as ice, looking at her, straight in the eyes,
“
Get the fuck out of my property!
”
And
I slam the door to her face.
I
had planned to leave the country to regroup. I needed to be away. Ethan and I
had a dispassionate argument about it the previous night; but after fucking me,
somewhat reassured, he had caved and agreed to my trip. The premise was, I was
going away temporarily, I would come back, and we would somehow survive our
loss
…
together.
My
son was dead. Luca Damien McGregor was dead and I killed him. He would never
reach his first birthday. He would never grow up. I would never know the sort
of man he would become. I would never know if I had been a good mother to him.
All I knew, I was tired, incredibly tired.
I
have never had the intention of hurting Ethan; I just wanted to leave. Mourn in
peace. Be able to face myself.
Then
I would figure out how to deal with the rest of my life, with my marriage, with
the rest of the world.
What
Anna had just told me; well, what Anna had just told me, made me feel my first
real emotion in weeks.
Rage.
Cold. Blinding.
Did
that bitch really think she could hurt me by prancing around, coming to my home
and make a play for my husband just mere weeks after I buried my son?
My
heart has already been shattered into millions of pieces.
So,
what
’
s
a little more, right? Right.
One
cannot break what is already broken
, I think, yet I am surprisingly able to
feel.
And
it hurts,
like hell
.
She
wants him. She can have him.
So,
they have been having an affair for years, while I was fighting for my life,
and putting myself at risk to give him a child? While he was telling me, he
loved me? While he managed to make me believe he was worthy of me despite
what he had done to me?
Ethan
lied to me for years
. Years
, she thinks. He fooled me, every day, every
second, every single second,
for years
.
She
has been feeling nothing since her son died. Ethan
’
s betrayal is what it takes for her to
feel.
The
dam is breaking.
The
pain is coming, finally. It
’
s
excruciating.
I
’
ll never, ever let anyone get close to me
again. Ever.
Bastard.
I
’
ll show him he is not the only one good at
being deceitful.
After
all, I have told him for years to stop doing things he was going to be sorry
for
…
She
goes to their safe, opens it and retrieves several ledgers, something she
thought she
’
d
never use, but yet has kept for insurance.
She
is a lawyer after all, and a damn good one at that.
She
isn
’
t
bitter.
She
’
s just mad as hell.
CHAPTER
66
Redux
Ethan
The mysterious arcane of power.
He
was grateful and blessed by his circumstances. He knew them inside and out. He
was a master at them. This skill kept him out of jail.
He
is stripped of his civil rights to be in any elected office function for five
years and an interdiction to leave the state for the same period. A
plea-bargain if he
’
s
ever seen one.
Thank
God for being who he was.
There
were only three things in this world that Ethan McGregor had loved: power, Vic
and Luca. In his pursuit of the first, he almost lost the second. After losing
the third, he vowed to use the first to protect the second.
Whatever
it took.
((~~!~~))
His priorities had changed.
When
she had left for London, he hadn
’
t
been worried.
Well,
he had, but, not as much as later.
He
understood she needed time, she had told him so, and Vic was a woman of her
word. She would go overseas and call him when she knew when she
’
d return. That was the agreement they had.
He hadn
’
t
pushed, in spite of wanting to, because the last thing either of them needed
was to antagonize the other. She was grieving and wanted to be apart from him,
that was it. He didn
’
t
like it, but had no choice but to accept it. He couldn
’
t leave his charge, or the country. His
only solace was the knowledge she would eventually come home. Come back to him.
It
was only when he got the letter, seven days after her departure, he realized he
needed to get people to find her, or she would not come back at all. According to
her, she had no reason to set foot in Australia ever again. He couldn
’
t figure out what that meant, and thought
she was referring to being broken after their son
’
s death.
He
had tried calling her mobile phone to get her to explain the letter, but realized
with dismay she had left it at home with the house keys in their bedroom in the
bedside drawer, already knowing she would not return.
The
same day, he hired a professional firm to locate her.
The
same day, the first headline relating to the political scandal that would sink
is career was printed on the front page of a national newspaper.
It
was a blitz attack if he ever saw one.
When the files were leaked to the papers,
Ethan had very publicly sworn revenge on the person who according to him was
trying to frame him with scandalous slander. He had then been embattled in
court for the next nine months, and finally had no choice but to resign from
office, to avoid a tangible jail term, but mostly, any further public
humiliation as outrage was now associated with his name.
It
was only 3 months after his wife
’
s
departure he understood her letter and the whys and wherefores explaining how
his life had turned into a living nightmare.
Having
lost his son, his wife and being embroiled in the political scandal of the
decade, when the truth at the root of his problems was exposed, albeit the
anger it provoked, also provided clarity as to where his life needed to go from
that point forward.
After
3 months of public attacks on her boss which tainted her own reputation, Anna
had become unemployable. Her hopes of rekindling her affair with Ethan when Vic
had left having miserably failed, -the man seemed obsessed with that damn
woman!-, she handed in her resignation, and casually let it slip before leaving
his office, that she wouldn
’
t
be the 2
nd
woman he ran out of the country.
When
he had asked her what she meant, she had admitted seeing his wife the day she
departed, and as she related their conversation, it became clear to Ethan what
had happened and who was truly responsible of his political downfall. He had
made his attorney contact the first newspaper that leaked the story, which he
was still suing, and had promised to drop the suit if they could confirm the
source of the documents; he just wanted confirmation of what the pit of his
stomach was already telling him. His wife was the source.
He
finally knew the reason why she had done it, and all he could think of was to
find her
…
to
apologize.
The
only person he wanted revenge on was Anna. If he weren
’
t already charged with criminal offences,
he would kill the woman, literally.
Thanks
to that bitch, the love of his life had left him.
Thanks
to that bitch, his career was in shambles.
Thanks
to that bitch, he would spend years dealing with lawsuits, court appearances
and appeals, but most importantly, five years worrying about
her
. His
wife.
Vic
had only been instrumental, and who could blame her? He couldn
’
t. And wouldn
’
t, if only he could talk to her.
Never
mind the political downfall, as long as he had her, he simply didn
’
t care.
No
wonder she had thought she didn
’
t
have a reason to come home, when she
’
d been told her husband had been carrying
on an affair for years and still was! This added to the fact she was convinced
she had killed their son and deserved the blame for it, was enough to keep her
away from Australia for years if not forever.
Naturally,
she had gone mental.
He
could see it. Anna
’
s
provocation being the straw that broke the camel
’
s back. He would have gone further for
much less! Vic wasn
’
t
one to be vengeful, but she could be as cold and ruthless as him, she was a
cunning lawyer after all. They share common traits with politicians.
She
hadn
’
t
confronted him simply because she doesn
’
t have it in her after Luca
’
s death; it was easier to believe whatever
Anna said. She had reasons to distrust Ethan, after all. Not recent ones, but
reasons, yet.
He
understood.
He
had thought of her every day, and now finally he has a chance to finally set
things right between them.
((~~!~~))
He couldn
’
t search for her himself, so the people he
hired would. They would find her, and he would explain. He would make her
understand. That
’
s
all that mattered to him.
He
loved her, there was no way in hell he would ever hurt her like this! She had
been through enough. They had been through enough. He just wanted to cherish
her and show her that not all was lost, and maybe, just maybe, one day they
would have another chance, another child.
But
he hadn
’
t
heard from any of the investigators he hired since they lost her track in
London 2 weeks after she had left Sydney. She had vanished from then on, and
after searching for her for two years, he settled to the idea that maybe he
couldn
’
t
find her because she was dead. The surveillance of her closest friends, and her
own brother produced zero results. None of them seemed to have any contact with
her that his people could find, so he was fairly certain in his assumption.
When she suddenly reappeared in Berlin in December 2007 at one of her brother
’
s fashion show, his first reaction had
been shock, followed by immediate relief. He found himself hopeful for the
first time since she had left. His fears had been appeased, she was alive, she
was healed, and by all account there was no one in her life except her work, it
was only a matter of time before she came back home. Ethan was a patient man,
he had waited two years for her, and he would wait until she was ready.
He
’
d keep tabs on her from a distance. She
was still his. She would come home. That belief kept him afloat for the next 3
years.
She
still had his heart; he had learned painfully, there was no off switch when you
love someone.
Now,
Julian was here in front of him telling him he wanted to discuss his wife.
Ethan
felt heat rising in him at the mention of her name.
((~~!~~))
Julian
and Ethan
"So here we are again, you and
me." Ethan said, sitting comfortably on the sofa, crossing his legs,
and watching him expectantly.
“
Do you know where she is?
”
he had asked cautiously, carefully
watching Ethan
’
s
face.
Shock,
puzzlement, sadness and anger, these were the emotions he saw.
“
Not right this minute. I don
’
t. Do you?
”
Ethan simply countered.
“
No.
”
he admitted, wondering where she actually
was, feeling a tug on his heart.
A
heavy silent pause grew as the two men watched each other.
Ethan
was the first to talk, breaking the stare-down, asking,
““
Why do you want to know where Vic is?
”
“
I
’
m involved with her.
”
Julian plainly stated, levelling his eyes
at him. Being forthcoming was the key to achieving any success in this
enterprise. He was going to tell Ethan everything.
He
didn
’
t
have to wait long for a reaction, Ethan eyes were suddenly glowing, as if
physically set ablaze with a match, as he said in a low, but unmistakably
dangerous voice,
”
You
what?
”
Julian
repeated,
“
I
’
m involved with her.
”
He
could see the anger on his friend
’
s
face and for a second wondered what ignited it. After all, they were divorced
and from what he knew from James, Ethan had been the cheater, he had no grounds
to be angry. This was purely a courtesy call on his part, and he said so aloud.
“
Listen E, you are divorced. I
’
m here because I owe you to tell you face to
face
.”
He started, but Ethan had gotten up, and was now inches from his face, his
hands on his collar, saying,
“
Divorced?
Where the fuck did you get that idea? Vic is my wife, and you are telling me
…”