The One (74 page)

Julian
pushed him back, readjusting his collar, and with cold anger said,
“
E., let
’
s discuss this like the adults we are. I
’
ll tell you what I know and how things
are, and then if you still want to punch me, be my guest, but know, that I do
give as good as I get.
”
Julian sat down, the unsettling feeling he had weeks ago, hitting the pit of
his stomach as he watched his friend exhale loudly as he tried to calm himself.

Ethan
went to the bar and with trembling hands poured them both a glass of whiskey.
As he was handing one to Julian, he ground out with his Australian drawl,
“
Start from the beginning. When did this
‘
involvement
’
start?
”

As
he sat down to listen to Julian
’
s
answer, counting backwards from ten to reign in his anger, Ethan flexed his jaw
again, as he couldn't help but think of Julian touching her. The thought of
them together made his blood boil. He wasn
’
t sure he wouldn
’
t kill his friend before the day was over.

Vic
was his.

((~~!~~))

He had stopped caring as much about his political
career the minute he had transported his wife to the hospital in the middle of
the night fearing for her life, and the baby she had been carrying at the time.
From then on, politics and winning came 2
^nd
to her. The transition
had been painless for him, the scare, irrevocably, changing his path.

Yes,
he was still an ambitious politician, but it wasn
’
t all about winning at all costs anymore.
He started to care about the how, which for his aides was like he had been
transplanted with the personality of a goody doer instead of his usual cold
ruthlessness. They were already thinking about the General election while all
he could think of was his wife and child. Anna had been the first one to notice
the change and ask him if his heart was still in it, he assured her that yes,
he was still the same boss she has been working for, but as months went by she
realized his heart was more into his wife than his charge. She got worried.
Ethan had the potential to become prime minister she wouldn
’
t allow that bitch of a wife to stand in
the way of her own ambitions. She had taken the first opportunity to let her
feelings known when their son had abruptly disappeared from the equation.

His
marriage was what mattered to him, and when after a few months his wife was showing
signs of love again, he swore to himself, if he had to choose between the
career or his wife, he
’
d
chose her without a second of hesitation.

She
was carrying his child, putting her life at risk. There simply wasn
’
t anything else that mattered that much.

He
had rediscovered what a loving nature she had, and the fact that he had hurt
her that much was a bane in conscience.

God
had taken mercy and acknowledged his penance, and he was more in love with his
wife than ever, gratefully she hadn
’
t left him after what he had done to her.
He had been there throughout the cancer episode, had made hard decisions when
came the time to choose between the baby and her, but in the end the two most
important people in his life had come out unscathed, and everything had been
right in his world. At least, for a while. Until the day, his son was taken
away from him, from them. Losing one
’
s child is a horrific experience. Ask any
parent that has gone through it. Your life goes on but your soul never truly
recovers, no matter who you are, where you are or what you do; unless you are
on crack 24/7 and in that case you simply don
’
t care because you don
’
t feel any pain, ever.

When
Luca died, Ethan knew Vic broke; physically, mentally and spiritually.

He
was devastated when he realized what was happening. Vic was strong, much
stronger than he, and if she was collapsing, what hope did he have? He was
scared out of his mind.

For
him, in the exterior he was cool and detached, but inside his foundations were
crumbling. Every day that passed by, he tried to hang on to her, her goodness,
and not fall into the abyss of the coldness that gripped his heart and mind as
he tried to cope and survive the loss.

First,
Vic ran away within herself and then left the country, he ran to work. He was
convinced that eventually, they would find their way back to each other when
their individual and collective grief would subside. He firmly believed that
loving her would eventually heal them both.

He
had mentioned the idea of another child before Luca died, he was so enthralled
being the father of one, he wanted more children, but they had agreed, Vic
health took precedent and they would wait another year to give siblings to
Luca. In the meantime, they would cherish him as much as any parent could. He
was their miracle child.

Ethan
had been on the brink of falling apart. He was still in charge of the state,
the Federal general election was approaching, there simply weren
’
t enough hours in a day for him to attend
all the things he needed to, and his wife suffering on top of his own.

He
had reluctantly agreed to let her go to London, to regroup with her brother, so
she could rest, and hopefully come back home; then, they would pull the pieces
of their shattered life together. They still love each other. It was still
possible.

Unfortunately,
he had learned from the people he hired to keep watch on her, that upon her
arrival in Europe, she had been hospitalised within days. When he obtained her
medicals, he learned the devastating news: the cancer had come back full force,
as if overnight, her body had suddenly stopped living. The scans showed 5 plum
sized tumors, biopsies confirmed, all 5 cancerous, immediate surgery would be
need. Reading the report, he felt in his heart, his wife
’
s usually combative spirit, had given in,
she simply did not care if she lived or died.

As
he was preparing to fly to London to be with her, the news came. Vic had
vanished.

She
had left the Knightsbridge private hospital, and was nowhere to be found. But
he hadn
’
t
overly worried yet. When the security firm had informed him of her
disappearance, his answer had been
“
She is somewhere. No one vanishes into
thin air. There
’
s
always a trail. Keep looking.
”
but as months tuned into years, and every lead turned in nothing and the investigators
were hitting a wall, he started to fear his wife was dead.

Coincidentally,
within days of her disappearing, the scandalous files made front page of the
national newspapers, and he could not leave the country at all. The image of
man trying to flee a scandal, or worse, being portrayed as a fugitive, was
simply not something reconcilable with his core values. He was going to face
it, tackle it, and recover. Period.

The
news of his demise, a mere month after the publication, rung as a thunderbolt.
The news of
Ethan McGregor
–
one of the
country
’
s finest son
’
s-, has been arrested and charged with corruption and
traffic of influence had shocked, overwhelmed, and generally
boulverséd
all of Sydney.

The truth was
the journalistic and political circles had known for quite some time what it
took to be and stay ahead of the game, but to the public, it was a shock..

After
the scandal erupted, and Ethan publicly swore to find the people at the source
of the egregious claims that threatened to ruin his career and future
altogether, and promised that once found, they would pay dearly. He was very
vocal about the damaging effects the claims had on the public trust, and was
fully aware that even if cleared, the damage to his reputation had been done.

Ethan
felt himself being grateful his wife was not there to witness this, as without
a doubt the media would harass her without pity. His family had been his
Achilles
’
heel, and that
’
s
why they weren
’
t
in the public eye. Vic had made it clear, she would not allow the treatment she
suffered in Australia affect their son, and would shield him at any costs. He
was now in awe of her foresight.

But,
he was alone.

He
realized it even more once he knew his own wife was at the source of the
scandal. He couldn
’
t
fault her, but he was alone.

Ethan
didn't consider himself one of these flaky guys who liked to talk about his
emotions. For him, they were locked away in a deep chest buried at the back of
his mind and that's where they would and should remain.

His
mantra had always been: events can hurt you, but not as bad, if you fight back.
After all, he was Ethan McGregor, a driven, decisive man. Stubbornly confident.
He would find the leak and make them pay.

He
was a strong man in public and in private, and collapsing would simply be a
sign of weakness, he couldn
’
t
afford.

Only
a handful of people had seen him cry in adulthood, and his wife was the one who
held him together; his confidant, the person who had seen him at his worst and
most vulnerable. Without her, there was no one else.

Except,
one other person. The one he turned to when he couldn
’
t speak to her. He addressed the issue
head on, seeking professional help, on the premise that, same as when one is in
trouble they call their lawyer, the same applied when one needed mechanisms to
cope. Dr Michaellson had taught him some techniques to control himself when he
thought he would explode
…
or
crumble. Counting backwards and regulate his breathing was one of them. And
right now, he was grateful to have that tool, because as he was watching
Julian, he thought blood was the answer his hard fist longed for.

((~~!~~))

“
When
she ran off
…
After
Luca
…
My world was crumbling
…
I
was so scared of losing her one day that when that day arrived, I could only
react with anger. And with the scandal
…”
he sighs heavily,
”
It was unexpected and it took me off
guard. Vic and I have survived things
…
together
…
Knowing she was broken, alone, and ill,
I-I
…”
he stops himself, almost choking at the emotion gripping him as he recalled the
few weeks after departure.

Out
of respect, Julian looked away to the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which could be
viewed from Ethan
’
s
lounge. Of course, he knew exactly what Ethan was talking about. How your life
spirals out of control when you lose your child. The fact that these two were
apart and in their own respective hell afterwards gave him pause. He was
thinking of how he would feel if something happened to Vi while she was off
somewhere in the world. The thought paralysed him. He couldn
’
t bring himself to think of any harm
coming to her. Ethan interrupted his thoughts by saying,