All Chapters of A BEAUTIFUL KIND OF WRONG: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

36 Chapters

THE MIRROR

CHAPTER ELEVEN:Owen had been at the private practice for three weeks when he was assigned to the new client.His name was David. Twenty-eight. Dark hair. He sat in the chair across from Owen's desk with his hands folded in his lap, waiting for permission to speak."What brings you in?" Owen asked."My boyfriend," David said. "Or my ex-boyfriend now. I'm trying to figure out if I made the right choice."Owen kept his expression neutral. He'd learned to do this years ago. To listen without reacting. To hold space for other people's pain without letting it become his own."Tell me about it," Owen said.David took a breath. "We've been together for two years. He has a son from a previous relationship. The boy is seven. His ex-wife left the state, so my boyfriend has full custody. He's a single father working two jobs to pay for his son's school and his apartment. He's exhausted all the time."Owen wrote a note. Just the word "custody" to keep his hands busy."I love him," David continued

WHAT I'VE FORGOTTEN

CHAPTER TWELVEDavid's session ended at four o'clock.Owen watched him leave, watched him walk down the roadwith his shoulders slightly less heavy than they'd been when he arrived. Owen had done that. Had helped him carry the weight for fifty minutes.By six, Owen was home in his new apartment. The walls were bare. He hadn't bothered to hang anything. It felt temporary even though he was planning to stay.He ordered food and sat on his couch with his phone. He scrolled through Instagram without giving it a thought. Just moving through other people's lives. Weddings. Babies. Promotions. The normal markers of a life being lived.Then he saw it.A post from an account he didn't follow but Instagram had suggested. Two men. Both smiling. Both are holding a cake. The caption said: Happy Birthday to my love. Two years together and every day feels like a gift.Owen stared at the photo. The men looked happy. The kind of happiness that came from being chosen. From being someone's priority.He t

WHAT BROKE ME

CHAPTER THIRTEENOwen drove to Roots at 7:00 a.m.The restaurant wasn't open yet. The lights were off. The door was locked. But Owen knew Lucas would be there. Lucas was always there before dawn, prepping for service. Cutting vegetables. Making stock. Building the day from nothing.Owen parked and went around to the side entrance. The one he used to use when he worked there. The door was unlocked. Everything at Roots was unlocked during prep. Rosa trusted the neighborhood. Lucas trusted the people who came through that door.Owen went upstairs first. The apartment was empty. Bed made. The kitchen is clean. There was no sign that anyone had lived there anymore. He came back down and went to the office in the back.That's where he found them.Lucas and Mercer. Against the wall. Lucas's hands on Mercer's face. Mercer's hands in Lucas's hair. Kissing like they knew exactly what they were doing. Like this wasn't the first time.Owen stopped moving. Stopped breathing. Just stood in the door

THE SILENCE, FATE AND FEAR

CHAPTER FOURTEENThe text came through at 8:47 AM.Owen was at work when his phone buzzed. He was between clients. He checked it in his office with the door closed.The number was unknown. But the words were unmistakable."You left your job thinking you could keep him, but you couldn't, and that's to let you know that you're not as sweet as you think. Everything about you should be grief because you handle it more than love. I have him now."Owen read it three times. Each time, the words landed harder.He sat down. He opened his desk drawer and closed it. He opened it again. He was looking for something but he didn't know what.Finally, he called the number back. It rang once and went to voicemail. A robotic voice told him the mailbox was full.Owen hung up.He sat at his desk for the rest of his lunch break. He didn't eat. He didn't call anyone. He just sat there and let Mercer's words work their way through his body."Everything about you should be grief because you handle it more t

HOW DO I HANDLE

CHAPTER FIFTEENLucas sat in his car for twenty minutes before he could make himself go inside the apartment.He'd been living in his car for the past week. Parking in different neighborhoods so no one would recognize it. Sleeping in the back seat. Showering at the gym before opening the restaurant. Rosa thought he was sick. Carla thought he was working extra hours. The truth was he couldn't be anywhere. Not the apartment above Roots where every corner reminded him of Owen. Not his sister's house where he'd have to explain. Not anywhere.Mercer had been relentless. Texting. Showing up at the restaurant. Telling Lucas that Owen was weak. That Owen had abandoned his clients for a fantasy. That Owen needed to be forgotten.And Lucas had let him say it. Had let him touch him. Had let him kiss him in the office because it was easier than thinking about the fact that Owen had sent fourteen messages and Lucas couldn't bring himself to answer even one.He'd read every single one."We need to

THE ULTIMATUM RETURNS

CHAPTER SIXTEEN:Mercer showed up at Roots on a Wednesday morning before lunch service.Lucas was in the kitchen prepping. Rosa was at the front arranging flowers. When she saw Mercer, she froze."Lucas," she called out. "You have a visitor."Mercer didn't wait for an invitation. He came back to the kitchen, his shoes clicking against the tile in a way that made Rosa visibly uncomfortable."We need to talk," Mercer said.Lucas set down his knife. He didn't look surprised. Like he'd been expecting this.They went to the office. Mercer closed the door and leaned against it, blocking the exit."You went to see him," Mercer said. "Owen."Lucas didn't answer."I know you did," Mercer continued. "I had someone watching his apartment. They saw you leave at 9:00 p.m. You were in there for forty minutes.""How long have you been watching him?" Lucas asked."Does it matter?" Mercer said. "What matters is that you went back. You confessed. You probably told him you loved him. You probably made h

OWEN'S LAST NIGHT

CHAPTER SEVENTEENOwen's birthday arrived on a Tuesday.Sarah had planned a dinner. Just the two of them at a small Italian restaurant downtown. She'd made reservations weeks ago, before everything fell apart. Before Owen had accepted the Portland job. Before Lucas had shown up and torn open every wound Owen had spent two weeks trying to close.Owen dressed in the clothes Sarah had laid out for him. Dark shirt. Good jeans. He looked in the mirror and tried to recognize the person staring back at him.Sarah picked him up at seven."You look miserable," she said as he got in the car."I feel like I'm leaving something behind," Owen said."You are," Sarah said. "You're leaving this city. You're leaving your past. You're leaving Lucas."Owen didn't respond. He just looked out the window as Sarah drove.The restaurant was crowded. Couples. Groups of friends. People celebrating. The hostess seated them at a table by the window. Sarah ordered wine. Owen ordered water."Drink the wine," Sarah

THE CHOICE

CHAPTER EIGHTEENBy morning, they had a plan in place.Owen called his lawyer. A woman named Patricia who'd helped with his apartment lease. She specialized in cases involving harassment and blackmail. When Owen explained what happened, she didn't hesitate."We need documentation," Patricia said. "Screenshots of every message Mercer sent. Any emails. Any proof of the threat. And we need statements from Lucas and anyone else who knows about this."Lucas called Miguel and Carla. They came to the apartment at eight in the morning. Owen made coffee. Rosa arrived thirty minutes later.Patricia sat at the kitchen table, a voice recorder and a notebook in hand."Tell me everything," she said to Lucas.Lucas told her about Mercer showing up at the restaurant. About the threats. About the email draft sitting in his account, ready to send. About the ultimatum.Miguel's hands were clenched into fists the entire time."He threatened to deport me?" Miguel asked when Lucas finished."He threatened

MARCO'S CRISIS

CHAPTER NINETEEN:The call came at 4:00 a.m.Carla was crying. Her words were fast and fragmented. Marco had a high fever. He was unresponsive. She'd called an ambulance. He was on his way to St. Catherine's.Lucas was out of bed before she finished talking.Owen was already getting dressed. They didn't discuss it. They just moved with purpose toward the door.The hospital was fifteen minutes away. They arrived before Carla did, rushing to the emergency department and demanding information about Marco. The receptionist told them he was being assessed. They'd have to wait.Lucas paced. Owen sat in the uncomfortable plastic chairs watching him move back and forth, back and forth.Carla arrived twenty minutes later, her nurse uniform still on from her night shift. Her face was ashen."He's had a seizure," she said, sitting down hard. "I went to check on him before bed and he was burning up. By the time the ambulance got there, he'd already had one.""What are they saying?" Lucas asked."

THE IMMIGRATION HEARING

CHAPTER TWENTYThe letter came three weeks after Marco was discharged from the hospital.It was official. A hearing date. Immigration services wanted to question Lucas about his status, his documentation, and his family situation. Mercer's report had triggered an investigation despite his arrest.Patricia said it was standard procedure. That they had documentation of Mercer's blackmail. That would help Lucas's case. But her voice carried a weight that suggested nothing was guaranteed.The hearing was scheduled for a Monday morning.The night before, Lucas didn't sleep. Owen found him sitting on the balcony at 3am in the morning, smoking a cigarette. Something he only did when he was terrified."Come inside," Owen said."What if they deport me?" Lucas asked. "What if all of this doesn't matter? What if I lose everything anyway?"Owen sat next to him. He took the cigarette from Lucas's hand and threw it over the railing."Then we figure it out," Owen said. "But you're not going to priso

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