by Zi'ere
He had a Hennessy and Sprite as I tried to deliver my absolute best polite argument to make him see that partnering with him would not be a good fit for me as a person or as his fiancé. Before we could even factor in the business aspect not being possible, ever, he needed to understand that it was something I didn’t want to do personally. But to put it plainly, he wasn’t hearing anything I had to say. I understood he had dreams and aspirations but a men’s line would be something he would have to tackle alone or find someone else to partner with. Once we were married I wanted to start a family right away. I wanted to enjoy raising the many kids I knew I wanted and in order for me to do that I had to back out of the rigor of corporation life. I was secretly hoping I could scale back the roles I currently held at Purple Label. I was also looking into the legal aspects of selling Emani and Amina my stock interests in the Barton Modeling Agency way before the new revelation came to light.
My back began to ache from sitting in the same spot for hours. I was exhausted and I begged for him to take me home. Shortly thereafter we were on our way to an already agreed upon lovemaking session. I looked over at my man. I enjoyed seeing his chocolate silhouette as he cruised through the city behind the wheel of his Range Rover. I reached over and began to stroke his thigh, the universal signature that he was going to get taken advantage of in a few minutes. He increased the speed of the truck. Sliding through an already red light, the truck was forcefully hit on the passenger’s side by another truck. Air bags deployed on my right side and from the dashboard, delivering even more painful blows to my body. A sharp pain ran from the base of my neck to the frontal lobe of my head. Even though I didn’t want to, I had no choice but to close my eyes, it hurt too bad trying to keep them open. All of a sudden everything went black and cold.
19
Laini
I noticed Que’s expression change from cordial to anger in a matter of seconds. The strange woman moved once again to stand right beside me. She put her arms around me and squeezed me tight while my arms were still at my sides. I had no idea who this strange woman was but she was obviously happy to see me. Within a matter of seconds camera flashes consumed me once again.
“Who is this woman Laini? You said you were picking up your boyfriend, is this woman your boyfriend? Sir who are you? What is your relationship to Laini? Laini we need to know something, do you know how this looks?” Photographer after photographer clicked their cameras all the while drilling me with questions one after the other.
I was in complete bewilderment and there was no way I could tell anyone what was going on if I didn’t even know. The strange woman was still holding me and even went so far as to kiss me on the cheek when Que finally stood before us. I wriggled from her grasp. I was angry and felt disrespected. Que knew better than anyone how the media lived to spin scandal after scandal for the slightest mishap. He absolutely knew the last thing I wanted was for more attention to be put on my life.
“Why in the hell do you have your hands all over me?” If there ever was a time I needed Liam, now was it.
“Even though it is our first time meeting, I can already say that I love you Laini.” Her words were meant to be genuine but they lacked authenticity.
“Que, what is going on?” I saw that he had made a bold move to grab the unknown woman’s arm even though his eyes were on me as I spoke.
“How do you know my name?” Que looked at me as if I were a fifth grade science project at the county fair.
“Tory, what’s going on? Why are you holding on to Laini Jefferies like that?” Que looked beyond pissed, his tone was harsh. I had never heard him talk so forcefully.
“I have already explained to you that my wishes will be carried out one way or another. I have made my decision and things have been working out good between you two. If you think you are going to just take the money and run you have another thing coming! I will be collecting a check from either one of you so I suggest you to collaborate on that as well. You too seem to be comfortable since you have been talking about everything else over the years.”
“Que, why are you talking to this strange woman and why won’t you answer my questions?”
“Tory I can’t believe you carried out this evil twisted plot. I begged you not to make our relationship worse than it already is. Here I was thinking things were getting better between us but you are still using trifling tricks. I was talking to Laini all along. I should have known you didn’t have the ability to talk to me in such a caring way. This is the preverbal straw that broke the camel’s back. I can’t take this anymore! All of your schemes, lies, and trickery is too much for me to handle. Look for the divorce papers to be served as soon as I can get in touch with Steve. And you better not try to hide from him. You can live your life knowing that I detest the day I laid eyes on you. I won’t give you a dime of my money and I will see to it that you won’t receive a dime from this unsuspecting woman you leeched onto. I will get to the bottom of how you carried out this demonic game and I will be pressing charges against you.” Que had is pointer finger directly at Tory’s nose as he spoke to her in nothing more than a shouting tone.
“Will somebody tell me what in the hell is going on?” I eased my body between the two and demanded an answer.
“I advise you to prosecute this rat to the fullest extent of the law and I will help in any way I can. Laini I am so sorry that you have been caught up in a web of lies my wife has been keeping afloat for God only knows how long. There is nothing else I can say. I can’t begin to imagine how deep this hole is that she has built in your life. I can’t be a part of this spectacle in public.” He looked me deep in the eyes and gave me a look that he really was sincere with the words he spoke to me.
He never laid a finger on my body. He looked defeated and upset. Even though my heart was hurting I could tell his heart was hurting too.
“Why are you talking to me like you don’t know me? Que you just told me you loved me yesterday. What happened?”
“I told my wife I loved her yesterday Laini. I thought I was talking to Tory Calhoun.” He stood before me and looked just like he had on the face time we had engaged in the day before.
“Que, please don’t do this to me. You have to be who you said you were to me!”
“The only thing I know about you is what is released in the media and the blogs. I’ve seen your face one million times before today. But, I have never had any romantic or personal ties to you. That was all Tory’s doing. I’m sorry Laini.”
“Why are you lying? You just called me your wife yesterday. Don’t you remember that?”
“I was talking to my wife. Tory is my wife, not you. Tory was my wife.”
His words were so cold, I felt a chill. I felt as if someone was cutting off my oxygen. My head felt foggy and I immediately remembered Dr. Allen’s words. I was positive that this situation didn’t fall under the scope of taking it easy.
20
Laini
“There has to be some kind of misunderstanding. You’ve talked to me every day, all day for the last two years!” I could no longer keep my voice under control.
I was gaining anger and humiliation by the second. “Why did you tell me you loved me if you didn’t know me?”
Que couldn’t give an answer because just as quickly as I began to speak he turned to walk off. I was wondering if he had even heard anything I said. He probably didn’t even hear me speak over all the commotion going on around me, is what I wanted to think. Whatever the situation, Que didn’t want to be a part of it anymore. I guess it could be safe to say that he didn’t want to have anything to do with the circumstances from the beginning.
“Laini, my name is Tory Calhoun. And Quese is my husband. I refuse to let you split up my marriage that God put together. I have concrete proof that the two of you have been together for over two years all the while he had me believing he wanted to salvage our marriage. If he wants to go now, he can do just that. I plan to sue your beautiful rich ass for every penny you have
under a little law called alienation of affection. He neglected his home while he traveled the world keeping up with you every single day while he goes weeks without contacting me or his children.” She tried to talk in a hush tone into my ear but every word had been heard by the paparazzi, just as she intended.
“Children? Que has children? Are you telling me that you pretended to be me while your husband thought he was talking to you?”
“Don’t you dare think he is innocent in this latest episode of love and war. I assure you he is as guilty as you are!” I saw hell in her eyes.
“How did all of this sick foolishness work? You let him carry on an affair for two years with a woman he doesn’t even know? Do you know how sick that is? This is the most twisted shit I have ever witnessed with my own eyes!” At that point I was unclear on how much witnessing I was really doing.
“I love you Laini. I always have and I always will. I did this for the both of us.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“You needed to know that you aren’t so untouchable after all.”
“What?”
“I came here to get what is rightfully mine.” Tory continued to speak in some sort of code that was lost on me.
My eyes were clouded by tears of embarrassment and heartache. Que thought he was talking to his wife, no wonder he referred to our relationship as a marriage all the time. The more confused I got, the more questions I asked, and the faster the cameras flashed. After Que departed the circus ring a small number of paparazzi followed him to get his take on the events that had just taken place. He refused to answer questions but had no choice but to star in his own impromptu photo shoot. I watched him as he tried to block his face with one hand and his carry on in the other. He knew his wife was vindictive and sought me out to swindle money from me and he did nothing to warn me. He stood by and ignored her when he knew she was ignorant enough to carry out such a disastrous plot.
My heart was shattered into a million pieces and the ugly cry took over. Que was married. Que’s wife decided to bring me into their marriage for financial gain. I was caught in a love triangle, yet I couldn’t comprehend all of the angles. Her name was Tory Calhoun. Que had no idea who I was on a personal level. He only recognized my face as a celebrity. I was confused as to how we were able to go so long and it all had been fake from the beginning. My thoughts then landed on the expensive ring I had just purchased. That would be the only money I would spend on account of Tory and Quese Calhoun! If that trick got a penny from me it would be over my dead body.
I put one hand up to my face to shield the pictures being taken of me. All of a sudden I felt strong hands around my shoulders. Someone had buried my face in their strong chest and guided me away from the spot I was planted in. I looked down to see a familiar pair of shoes on the floor beside my own. By the stripes on the unknown person’s shirt, I realized Liam had come to my rescue. Of course the rest of the crowd followed us to the open doors. Liam called each one by name and told them that he gotten all of the pictures they were going to get that day. To my surprise they backed off. The only thing I could do was continue to sob harder.
Liam took my car keys from my hand and placed me in the passenger seat of my car. He proceeded to get into the driver’s seat. I could barely make out the sound of him adjusting the seat into position. Both of my hands were now covering my face. My nose was running with bubbles of snot seeping out. Liam forced my hands away from my face and began to wipe my tears away. He patiently waited still holding the handkerchief up to my nose signaling me to blow. Without any words he put the car in reverse and headed off the airport’s property. My cell phone continued to sing Que’s personal ringtone, 1 + 1 by Beyoncé.
Que’s words, ‘How do you know my name?’ resounded over and over in my head.
What kind of sick game were these people playing with my life? Zoey was going to skin me alive. Ohmygod, Purple Label. There was no way this story would be overlooked by the tabloids. Liam had gotten them to back down but they still had to do their jobs. Reporting this tragedy in my life would surely benefit them quite nicely financially. Once again I was going to be the laughing stock of the world. My head began to pound every time a new thought came to light. This is it. This is the day that I decide I’m never again going to trust a person that does not share the same DNA as me. Love and Laini would never be in the same sentence again unless I was talking about how much I loved Zoey. Ohmygod, Zoey was going to get this information from the news before I would have a chance to come clean. Once again she had been right, Que was not who I thought he was. She had told me a thousand times not to get emotionally invested in him. I knew in my heart that Zoey would be a small battle while I was sure today’s events would surely have me at war with Emani.
I had no words for Liam as he expertly drove me throughout the city no doubt en route to my home. Every so often he would glance at me sideways but he still managed to catch my still falling fresh tears with a sweet smelling handkerchief. Liam had seen the good and bad of the life of Laini Jefferies. He had always been respectful and did his job professionally. I could rest assured he would never judge me. Even when I traveled to other states and countries, Liam was always with me. He understood how hard I worked and he worked equally as hard keeping me safe. Even though I never thought bad of him before, I couldn’t figure out how he ended up at the airport when I needed him the most. I was truly grateful he had been on his job tonight all the while I thought I was being grown. I wished he had been five minutes early though. I had no clue how I would have driven myself home forty five minutes away from the airport after that circus show. My stomach felt as if Chuck Norris had given me a swift kick in the gut fifteen times. The word migraine wasn’t good enough to explain the pain I felt in my head. I was emotionally exhausted. I had not even considered how I would react to seeing the sun in the morning.
It took me five minutes to think of the security code to my gate for the Jag. I was in a daze as if I had been hypnotized. I finally came up with the correct numbers and Liam drove through the massive gates that led to my humble abode. Each car had a specific code, making it easy to decipher which cars came and went through the gates. He jumped from behind the wheel and rushed to my side to help me out of the car. My phone continued to ring as I made my way to the door that connected the garage to the house. I wanted to believe that the calls were truly coming from Que, but I couldn’t take the chance of hearing Tory’s evil voice again. Liam took the phone and powered it off. I mentally thanked him. I still had no desire to speak words.
21
Laini
Once inside of the house, the overwhelming smell of the dinner I had ordered for Que hit my nose. Tears continued to fall from my now puffy eyes. Liam stood back, giving me space and knowing better than to try to make me talk. He stood off to the side with his arms wrapped around his body. He looked hella concerned and confused at the same time while looking out of his element. I moved myself to start climbing the stairs. I made it to my bedroom and closed my door. I had trusted Liam to drive me and walk freely around inside my home, there was no fear as to anything he could do to me at this point. Maybe after all this time even he wasn’t who he said he was. He could take the time and carry out each item in the house out one by one; it wouldn’t phase me at all. My heart had already been robbed. Everything that I thought was true this morning was only a figment of my imagination. Nothing could compare to the pain I felt right now.
Suddenly I felt familiar strong arms around me.
“Shhhh, you know I can’t stand to see you cry.” Liam continued to hold on to me tight as he lowered himself to be able to kiss my tears away.
Without asking for permission he picked me up and began to kiss me intimately. Once he had gained his fill on soft kisses, he laid me softly onto the bed. He shifted his weight onto his arms as he began to tongue kiss me long and hard. His saliva tasted like heaven to my taste buds. The kisses began to be planted all over my face and soon fell ont
o lower positions of skin.
“Let me make you feel better.”
“No one can make me feel better right now.”
“Don’t lose your faith in people behind that soft ass dude.”
“It hurts so bad, I had given him all of me for so long.”
“I would never hurt you Laini, you know that. Whatever happens tomorrow will be between us as adults. I can be a man about it.”
I looked deep into his eyes. The chemistry that had surfaced between us and the need I had to be held took over. I stopped him from speaking by connecting my lips with his once again.
“I need to feel love right now. I know you don’t love me, but can you pretend just for tonight?” As I spoke I pulled my top over my head. Liam took over the task of getting me out of his shorts. When I looked at him a few seconds later he was completely naked.
Over the years I had seen Liam topless many times. But what I had never caught a glimpse of was the caramel tool that had definitely agreed with its owner being in my bedroom. He had mentionable thickness to it and was a nice length. I could see the healthy veins flowing all around it from across the room. It made me grin that he was gifted. No doubt he boosted my ego because I didn’t have to do anything to get him ready. I stood up in the center of my bed. He climbed onto the bed on his knees and began to kiss my skin where he had previously left off. My mind wandered to the last time a man had kissed my body or even penetrated me for that matter. It had been a dry spell of three years. A thought of Que entered my head. The angel on my right shoulder and the devil on my left shoulder said ‘fuck Que’ at the same time.