by Emma Vikes
The Lost Love
Emma Vikes
Published by Emma Vikes, 2019.
The Lost Love
The Hudson Brothers Series -
Story of Milo Hudson
Emma Vikes
© Copyright 2019 - All rights reserved.
In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locations is purely coincidental. The characters are all productions of the author’s imagination. Please note that this work is intended only for adults over the age of 18.
Description
Falling in Love for second time is almost impossible, after my wife's sudden death.
And falling for my daughter’s nanny is a big no-no.
But my defense is crumbling and I think I am losing my heart too!
When my daughter’s last nanny rejected the offer to relocate with us to Chicago, I had hardly any choice but to appoint a new nanny as soon as possible.
And then Megan walked in like a blazing sun-ray in our otherwise dull and grey world.
My daughter and Megan bonded pretty well which came as a big surprise for me.
And now I think my little girl is obsessed with her and so am I.
“The Lost Love” is the first book in The Hudson Brothers Series of standalone steamy contemporary romance novels with no cliffhanger, no cheating.
If you believe in “Happily Ever After” with a high dose of steamy love sequences and conflicts, that will raise your heartbeats, then you will like “The Lost Love” by Emma Vikes for sure.
Then grab your kindle and your favorite bucket of ice-cream and dive in!
Contents
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Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Epilogue
A Note From The Author
Also by Emma Vikes
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About The Author
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Prologue
Milo
There was always something about getting calls past dinner that traumatized me.
It brought me back to when I was fifteen. I remember it was around 11 in the evening when the kitchen phone rang throughout our house. I was in the living room then, watching reruns of old cartoons when I heard my mother’s foot rushing downstairs. We were both waiting for Dad to come home at that time. He said that he had to go back to the construction site he was working at because there seemed to be a problem. Mom answered the phone and then suddenly, she wailed and succumbed into hysterical cries, clutching the phone in her hand.
It was then that I found out my dad had died.
So when the phone rang, I made sure that it didn’t wake up Violet and rushed downstairs to answer the call. “Hello?”
“Is this Milo Hudson?”
“Yes, this is he. How may I help you?”
“Mr. Hudson. There’s been an accident at the intersection of Arlington and Irving. Your wife was involved in the crash. We’re sorry to inform you...”
I dropped the phone on the ground and sank on my knees, the words I heard whirling repeatedly in my brain. I didn’t have to listen to the rest of her statement. I knew what she meant. My wife was involved in an accident and she died.
Rebecca was dead.
Suddenly, it felt like something was constricting on my throat as I began to choke, the tears followed and within seconds, my face was soaked wet with them. I pulled my knees closer to my body as I stifled my cries, desperate that Violet wouldn’t hear me as I broke down in our kitchen floor, heaving with tears.
“No,” I whispered to myself, repeatedly whispering the word as I clutched the phone, trying to listen in on what the person was saying on the other line but my brain refused to comprehend anything of it.
Rebecca couldn’t be dead.
She shouldn’t be dead.
This was not happening. This can’t be happening.
I wanted to scream. I wanted to trash the kitchen. I wanted to wail and scream at God for being unfair. I wanted to run to the hospital and tell them to resurrect my wife because our daughter needed her. Because I needed her.
But then Violet would wake up and she would see me.
I wasn’t sure how long I stayed on the kitchen floor or whether or not I fell asleep. But all of a sudden there seemed to be sunlight slipping through the kitchen curtains and there were people knocking on my front door. Violet was still fast asleep and Mrs. Barrymore wouldn’t arrive until 8 AM. It was 7 AM right now.
Begrudgingly, I got up from the kitchen floor and trudged to open the front door. In front of me, Andrei Simmons of Irving City Police Department stood with apologetic eyes. “I’m so sorry, Milo.”
I blinked, unsure how I was supposed to respond to him. Of course, Andrei knew what happened. He was in the police department. He must’ve gotten the call about the accident. Behind him was his wife, Alyssa, who moved beside him to step closer to me, wrapping her thin arms around me in a comforting embrace. I stood there, unable to think clearly of what I was supposed to do as Alyssa silently hugged me, rubbing a hand against my back.
When she pulled away, she placed a comforting hand against my cheek. “Andrei told me what happened last night. I’m sorry, Milo. Have you told Violet?”
The mention of my six-year-old daughter snapped me back to reality. “I don’t...I’m not sure...”
Andrei patted me on the shoulder and nodded at Alyssa. “It’s okay, Miles. We’ll help you figure this all out.”
Silently, we all entered the house and they sat in the living room. Alyssa moved to the kitchen and I heard cupboards open and the stove being turned on. She was making breakfast and I was suddenly brought back to yesterday morning, Rebecca in a red apron cooking breakfast for Violet and me before she went on her trip with her friend Carly. Violet was begging her to stay because it was the first time in a long while that the three of us were together for the entire weekend since I always end up going on a business trip on weekends.
I tried to stop Rebecca from going the night before too which led us into an argument. We didn’t talk much when she said goodbye yesterday and she didn’t call me for the rest of the day. I spent my day teaching Violet how to ride a bike without training wheels on and sent Rebecca pictures, but she didn’t respond to any one of them. She must’ve been having fun with Carly.
“What happened?” I asked Andrei quietly, knowing that he knew and was informed about every detail of
the accident.
Andrei fiddled with his hands. “It was at the intersection between Irving and Arlington. Becca was driving. We think she didn’t see the stop sign. She zoomed right into it and there was truck, barrelling right at them.”
“Becca’s a good driver, Drei. She would’ve swerved out of the way.”
“She would’ve if she wasn’t drunk,” Andrei responded quietly.
I stared at my friend in shock, unable to comprehend what he had just told me. “Becca wouldn’t drink and drive. She’s not reckless.”
Andrei looked at me sadly. “She was positive for the alcohol test, Milo. They both were.”
I vehemently shook my head. “No, no. You know how cautious Becca is with alcohol and driving. She wouldn’t even let me drive when I’ve only had two beers! She would never do that, Andrei. Becca’s not like that.”
“I’m sorry, Milo.”
I wasn’t sure how ‘I’m sorry’ would make things better but I heard a door slam from upstairs and Violet came bounding down from the stairs, launching herself in Andrei’s lap and hugging her godfather. Something tugged at my heart and then she noticed me and moved from Andrei to me, kissing me on the cheek. “Good morning, Daddy!”
There wasn’t anything good in this morning but the big toothy-grin on my daughter’s face tugged at my heart again. I couldn’t break her heart this morning. Alyssa came out of the kitchen and saw Violet, calling her and Vi jumped off of my lap and ran to the kitchen to help Alyssa out with breakfast.
How was I supposed to tell a six-year-old that her mother was dead?
“Have you called your family?”
I stared at Andrei and shook my head. “I don’t even know how I’m supposed to tell our daughter that her Mom’s gone, Drei. I wouldn’t know how to tell Becca’s parents.”
I honestly wasn’t even sure how I was supposed to accept and comprehend everything. I wanted to punch a wall in anger at Becca for leaving us too soon and screaming at God that he took her away from Violet too early. I wanted to throw a fit, trash the house. A part of me wanted to breakdown in the middle of the living room.
If only Violet wasn’t in the room. If only I knew that she wouldn’t be able to witness her father falling apart.
Andrei’s mouth set in a thin, grim line and nodded, stood up and left me in the living room and I knew that he was going to make some calls, taking that load from me. I leaned on the couch and closed my eyes, the pain filling every recess of my heart as my mind flashed back to every moment I had with Rebecca.
I never loved any woman as much as I loved her and although there were some gray areas in our marriage, I liked to believe that we were happy.
With a sigh, I got out of the chair and made my way to the kitchen. I didn’t know how I was supposed to tell Violet but if I could prolong it for even just a little while, I would. She was busy making pancakes with Alyssa and I couldn’t help but see the irony in it all. A happy breakfast on a grieving morning.
“Daddy!” Violet called my attention. She was holding a plate in front of me and a happy breakfast plate with hot food smiled at me. I knelt in front of her and then caressed the back of her hair, trying my best to put a smile on my face. I took the plate from her and set it on the kitchen table.
“Can Daddy get a hug, baby?”
Violet’s big blue eyes sparkled and she nodded her head, pulling me in a hug with her tiny arms. I closed my eyes, the tears prickling at the back of my eyes as I clutched my daughter tightly. “Daddy?”
“Yea?” My voice cracked when I spoke.
She pulled away from me. “Why are you crying? Did something bad happen? Is that why Uncle Andrei and Auntie Alyssa are here?”
She wiped the tear that rolled down my right cheek. I wiped the rest of them away with the back of my hand but it seemed like I was unable to stop them from rolling down my face. I looked at Alyssa for help but she looked back at me with the same uncertainty in her eyes. She gave me an encouraging nod, but I shook my head. I didn’t want to ruin her morning.
Just a bit more time before she found out.
Alyssa looked at me and I could see the understanding flash in her eyes. “We should eat, Vi. And then I’ll stay here and play with you for a while, okay?”
Violet nodded eagerly. “Yes, yes! And then Mommy will come home later and we can all have tea!”
Alyssa’s face looked helpless, she glanced at me and I shook my head again. She looked back at Violet and tried to smile. “Sure, sweetheart.”
Andrei came into the room, a bag of Ziploc in his hands and a camera on the other. He hid them behind his back so Violet wouldn’t see them and motioned for me to come to the living room. He suddenly seemed antsy, running a hand through his short hair. I stared at the contents of the Ziploc, Rebecca’s bright pink wallet gleaming inside of it.
“Those are Becca’s things, Drei.”
He nodded slowly. “I had them sitting on the front seat of my car. I was going to give it to you when we head to the hospital but I wasn’t sure if giving it to you in public was a good idea.”
All I could do was stare at the plastic bag and then gingerly, I reached for it. He handed them to me and I sank on our velvet couch, spilling the contents beside me. It had her wallet, a few makeup items including her favourite red lipstick, and her phone that I knew was filled with concerned texts from me and missed calls.
I didn’t have the courage to open any of the items inside.
And then beside me, Andrei slowly handed me the camera. I recognized it as my birthday gift to her last year. She had been subtly hinting that she wanted one because her old camera wasn’t as good and she was venturing into photography. Even took some online classes because she was suddenly all too interested in the craft and I didn’t mind. I always wanted to support Becca with everything that she wanted to do. That was what a good husband was supposed to do.
“I think it’s best for you to see the pictures inside, Milo. I’m not trying to ruin anything here and I know that everything is still really fresh. I wanted to tell you somewhere in between, maybe during the wake, but when I was calling everyone to inform them, I couldn’t stop thinking of everything I saw in that camera.”
My eyebrows furrowed but without uttering another word, I powered the camera on and immediately headed to the images that were taken. Most of them were of Rebecca and then there were pictures of some guy. Dark hair, dark skin, and a more muscular build than mine. There were pictures of them together, his arms wrapped around her.
I blinked and pressed next.
There was a picture of him kissing her on the neck and Rebecca looked exhilarated.
Next.
It was a picture of Rebecca. She wasn’t looking at the camera but rather at the person holding the camera. The lines beside her eyes crinkled with delight and her blue eyes were sparkling.
Something tugged at my heart.
The image reminded me of Rebecca when I proposed to her. Carefree and happy.
“Who...?”
I couldn’t really finish the sentence. There was a part of me that always knew. There was something different about Rebecca recently and I knew my wife enough to know when she was hiding something from me. Still, I wanted to believe in faith and loyalty. “She was with Carly, Drei. This doesn’t make sense.”
“He was with her during the accident, sitting on the passenger seat of her car. Suffered serious injuries and was rushed into intensive care the moment he was pried out of the scene and into the ambulance.”
My fists clenched. “Who is he?”
“His name is David Jennings, a photography hero in New Orleans. He was here in Irving for a project. Maybe Leo knows him.”
I didn’t care if Leo knew him or not. “She told me that she was going with Carly on this trip, Andrei.”
“We can call Carly right now and she’ll be at her house with her kids, Miles.”
Andrei knew that I was well aware of what all this meant but was trying to deny it. I leaned back o
n the couch, my eyes shut close and the memory of Rebecca yesterday morning when she left, of her carrying her small luggage to her car, her strawberry blonde hair tied in a ponytail swinging behind her as she jogged down the front steps, me following closely behind, came flooding back to me.
I remembered hugging her when she finished loading up the luggage on the trunk and her turning around and pulling away gently. There was something that flashed in her eyes and in that moment, I knew it was guilt but I thought that she felt guilty for leaving me and Violet for the weekend when it was one of those rare weekends that I was home and not on a business trip.
I remembered I told her I love her when she was already in the driver’s seat, the window rolled down to say goodbye. I remembered she placed a hand on my cheek and a flicker of sadness and uncertainty in her eyes. And then she smiled sadly at me and whispered ‘bye’.
I remembered how she drove off without saying I love you back.
And when I opened my eyes, I was transported back to our living room, the camera that contained evidence of her infidelity in my hands and I choked back a sob but I couldn’t control it anymore, it felt like the pictures and the truth was the boulder that finally broke the dam inside of me and I broke.
I broke down in the middle of the living room where my daughter could hear me any second and as much as I tried to keep it together, the pain was too overwhelming to get a hold of myself.
Grief was painful.
But I wasn’t sure if it was grief that broke me apart or the betrayal that sliced through my heart.
Chapter 1
Milo
One Year Later
I’d known grief when my father died when I was fifteen. I was familiar with the dull ache that is left in your soul, the constant longing for a person that was never coming back. It was the kind of longing that never went away and there were days that it was bearable and then there were simply days that it hit you like a truck loaded with heavy bricks. And you would find yourself succumbing to the pain, gasping for relief, desperate to claw out your heart from your chest and stop it from aching, stop it from wishing that the person was brought back to life because you’re not done yet needing them in yours.