Chapter 5

Alistair lay sprawled in the middle of the stage in the Celestial Room, surrounded by empty liquor bottles. His once-clean white shirt was soaked through with alcohol, the thin fabric clinging to his narrow, bony frame. He had already been forced to drink no less than ten bottles.

"Drink. Why'd you stop? What are you getting all worked up for?"

"You're the worst kind of social climber—vicious and underhanded. You hurt Mrs. Winslow seven years ago, and seven years later you're shamelessly throwing yourself at Geri so you can be her side piece."

"Were you trying to tempt Geri into cheating? How can you be this shameless?"

Moments earlier, Geri had called over a bunch of their old classmates. Then, she'd made Alistair stand on stage, publicly admit that he had tried to seduce her, and apologize to Jonah 100 times.

But even that had not satisfied Jonah. He had only been willing to let it go if Alistair finished 100 bottles of hard liquor.

Alistair had knelt on the floor and prostrated himself, begging for mercy. "Mr. Graham, I'm sorry for overstepping and being shameless. I'm a jerk and a piece of trash. This is all my fault, but please, find another way to get back at me. I can't drink. I really can't."

He had stomach cancer and absolutely couldn't touch alcohol. Even though he was already dying, he still hadn't seen Corey or handed over the 30,000 dollars he'd painstakingly saved over the years.

He couldn't die here.

Jonah had kicked him away in disgust, and Geri, while pretending to restrain Jonah, shot a look at the old classmates who were watching the show.

A moment later, they'd dragged Alistair onto the stage.

…

The liquor burned its way through Alistair's stomach. He drank and vomited, over and over, his entire body twitching as he lay in a pool of booze, completely wrecked.

When they realized that something was wrong, the crowd didn't dare to force any more alcohol on him. Instead, they turned to study Geri's expression.

Geri stared at Alistair's flushed face and body. Her heart sank. When had someone as tall as Alistair gotten this thin?

Her brows creased the slightest bit. But when she turned to Jonah, she wore the same gentle smile as always. "Joe, have you cooled off yet?"

Jonah asked, "Geri, do you feel sorry for him?"

Geri instantly frowned, and whatever flicker of pity she'd felt for Alistair vanished. "How could I?"

Pity her enemy?

A cruel light flashed in Jonah's eyes. "I don't buy it. Not unless… you tear up the photo in that locket he wears around his neck."

The moment the words were out of his mouth, Alistair sobered up. He clutched the locket hanging against his chest in a death grip, his eyes wide and wild like a terrified animal.

"Geri, don't do this. Please, I'm begging you…"

When Jonah first made his demand, Geri had actually hesitated. But then she thought of Margaret, still lying in a hospital bed, and her hatred surged up and swallowed her whole.

She stood and slowly walked toward Alistair.

He shrank back into a corner, having nowhere left to run. The pain in his stomach spread to all four limbs, robbing him of the strength to fight back. He could only watch as Geri pried open his swollen fingers, one by one, and ripped the locket from his hand.

"Geri, you've already burned every picture of my parents and wiped out every last trace of their existence. Now, you want to destroy the only thing I have left?" Alistair reached for her, nearly screaming.

After the incident, Geri had stormed into the York residence and destroyed every photo and memento of Alistair's parents. Back then, Corey had only been six years old. He'd curled up in Alistair's arms and sobbed.

No matter how Alistair had begged and insisted on his innocence, Geri hadn't softened in the slightest.

"How can you be this cruel, Geri?"

A sudden fury flared in Geri's chest. She ripped the photo to shreds right in front of Alistair and scattered the pieces over his head. Then, she wrapped her hands around his throat.

"I'm cruel? And what you did to my mother wasn't cruel? I destroyed objects, but you hurt a living, breathing person!"

The photo was torn so abruptly that Alistair didn't even bother trying to fight her off. It wasn't like putting up a fight ever made her go easy on him anyway.

Jonah was the man she loved the most, and Alistair had hurt him. If she didn't destroy the things Alistair cherished, how was she supposed to get back at him on Jonah's behalf?

Alistair's eyes went flat and hollow. Just as Geri and the others turned to leave, he suddenly rasped, "Geri Winslow, I hate you."

Geri stopped at the doorway and walked back to him. She crouched and leaned toward his right ear. "Funny. I hate you, too."

When she noticed how red his right ear had gotten from being so sensitive, she shifted to his left ear instead. "But here's the thing—something I hate more than you. I still love you."

After saying that, her eyes were full of tangled emotion. Love and hate were wound so tightly together that it was impossible to pry them apart.

Alistair just stared at her, his expression dazed.

Geri then left. What she didn't know was that Alistair was completely deaf in his left ear. He hadn't heard that last sentence at all.