Has Cupid Gone Mad?
[ Surviving The War Of Hearts ]
“In this war – some win, some lose; some survive, some get injured and some die, but even so, I can attest to you that there is ‘Life After Death.’”
Belinda Elkaim
Prologue Eight people with entirely different perspectives find their lives intertwining with each other. While searching for their own identities and their perfect love, they keep ignoring the fact that everyone is different and that they cannot expect others to share their own perspectives because no mindsets are ever alike.
Under “Cupid’s influence”, they rage internal wars against themselves while the men in their lives try to show them different ways to the winning line. However volatile and delicate, Amber marches forward to claim a long lost treasure, Karina surrenders to deafening silence and awakes to a huge explosion, Taylor loses the battle to her own stubbornness and Yvette goes numb within a treaty zone.
Cupid has not gone mad, it is just that they choose what they want to see and ignore what they do not want to know.
Between the constant contradictions of acceptance and rejections, fear and faith, trust and doubt, can anyone ever find the common ground to win ‘The War Of Hearts’?
And Cupid says to Pysche “I too, have a higher Power to answer to and can only point and shoot. Ultimately, it is up to the mortals to decide on what they want to do with my arrows.”
********
Chapter One. A faint crack of light escapes from the thin gap of her nearly closed bathroom door and clothes can be seen scattered erratically across the wooden floor of her bedroom. Her dress is ripped on the side and rests on top of her platform stilettos. Her lace thong panties is dangling on the corner of her bedside table and her matching miracle bra sits on top of his pants which curls near to his once creaseless shirt.
After a rather intense workout, the profundity of the night is now filled with the sweetest silence. Satiating each other’s physical desires for hours and hours, triggering and reciprocating every delectable sensation possible, they finally collapse on her bed and fall asleep next to each other’s naked body.
Their rest is interrupted by his murmur “what time is it?” sheepishly he stirs in her bed. Too exhausted to answer, she places her hand on his face and tries to silence him. He slides her hand to his crotch and lets her feel his erection, “I have to leave soon.” She turns to her side, inches her lusciously slender body closer to his and provokes him with her moves instead, “has anyone told you that you talk too much?” she mumbles half awake.
She moves her body in ways that drives him insane; in contrast, the rest of her bedroom stands motionlessly still and the only moving visual is their reflections in the oversize mirror that hangs on the ceiling above her king size bed. Her naked body is on top of his and she slips smoothly under the silky sheets and all that remains in the reflection of the mirror, is the silhouette of her arched body between his legs.
She rocks her body from side to side and experiments every delectable angle until he moans contently to break the silence of the room. The moaning becomes louder as he throws his hands above his head and pushes his palms onto the headboard. Eager to stretch the moment for as long as possible, he reaches under the sheets and tries to pull her up towards him. She fights his hands away and continues doing what she wants to do and stops abruptly right before he climaxes, “now you can leave” she teases him coldly and resurfaces out of the sheets.
She rests her head on top of her pillow, stares into the reflection of her devious smile and anticipates him move closer. He nibbles on her earlobe until she whimpers in agony then whispers into her ear, “I leave when I want to leave, then you can beg me for more.”
For hours more they continue satiating each other until the alarm clock on her bedside table rocks out the song “Unwritten” at eight a.m. “Turn it off!” he orders her as he rocks harder into her. In ecstasy, she reaches over without looking and knocks the Swarovski crystal statue onto the floor as she fumbles aimlessly for the switches on the alarm clock. Unable to turn off the alarm, he yanks out the power cord instead while maintaining control over her.
The most passionate moment arrives when they climax together while staring into each other’s eyes. Gasping breathlessly, she lets out a moan and blinks at him, “is that all?” she looks straight into his eyes with a faint smile on the corner of her lips. He laughs and swiftly slips out of the bed to gather his clothes, “and this is when I will leave.”
“So predictable” she laughs to herself “See you never again.” She slips out of bed and struts right past him while he steps into his pants, closing the bathroom door behind her she shouts out to him from behind, “please lock the door behind you.”
Without replying he buttons up his shirt and leaves without bothering to lock the door behind him.
Stepping out of the bathroom in her luxuriously silky kimono that drapes the contours of her breasts, her beautiful face is draped by the wild mane of tangled layers of light brown hair. She tidies up the mess in her bedroom and heads over to the kitchen for her first brew of the morning.
While pouring the ingredients into her cappuccino machine, she is distracted by the missed text messages on her phone and spills the coffee grind, “urgh” she mumbles, cleans the mess off the countertop with the side of her hand and dumps it into the sink. She wipes her hand on the kitchen cloth and picks up the phone to reply to her best friend Amber’s text, “So have you gotten rid of him yet?”
Seconds later Amber replies to her text: “Morning Taylor, on the way to my attorney’s office and can not wait a moment longer to settle this once and for all.”
******** Maneuvering the steering wheel singlehandedly, Amber finishes sending the text message to Taylor, puts her phone down on the passenger seat and speeds her white convertible Mercedes SLK350 on 395 in Miami. Exiting on Biscayne Boulevard she makes her way to downtown Miami to face the most atrocious moment of her life. Having to sit in the same room with her exhusband at her attorney’s office is not the way she would like to start off the day.
Feeling stressed and nervous, she manages to find a self parking lot and pulls into the first empty space she can find. Walking over to the ticketing machine, she brushes off a homeless person who asks for her help then regrets the indifference and turns around to offer him some cash.
“God bless you” the filthy looking man extends a smile of gratitude, exposing his grimy broken teeth which makes Amber shudder. With a heart of gold, Amber comforts the homeless man with a sigh, “you take care of yourself now.”
As she turns around to walk towards her attorney’s building, the man counts the twenty dollar bills that she has given him. She hears his voice behind her, “that is right, at the end of the day, we have only ourselves to count on, but occasionally we come across angels like you.”
Amber fights her tears and continues walking. She has seen way too much sadness in her lifetime and understands that everything in life is volatile. Nothing is for granted and today, she too has only herself to count on.
Picking up pace she enters the building and waits for the elevator. A sharp looking man in a classy suit waits alongside and cannot help staring at Amber, “Sylvia?” he asks while admiring her profile.
Impatiently, “No I am not Sylvia” Amber is annoyed and stares up towards the floor indicator, wishing the door would open immediately and that the man would cease his babble.
“You look so familiar but I cannot remember where we have met” he attempts to ignite a conversation.
Amber turns her head to face the rather attractive and seriously good looking man, “No we have never met and please, I have heard that
opening line before, it does not work anymore so please pick another line.” she blurts bluntly then again regrets the apathy. Massaging her temples and trying to soothe an emerging headache, “I am sorry, I am not in a good mood and not very conversational right now.”
“We all have days like this. Maybe another time when you are up for it, we can meet and enjoy a good conversation?” he reaches for his business card from the pocket of his jacket and hands it to Amber as they step into the elevator. Politely she accepts his card, “please do not count on it” She smiles apologetically and presses the button to the eighteenth floor.
“Twelfth floor please” he asks Amber to press the floor button for him then remains silent for the rest of the elevator ride.
Once again she regrets her bluntness and as the door opens to the twelfth floor, she speaks out “Amber, my name is Amber Winters.” The door begins to close and he stretches his arm to block the closure, “I am Ethan” he extends his other arm towards Amber to shake her hand “and please do call me. I feel synergy between us.”
They exchange the oddest smiles and share a brief eye-locking moment while the elevator door closes between them.
Amber blinks and quickly refocuses on her immediately reality as she steps into her attorney’s office.
“Amber Winters to see Russell Krugerman.” She announces her arrival to the receptionist and is immediately shown to his office.
Russell is eager to see her and greets her with open arms. He tries to ease her tension while seating her on the leather couch placed against the side wall, “the other parties are waiting for us in the conference room, Amber are you sure that this is what you want to do?”
Without hesitation, “affirmative” she stares at Russell. “Very well, let us complete the paperwork and perhaps I can take you out to dinner tonight? I can help you celebrate.” He smiles as he collects the files from his desk.
“Are you asking me out?” Amber is baffled.
“Would you like that?” he looks up and winks at her. A strange expression grows on Amber’s face as if she is disgusted and surprised, “I am sure the woman, your wife, in that wedding picture of yours, would not like that.” Amber sneers discreetly and points at the photo frame sitting on Russell’s bureau.
“Oh Yvette? My wife and I have a clear understanding. She does her thing and I do mine” he assures her.
“Oh Russell, that is not for me. Please let us finish up the paperwork, I have to go.” Amber stands up and starts walking towards the door. Russell follows her out of his office without another word and admires her hips as she struts in front of him.
“The next door to your right” he says to Amber who stops in her tracks for Russell to lead the way.
“I will follow you” she walks behind him and feels an immense pressure mounting inside her chest.
He opens the door of the conference room where her ex-husband Nathan Ferguson and his attorney Gary Wasserman await.
Amber and Russell sit down at the opposite side of the conference table; feeling extremely uncomfortable, she tries her impossible to look the other way and to avoid any conversation but is provoked by Nathan’s inappropriate outburst.
With the coldest stare aimed directly at Amber, who is focusing on random objects in the conference room to divert her attention, Nathan complains loudly from across the table, “hurry up and sign the papers, this is costing me hundreds by the hour.”
Amber narrows her eyes and returns his stare, “well it is worth every single dime for this happiest day of your life! You will have no more promises to keep, no more words to honor, no more rushing home, no more important dates to remember. You did everything that YOU had to do and you never cared about how I felt about anything, oh and yes, we do not ever have to talk to each other again after today, so it is worth all your dollars!”
Nathan backs into silence and remorse in regret while Amber fixates a fierce stare at him. Compelled to exhaust her frustration she narrows her eyes while shaking her head slowly, as if delivering a final lecture she speaks slowly and concisely to ensure she wounds him with every single word,
“Cupid must have gone mad and played a nasty joke on me. Either that or you must have cast a spell on me. I can not believe I sacrificed my entire career and left a glamorous world behind to marry someone like you. It is a miracle that I stayed married to you for all these years! My God I have suffered you long enough. Come to think of it, it has been horrible and nothing but misery.”
Amber continues to attack Nathan, “You have ripped my life apart and slaughtered every single possibility of my happiness. What is wrong with you? Just because you have grown into a miserable fart does not mean I should not be happy either. You are like one giant life-sucker, everything that puts a smile on my face has been extinguished by your hatred in life, no more Nathan, I am tired of you and all your complains, I am totally done with you.”
Amber turns around and grabs the folder from Russell Krugerman “where do I sign?”
Detecting a possible meltdown, Russell guides her along each page of the divorce agreement as she signs away while holding her breath. After the last page of the document has been executed, she resumes breathing and sinks into her chair while watching Nathan signs his set of document. As soon as all sets of documents are fully executed, she springs up from her chair and begins walking towards the door.
Nathan opens his mouth and tries to tell her “Believe me Amber I have tried, please do not hate me...”
Amber appears angry and cuts him short, raises her hand and shows him her palm, “complain to my attorney, I am done listening to your empty words.”
Nathan still loves Amber, possibly more than ever. It took him ten years to understand and to accept the fact that his possessive love for her has only hurt her and has destroyed her life.
Driven by his unconditional love for her, he is willing to let her walk out of the marriage so she can find her happiness.
Ego struck and unable to express his true feelings for her, his truth shall never be conveyed. If it makes her happy to hate him, then he will allow that in return for self forgiveness of all the pain he has caused for the past years.
His broken heart may never mend but he has redeemed himself from the guilt that he feels. She deserves a much better and happier life and she can only find it without him.
Amber on the other hand feels completely liberated as if her soul has been set free. Stepping out of the prison that he has her encaged in for the past years, she feels as light as a feather and as if walking on delightful clouds.
She stops for a brief moment at the parking lot and stares into the translucent sky. Rays of sunlight illuminate her beautiful face and a glorious smile emerges.
She is ready to turn the pages and to start a new chapter of her life. Shaking with excitement she climbs into her car and reaches for her phone to text Taylor, “I am done and on my way to wherever!”
A few seconds later Taylor texts back: “Congratulations! Are you ok?” Amber: “I need a drink really badly, meet you girls at Rosa Mexicano in thirty minutes and please ask Karina not to be late.”
Taylor: “I am already here and cannot wait to toast to your new found freedom!”
Amber puts her phone down and starts the engine. Feeling extraordinarily excited and exhilarated she turns down the top of her convertible Mercedes and begins her drive.
Pushing on 80mph on 195, she cuts over to South Beach and lets the wind blows through her long blonde locks. Her CD player is blasting out Phil Collin’s song “I Don’t Care Anymore” as she sings to it as loudly as she could.
Pieces of note papers on the back seat scatter into the air and fly away with the velocity of the drive. Amber laughs out loud and looks at the pretty sight from her rear view mirror. Fortunately there are no cars driving behind her, she scans around her immediate surroundings to make sure there are no highway patrols in sight, steps on the pedal a tag more and pushes to 95mph.
Ecstatic yet ballistic, Amber’s lau
gh turns into tears as she screams against the sound of the wind, “Yes I am HAPPY!!! No I am NOT sad!!! I am FREE and I am ready for whatever! Everything will be OKAY. Yes, everything will be OKAY.”
The ecstatic feeling of liberation is overtaken by the fear of the unknown. After ten years of marriage, regardless of whether it was happy or unhappy, she now finds herself facing life and continuing on her journey alone.
Mixed emotions are beginning to over power her confidence, but she understands that at this point, she must face the consequences of the divorce and no matter how difficult the transition will be, she knows that she has no choice but to survive.
Amber wipes away a teardrop that hangs on the corner of her eye and reassures herself that everything will be alright.
Even though she detests her ex-husband, she still has feelings for him. Although the bad times supersedes the good times, they have had a fair share of beautiful moments together. Today marks the ending of their miserable journey together and she must embark on a new journey of her own.
Her future is now in her own hands and she has yet to decide on what to do with it.
Chapter Two. Amber enters Rosa Mexicano and finds Taylor sitting at a table next to the window and flirting with a patron at the table next to theirs.
As she approaches she sees the Latin hunk touching Taylor on the arm and can read his lips that he is asking her to call him. Amber reaches the table teases, “am I interrupting anything?” she asks Taylor with a naughty smile on her face. The man winks then smiles and turns away, leaving Amber an open space to give Taylor a hug.
Taylor reciprocates Amber’s hug with a grand embrace, “are you alright?” “I will be alright after a few Margaritas” Amber settles into the chair next to Taylor as she tugs her wild curls behind her ears, “thank you for coming out today I really appreciate your company.”
“This is what good friends are for Amber, you know I will always be there for you no matter what.”
Has Cupid Gone Mad?: War Of Hearts Page 1