"If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, do we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that." ― William Shakespeare
Four Years Later:
They say love is like a butterfly, soft and gentle as a sigh, but from what Alex has seen of love, he thinks it's more like a tornado, shocking and violent and so powerful it can rip your soul out of your mouth…
Falling in love is not rational. It's madness. It's a beautiful, wonderful moment of magnificent insanity. Who knows this better than Alexander King?
But he can't undo what he has done. He can't go back to that first day he saw Maya Davis, seven years ago, helping her friend Sasha pull a prank on her professor. He can't un-feel what he felt when she glanced up and their eyes met when she fell in his arms. And he fell in love with her—hook, line, and sinker.
Maya Davis was very, very, very… mysterious. Conundrum. Enigmatic. Unfathomable. She had been slippery and evasive. The more she ran away, the more he chased her until she caved in only to turn his life upside down.
"She is here." Suddenly, the firm voice of his friend interrupted his thought,. "Are you sure about this, Alex?"
"I've been waiting for this moment for four years, Josh. Just when I thought this day will never come, it finally does. There's no going back for me." His tone was withering.
"Alex…" He held up one hand to stop Josh from talking.
He turned around and looked straight into Josh's eyes, "There are only two kinds of people in the world: predator or prey. The strong prey on the weak, the rich on the poor; I've given up hope that there is a God that will save us all. Freedom for the wolves has often meant death to the sheep."
His eyes darken. "Word to the wise? Don't get too attached. Sooner or later, men who live their lives with one foot in the grave fall all the way in." Alex could hear Josh's worry in his voice.
As a boy, he believed in love, as a man he knew better. He would never forget the nasty twists of fate life could throw at you. It only takes a second and your life could be drastically altered.
Alex took a step forward, fury gleaming in his eyes, "That woman already put my heart through the cheese grater, making sure it left no part of it intact. There was no way I was going to give that power to her… again, Josh."
Before he could respond, they heard the door open, followed by a series of footsteps. Alex didn't turn around immediately. He tried to control the emotions raging inside him.
"Surprise!" He turned around to face the woman he hated to love or love to hate. His face was the same way it had always been—stoic.
There stood the woman who ruined him - Maya Davis Simons. She looked weak and pale. There was a band-aid on her forehead. She blinked as if she is trying to signal someone in Morse code.
Alex gestured to the leather chair across and she slips into it. He sat behind his desk, closing the laptop quickly, and Josh took a seat next to Maya.
She looked nonchalant, "You are the mystery buyer, ah?" She drawls.
Alex recalled her crude words: "You were fun while it lasted. But did you think, I would prefer to be with a poor bastard like you?"
It was his sheer stupidity that he couldn't let her go. He told himself over and over that he won't see her again, but he never stopped. He thought he had the strength to stay away. But his love turned into hatred and hatred into a thirst for revenge. The pull to see her suffer. The need to hear her lilting voice beg. Because need and want have turned into something more powerful. Something darker and far more perilous for them both.
Alex didn't have the easiest time growing up and having his heart broken only made him work faster, fight harder, take more chances—and today he was the youngest self-made billionaire'.
That said, when the woman you loved used you as nothing more than a pawn in her sick games, it warps your view on love. Now, the tables have turned, and it's time for his move.
His jaw clenched so hard Alex wouldn't have been surprised if his teeth shattered."Yes, it's me."
"Congratulations!" Her tone is like, "I've got better things to do,"
Alex's voice was low but disdain evident in his voice, "Before we start, I'm sorry about your husband."
Maya rolled her eyes and waved a hand dismissively in the air, "No, you're not!"
"Can we get back to business? I don't have all day."
Her face contorted in disbelief. "You seem to be in a foul mood."
"I'm in a foul mood every time I see you because I'm seeing you,"
Silence spread between them, a heavy, prolonged, excruciating silence, while they continued to stare into each other's eyes. Alex looked away and cleared his throat. "Can we start?"
"I can hardly stand the anticipation." Her tone was dry, mocking.
"Alex" Maya and Alex turned around to see a woman standing by the door, the receptionist hovering nervously a few feet behind her.
"This woman said you were expecting her, Sir?" The receptionist muttered, shifting from one foot to another.
Then the worst thing that could happen, does. "This is a surprise. Come on, in, meet my girlfriend, Maxine Sanders. Max, meet my ex-acquittance, Mrs. Simons." Alex couldn't help the smirk tugging at his lips as he waited to see if Maya would take the bait.
Alex surprised everyone, including him, and his stalker. It was an impulsive move to introduce Maxine as his girlfriend, a simple dick move to show Maya he had moved on. He wanted to see Maya's reaction but got none. Her eyes had a veil of utter nothingness, she looked so distant. She further sinks into her chair.
"It's Ms. Davis." She says, lazily.
"Right, it's just that you went through a lot of names, I don't know what to call you,"
"I don't need to mock people to feel better about myself, Sir." She stuck her elbows on the table and leaned forward, "I hope you are feeling better about yourself." Her tone was gently mocking.
His nostrils flare as the urge to commit murder boils in his veins.
"Well, this is a surprise. I recognize you from the tabloids. You are the wife of the entrepreneur, Jay Simon, am I right?" Maya and Alex turned their attention to Maxine, who stood a few feet away from Maya. Maya's gaze at Maxine like she's a bug she would like to smash under the sole of her Louboutin heels.
"Who hasn't darling?" She mocks, a smirk tugging at her lips.
Things take a turn toward the melodramatic when we heard someone, "Maya!" I turned toward the familiar voice. It was Sasha.
Sasha, Maya, Josh, and Alex were friends from college. Sasha and Maya were as thick as thieves, but Sasha broke her friendship with Maya when she betrayed Alex, or so he thought.
Sasha stood there, jaw hanging, speechless. From his peripheral vision, he saw Maya freeze like a statue.
"What are you doing here, Sasha?" Questioned Josh, curious, getting up from his seat.
The question hangs in the air unanswered for about seven-seconds longer than comfortable, hoping that the asker would hear the ridiculousness of the question and retract it.
Alex stood so fast the chair hit the wall behind him. "Sasha, from when you are in touch with her?" His finger-pointing at Maya.
"Come on, Alex. Let's not jump the gun. Sasha wouldn't do that to us." Josh defended his girlfriend.
"Sasha…" Alex's voice seemed to snap out of whatever daze she was in.
Her lips pinch sourly, "She is reeling from the loss of her husband and father. I'm helping to get her back on her feet."
"Why would you do that? From last we spoke, you broke your friendship and now you are standing up for her? When did this happen?" Josh's tone was blunt as that of Alex's. ... In disbelieve, unable to believe what his ears had heard.
"Because you don't kick a man when he is down, Josh. Words which you both wouldn't understand." Sasha trailed off, her voice shaking.
"You are in cahoots with Maya? Why?" Alex oared, his voice bouncing off the walls, but Sasha just stood there, worrying her lip.
"It's called humanity."
Before anyone could speak, Alex saw Maxine watching the drama without blinking her eye, "Maxine, leave us." Alex said in a tone that leaves no room for arguments.
"But Alex…" She tries to protest.
"Leave," Alex raises his voice, and she scurries away in fear.
Alex averts his gaze to Sasha, "Aren't you the one who asked me not to go behind her? Aren't you the one who told me she isn't worth it?"
"I asked you to move on, not go behind her for revenge. I didn't ask you to ruin her life and marriage." Sasha throws her hands in the air in derision.
Alex's eyes bulged and bulged, and the cords in his neck stood out like a frigate's sheets in a gale. She might as well have stabbed me in the gut.
"I'm your boyfriend, Sasha. Why are you lying to me? Why are you playing the devil's advocate?"
The hushed silence that fell over the room was deafening. Sasha didn't have an answer.
"And what," Alex asks softly, pointing his finger at Maya, "is so special about her that would make you flush a future and friendship down the toilet?"
The silence stretches between us, not long but wide, filled with tension and unspoken words.
Josh and Alex share a stunning glance, and he knew they both were suffering the same brain meltdown.
When Alex's eyes sharpen, Sasha looks away, swallowing, "I have nothing more to say." Her words resigned.
That seemed to draw Maya out of her thoughts. She walks and stands between Sasha and Alex.
"Mr. King, Sasha, and I met a few days back in the hospital. Let the past stay in the past. Sasha, please leave," She enunciates each word as if she's biting them off with her teeth.
"Did you hypnotize her? She never used to like you." Alex hissed viciously.
Maya sighs dramatically, stands, and looks down at me with her hands propped on her hips. "If I wanted to be liked, I would have run for the popular vote."
Maya tilted her head and looked at Sasha in a gesture that looked innocent and confused. But I knew it was a warning with a hidden message that said: Knock it off.
"Get out," She barks at a wide-eyed, Sasha. Sasha nods and turns on her heel and leaves. Alex gestured to Josh to follow. He nods and leaves the room, leaving Alex and Maya alone.
Alex grinds his teeth, and the muscles in my jaw work to keep him from shouting. "That was uncalled for,"
Her eyes are laser-focused, searing me with hate. "Look closely. Do you see two shits or a fuck anywhere in my eyes?"
Leaning forward, he placed my palms flat on my desk. "What are you trying to pull? What do you have against Sasha?" His words are harsh and biting.
Her laugh short and bitter, "That sounds a little ominous."
The vehemence of her words makes me blink. "I've seen many women like you."
She shrugs "What you know about women wouldn't fill a teaspoon."
His grimace of disgust could win an award. "Stay away from Sasha. I mean it."
She ignores me and goes straight to the point. "If you are done satisfying your childish need for drama. Would you mind discussing the reason for this meeting?"
After a moment of stunned silence, he clears his throat. "I bought your father's shares."
Maya steeples his fingers together, "So you said."
"Your father also sold his fifty percent share of the Orphanage."
She cuts her freezing gaze to me. Her lips thin and her nostrils flare in shock.
'The Orphanage' is her late mother's gift. It's a school for underprivileged kids and they have many honored sponsors. The Orphanage is her only solace.
"He didn't" she whispered in total disbelief, still uncertain she wasn't hallucinating
"He did. Now, I want to buy out your shares."
"I won't" She shook her head.
Alex's tone held no room for negotiations. "Now, you have two options. Option one: Sell out. Option two: Buy my shares. But considering that your late husband was bankrupt, you can't buy me out. Option one, it is."
They both stare at each other. The sudden tension is excruciating.
After a nerve-wracking pause, her response is even lower than before. "What do you do when you have to decide between two impossible choices?" She taps her chin, pretending to be thinking. But I knew she wasn't. She says, "Create a third."
"A third?" he repeats, like a fool.
Her gaze is unflinching. "Here's the deal, Mr. King, I will sell my share but not for money."
Horrified, he breathes, "You are ready to sell?"
"Yes."
"And not for money?"
"Yes,"
"Wow! Your mother must be very proud of you. She must have turned in her grave."
She collapses against the back of her chair, sighing. "Digging in graveyards is dangerous. Eventually, you're going to uncover something bad."
Understanding there's a hidden meaning there, he says, "Are you going to explain that?"
"The heart wants what it wants," Maya says, following me. "Do you want to hear my offer?"
He took a deep breath and nods. She went very, very still. It took her a long time to answer.
For the first time, she turned her head and looked at him. He had never seen her eyes like that—flat and dead and unfeeling. She never looked like they were frozen out of existence. Like nothing was going on inside her at all.
Her eyes zeroed in on him, gaze unwavering. She whispers, "I want you to find my daughter."
Daughter? Did she say, Daughter? A-freaking-daughter? Does she have a child? With that bastard? Did she carry his child? No. He must have heard it wrong. She is lying through her teeth. I watched her closely for the past four years. If she was pregnant, he would have known. The world would have known.
Like that his entire world has tilted on its axis and he is tumbling down a black rabbit's hole toward the center of the earth.