Alec walked in, he moved the chair closer to her before taking his seat.
"Have the three of you planned to visit me one by one? Dwane, then Ricky, now you. Will it be Dwane again tomorrow?" She smirked.
"Come back home, El." His voice was utterly soft and wishful.
Hiding her emotions she scoffed,
"It took you fifteen days, a few bruises and.. and loss of a child to say that."
Her disdainful words felt like several daggers repeatedly stabbing his heart.
'Like father like daughter.' he thought as he tried to battle through the pain he felt.
"I'm sorry El. It was all my fault."
Blaming someone else helped Michelle to lessen the guilt she still carried towards her miscarriage.
But it wasn't right, even though she knew it was no one's fault but she couldn't help but blame herself and others for it.
However, she knew she couldn't do this to Alec only for the sake of alleviating her guilt.
"It wasn't your fault. It was nobody's fault. The fe.. the child was underdeveloped. Destined to.. to.."
Her voice quavered. She couldn't bring herself to complete her sentence with the word "die".
Sensing her pain, Alec got close to her,
"shh.. it's ok. I'm here now." He said holding her hand.
He tried to coax her but her face turned bitter. "Why weren't you here before?" She asked in an accusatory manner.
"Why weren't you with me when I needed you the most. Weren't we supposed to go back home that day? Then why did you leave, leaving me all alone." She tried to keep her voice cold and emotionless but tears brimmed in the bright eyes and her voice got more quivered with every next word.
Alec could do nothing but listen quietly to her accusation.
She snapped her hand away from him. "You left me when I lost my child."
"OUR child" he corrected her,
"It was my child too, and I'm equally remorseful and feel guilty for its loss as you do."
No matter how sincere Alec sounded, Michelle denied him.
"No"
"It was MY CHILD and I lost it." She cried hysterically.
Looking at her sorry state, Alec got closer to her and hugged her tightly. Even though she tried to push him away, he didn't move and only tightened his hug.
"Don't be like this El, you are only hurting yourself." He rubbed her back trying to calm her down.
"You told me it's nobody's fault, if you don't blame me then you shouldn't be blaming yourself either." He continued rubbing her back until she stopped caring.
Undoing the hug, he wiped the tears off her face.
They sat in silence for a while holding hands before Michelle asked, "What divorce paper were you talking about?"
"Your father sent me divorce papers, a day later you miscarried."
"What?" Her surprise was evident on her face.
"Don't worry, I burned it, just like you did." He replied with a smile making Michelle smirk.
"Did Dwane come to see you?" Alec asked. Michelle replied with a single nod.
His face darkened,
"What did he say?" Alec asked sternly but deep in he feared and hoped that Dwane didn't tell her everything.
She let out a sneer, "Same old boring stuff. Trying to turn me against you, calling our marriage forced." Both their faces soured remembering the ominous events which led to their wedding.
"I even lied that the wedding was my plan all along and I have liked you since I was a child." She smirked.
"Did you?" Alec was baffled, 'too many revelations today' he sighed feeling uncomfortable.
"Of Course not!" she exclaimed.
"I still have got Paragliding to do." They both let out a small chuckle.
"What else did he say?" Alec asked.
"Nothing that I wasn't aware about,"
"nothing but the fact that you tracked my phone, couldn't have been easy." She taunted. Alec lowered his face and remained silent with guilt.
His guilty face saddened her,
"Alec" she softly called him, he looked up at her.
"Dwane told me something else you said." Pain was evident in her eyes.
"Wh..what?" Alec hesitantly asked, dreading her reply.
'not those words' he desperately hoped.
"I'll… I'll Drag her by her.. by her Hair'' Alec closed his eyes hard in guilt unwilling to hear her complete the sentence.
"and Throw Her on your Feet."
"You didn't say this, right? Dwane's lying" despite What Dwane and Ricky said she still hoped for these words to be a lie and she'd believe Alec no matter what he said without any second thoughts.
"Tell me that it's a lie Alec." Her voice got Frantic. He still kept his eyes shut and face lowered unwilling to deal with the reality.
"Alec"
After a long silence he replied "I'm sorry El, I shouldn't have said that."
Michelle's body turned cold, Alec accepting saying those dreaded words seemed like the last nail to the coffin of her delusion.
However she gathered herself knowing that dwelling on it would be redundant.
"You didn't know it was me." She said despite being deeply hurt.
"I'm sorry." Alec repeatedly apologised.
"It's fine, you didn't really mean it, did you?" Michelle asked,
"No" he replied, but deep in he wasn't sure about it.
Alec had a reputation of being cold and ruthless towards others and he took pride in it. He cherished when people felt intimidated by him.
But on the contrary, he couldn't bear to have his wife look at him as if he was a heartless and callous monster. He only hoped that he didn't mean those words.
"Come back with me El. It doesn't feel like home without you, it never did until you stepped in.
I feel like a soulless body, living without any purpose without you."
He cupped her face with his hand and kissed her lips.
"Please come back." He feared she might not join him and leave South-Hills soon.
"Yes, sure." She replied, nodding her head.
That is what she has been longing for days.
She changed into a solid emerald a-line dress and walked out with Alec only carrying a handbag with her.
Lyla convinced Daniel to not stop her from leaving and let her be.
"Take good care of her." Daniel said sternly to Alec.
"I will," he replied with equal firmness.
Daniel kissed Michelle's forehead before they said their goodbyes.
They stepped out, Michelle looked at Mark standing afar, she slightly shook her head meaning that she wouldn't be able to leave South-Hills with him. Mark nodded as a reply.
Michelle's decision directly affected Mark's life. Protecting her wasn't not merely his job but a ceaseless responsibility that he had pledged to himself.
They drove in silence holding hands, Michelle rested her head on his chest feeling his warmth. A wave of tranquillity and fulfilment enveloped them.
When they reached, they entered, holding hands and noticed a familiar figure standing in the living room.
"Alec, my brother. I thought you guys would make me wait all day." Dwane turned around and exclaimed.