I was totally confused when my best friend, Alexis, texted me and said that she saw my husband and I at a restaurant.
Because I was at home currently. On the sofa. In a robe with a mask on my face.And my husband, Victor, was supposed to be at work. At least, that was what he texted me a few hours ago.
Ding!
Alexis: I see you and Victor in the restaurant :P You two are just the sweetest couple!
Me: Um, you might wanna get your eyes checked, bestie. :P I'm at home right now!
I sat my phone down and laid back against the sofa while I let my face mask settle. But my phone kept buzzing anyway.
Ding! Ding!
Alexis: I know what Victor looks like! But if that woman turning the back on me isn't you… there might be some trouble!
Alexis: OMG!! Listen to this NOW!!
Ding!
It was an audio message. That made me sit up on the sofa immediately. I pressed play without hesitation.
"Oh, Victor, I know you still think of me.” The unknown woman's voice chimed in.
“I have always been thinking of you.” Victor's voice came through as clear as day.
"You're so kind, just as you always have been. It's like you're the only person who tries to understand me, and who really does."
"And you say I'm kind?" Victor laughed and it sounded so musical.
The woman giggled. "Because you are! Even though you used to always treat me like a child, it's because you were worried about me. I always felt so safe when I was around you back then—and even still now."
Her voice almost sounded… flirty… the way she said that, too.
“Madam,” another voice came through. It was perhaps the waiter. "If you don’t mind, may I ask how long have you two been married? You two have such good chemistry together!"
“Wow, so you think we're sweet?” The unknown woman sounded like she really enjoyed his question, “our relationship is as always.”
The audio cut out with her loud laugh, before I caught the response from Victor.
Hearing how he spoke to her... It made me feel conflicted.
Our marriage wasn't something that came out of love. We were introduced by his grandfather, and set to wed that same week.
While it was odd living under the same roof with a stranger who was meant to be my husband, it wasn't awful. We spent time getting to know each other and in time, I fell in love with my husband.
Victor had always been so thoughtful. He was a man of few words, but I could feel how much he cared through his actions.
But now...why Victor so...treasured her? Even his laugh was so carefree and happy that I had never heard before.
How long had they known each other? How come I've never heard of them before?
A sense of doubt made my skin crawl.
It took me years to build something intimate with Victor, and he'd never spoken to any other woman the way he was speaking to this one.
I had to know what was going on. Or at least get to the bottom of who this person was.
I clicked on Victor's number out of my Favorite Contact list, and he picked up after the fourth ring.
"Hey, Emelia. Is everything okay?” Victor greeted me in a rushed voice.
I took a deep breath and pretended nothing was wrong. “Hey. Yeah, I just wanted to know when you'd be home for dinner? Are you still at your office?”
“Yeah, I'm busy at a work meeting right now. Now's not a good time.” Victor stated.
Liar.
"I'm sorry." I kept my voice steady and even as I tried to find out more details. "You usually call me when you're going to be late at the office, and I thought you'd be home by now. Is everything okay? Why didn't you call?"
Instead of acknowledging anything I said, or even giving me some type of "call you later," he hung up on me.
Just like that. He hit the end button on his phone and completely ignored everything I had to say.
What the hell was that?!
Victor's POVMonday morning came by a lot quicker than I'd anticipated, and before I knew it, I was sitting in the lobby of the board's building waiting to be summoned. My foot tapped anxiously on their tile flooring."Mr. Russo?" A voice called out for me.I looked up at the receptionist behind the desk. "That'll be me.""Yes, sir. The board is ready to proceed with your meeting. Please head into the elevator and up to floor five. It'll be room 54-C, just a few doors down to the right once you step off.""Thank you, miss." I nodded in acknowledgement.As I got onto the elevator and pressed the five button, I used the time to get my nerves under control.Now that things were really setting into motion, I couldn't help but still feel nervous about this whole meeting. It was getting to a point where I thought I was going to throw up.When I got to the meeting room, I took one last deep breath."You got this, Vic." I said to myself as I put my hand on the doorknob. "Just go in there, and
Victor's POV"They rejected it?" I said in a dumbfounded, confused tone.I reread the email a few times to make sure I was reading it correctly. But there it was as plain as day.[Dear Mr. Russo,][The board would like to thank you for your years of dedicated service, hard work, and outstanding leadership. The Majestic Monarch Jewelry Co. would not be half the company it is now if not for your tireless efforts in striving for success.][While we understand the desire to move on to bigger and better things, given the nature of your request, it is within the best interest of the board that we discuss your options further before moving forward.][Our offices are open Monday morning. Please feel free to stop by when you have the availability.][Warm Regards, Members of the Board]"Interesting." Rory took a puff of his cigarette. "They're giving you quite the runaround over a simple resignation.""I don't see why they would…" I huffed. "They would have to assume full control of the company
Victor's POVThere was no amount of currency I could use as a bribe for the time I felt like had been stolen from me. Two years had passed since I saved Emelia from certain death. Yet, it felt like it all had happened yesterday.A lot has changed since then though. Physical therapy broke me in ways I didn't know were possible, but it also molded me into the man I needed to be. Not just for me, but for my daughter too.Violet turned six recently. I was forced to spend her third birthday in a hospital bed, but even then she came to visit me. She told me then that it didn't matter what she did, as long as she celebrated her special day with her daddy.Even now, it was like her heart hadn't changed since then. She was still just as pure—still just as innocent.It made me incredibly happy to know that she chose me to be her father in the end. She saved me, and I vowed to be a better person since.Following my discharge, Lily's parents contacted me one last time out of sheer desperation. It
Victor's POVSeeing Violet now given the state that I was in opened an old wound in my heart that I knew I also needed to mend.In truth, I loved her so much. Probably more than I was willing to admit at the time. I didn't care that she was another man's child. At the end of the day, she called ME daddy, not Dylan. She looked up to me and got excited when I walked through those doors.It made my heart hurt knowing that she wouldn't grow up with a mother figure, but I was glad that grandpa Antonio was willing to step up and care for her while I was still in the hospital. It eased my soul knowing she was in good hands.I patted the seat next to my bed and motioned for Violet to come sit. "How's my girl doing?"Violet hesitated, but after getting an encouraging nod from grandpa, she sat next to me and took my hand. "Good…" She looked away, like she was afraid of something.Like she was afraid of me…"What's wrong, Violet?" I asked."I…" Tears began to fall from her face. "I-I'm scared…""
Victor's POVTime passed, but I had no idea how much. Days. Weeks. Maybe even months? The only constant I was aware of was Emelia at my side through it all.Every so often I could hear her voice speaking to one of the nurses or on the phone with someone else. In the middle of the night when a nurse or aide would come in to check on me, I would look over to see her asleep on the recliner next to my bed.Throughout it all, Emelia never left.My heart swelled with a mixture of love and guilt.All this time, I'd taken her for granted, not realizing that she was the best thing that ever came into my life. She not only made life easier, she made my heart feel at ease.During the two years Emelia was away in Europe, I woke up every morning hoping that the long, beautiful locks of wavy brown hair would be hers. Every call of my name, every time my hand brushed against Lily's, and every faint scent of vanilla during the autumn months, I'd hoped were secretly things that were Emelia at my side i
Emelia's POV"And last time I checked, Emelia is no longer part of the Russo family! So if you think you can just give her the keys to your company just like that, you're wrong!"Now I definitely saw where Lily got all of her irrational thinking and stubbornness from. The truth was right in front of Bernadette and she was still so hellbent on seeking justice where there was none that needed to be sought after.I looked up at Victor who gave me a weary look. There was no reason that he needed to endure this while he'd just barely escaped the claws of death. I knew he was tired and simply wanted to make his mom go away."Excuse me, sir! There's already a lot of people in the room! I can't have you—""My GRANDSON is in there! You're not stopping me from seeing him!"I snapped my head up to see grandpa Antonio rushing into our room with a nurse close behind who had been trying to stop him. He breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Victor barely awake and I at his side.Grandpa Antonio ginge