Circle of Deception

by Skye, M.

  Broderick was instructed by Ben to hurry the divorce in an attempt to give Melissa her life back before all of his ambitions destroyed her. His only request was that she see him in person for one last favor on his behalf. She disagreed at first, but when Broderick expressed the importance, she obliged. He already felt like her blood was on his hands after the way he had helped Bianca. He had made a mess of things and almost ruined his children’s lives in the process.

  All that was left to do now was to cut his losses and hope for redemption once he was free again. As much as he and Melissa fought, he had to admit he missed waking up and seeing her in the mornings. His cell was lonely. At least the boys were happy. He had been looking at his calendar every day, and he knew Alex would be getting married soon. He only wished he could be there.

  Finally, the day was upon them. It was the day before the wedding and everyone was bubbling with excitement. Despite Gio’s tireless efforts to wrap everything up within a few days, the wedding plans had extended into a week. Meg and Alex were gracious and didn’t mind the few extra days.

  Everything worked out for the best and it allowed Gio to accommodate a few extra surprises. The only downside was the fact that there would be no parents present. Ben was in jail, Melissa was still recovering and wouldn’t be able to make the drive, and Emilio was out of the country on a business trip that he couldn’t get out of.

  Regardless of the missing attendants, the wedding was going to be amazing. Alex had given Gio the permission to do anything possible to make Meg’s dreams come true. He wanted her only wedding to be amazing because he had no intention of her every marrying again unless they were renewing their vows.

  Meg had no idea what was in store for her. She was going to be over the moon. He knew the wedding would be a milestone for them, but he knew one other thing that would make the day so much better.

  He hadn’t told her, but he had been working the whole week to be awarded full custody of Allison, and it was complete. She was officially all theirs. He knew once Meg got the news, she would be overjoyed beyond belief.

  Allison had taken the news that she was never going to see Bianca again better than anyone could have expected. Although she had been through a traumatic experience, she was still acting like her energetic, resilient self. The only change they saw in her took place the first few days following the attack.

  Allison had requested that she sleep in their bed because she heard a noise in her closet, but they both knew she had been having nightmares. Meg was worried about her. She felt like Allison may have been suppressing her fears for their benefit, and suggested that they all see a psychiatrist. Alex agreed that it was a valid idea and got right on finding the perfect one to see.

  It only took him half a day to decide on Dr. Aleena Steinfeld as their doctor. She had impeccable credentials and held a degree in child psychiatry, which impressed him greatly. He was delighted when he called her office and they had an opening for the next day. He assumed it was because of who he was that they could get in so soon, but it didn’t matter. He would do anything to make sure his little girl wouldn’t be scarred for life.

  During the first session, Allison opened up about the fear she felt when Bianca held her hostage, and Dr. Steinfeld was impressed with how well she articulated herself. She bragged to Alex about how mature Allison was for her age. At the end of the session, she told them that she wanted to schedule a few more meetings.

  She was sure to express to them that she felt they had nothing to worry about. After explaining that children her age bounce back easily, she also told them that Allison was fully aware that she was surrounded by love from her newly formed family. The extra sessions would merely be to get them all acclimated to what their new life was to entail.

  Meg was happy to be putting the awful things behind them and decided to shift her focus to the wonderful events that were about to happen. Their wedding was only a day away, and both she and Alex were slightly nervous. He hadn’t voiced it, but she could see it in his eyes. They had been together for years, but they were both going to be new to the whole marriage thing. She just hoped that marriage wouldn’t change their feelings for each other.

  Meg was sitting on the bed, running her fingers through her hair, when Alex walked in the room. He paused in the doorway to watch her. She looked like she was deep in thought.

  Dressed in a stunning silver evening gown, she took his breath away. The way the dress hugged her curves and the generous display of her breasts it displayed, made him want nothing more than to undress her and take her back to bed. Unfortunately for him, his desires would have to wait. They had a rehearsal dinner to get to and then they would part ways until the ceremony.

  If it wasn’t for the guests waiting for them, Alex would have laid her down and taken her so far over the edge that they would be in bed until just before the ceremony began. When he noticed her looking at him, the sexual thoughts flew out of his head momentarily. She was smiling at him like he was the only man in the world, and all he could think about was how happy he was going to be once she was his wife.

  “You look beautiful,” he said, after exchanging loving glances with her for almost two minutes.

  “Thank you. You look pretty hot yourself.” He made his way over to her slowly and took her hand in his.

  “I just came to escort you to the car and to see if you had any more bags for me to take.”

  “I think I have packed everything I need, and what I don’t have Gio will,” she giggled.

  “I know they’re going to take care of you, but I’m going to miss you next to me tonight. I don’t sleep as well without you,” he said and kissed her lightly.

  “It’s just for one night. After that you will have me forever.” She led him towards the stairs.

  They made it to the restaurant just in time to catch Gio and Marco in the parking lot. They made short work of unloading Meg’s bags from Alex’s trunk into Gio’s SUV. Aiden and Matt set up a guy’s poker night for Alex, while Gio and Marco would host an “all girls” sleepover for Meg.

  They both objected to the party ideas at first, stating that they could simply spend the night alone. It wasn’t until Gio and Marco reminded them that you only get one last night of freedom that they both caved. Gio had the brilliant idea of doing their wedding at the most amazing inn in Santa Catalina. The inn was surprisingly spacious; the men would have their own side, as would the women.

  Since the story broke about the sorted events leading up to Ben’s imprisonment, the press had been all over them. There were times where they had to hide out just for a little privacy. The inn was the perfect place to escape their watchful eyes.

  The loud conversations of their family and friends greeted them as they made their way inside. Everyone was seated and looked to be having a great time. Allison, who had stayed the night with Cienna, lit up instantly when she saw them making their way over.

  “Mommy, daddy, I missed you!”

  “We missed you too Alli bear,” Alex said and swung her up in his arms.

  “Did you have fun with your cousin sweetheart?” Meg asked with the biggest smile on her face. She couldn’t help it, but every time she heard Allison call her mommy, she felt a sense of excitement.

  “Yes mommy, aunt Lele let us watch movies and sleep in the big bed,” she replied jovially.

  After catching up with Allison, they all proceeded to take their seats and began their dinner. Alex had chosen Aiden to be his best man, so he found it fitting to lead in with a speech.

  “Hey everyone can I have your attention,” he said and hit his glass with a fork. “I just want to say that I’ve never seen a couple more in love than my brother and Meg. They are truly an inspiration to us all. There were so many times where they could have thrown in the towel, but through it all they came out stronger than ever, proving to everyone that true love still exists. To Meg and Alex,” he said, and raised his glass.

  “To Meg and Alex,” they all repeated, and touched glasses
while the room overflowed with applause.

  Once the applause and chatter began to die down, Alex leaned over to whisper in Meg’s ear. “You know Angel Face, I wanted to wait until tomorrow, but one of your wedding surprises has just arrived.” Her smile deepened drastically at his statement, and she clutched his hand tighter.

  “I can’t imagine how you could top any of this. You have already done so much to make this the most special time of our lives,” she responded, and kissed him gently.

  “Just you wait and see,” he responded, and picked up the phone to send a text.

  Meg watched him suspiciously as he put his phone away, while keeping a close eye on the door. “Hey mister, you look distracted for someone who is getting married tomorrow,” she said jokingly.

  “I can never be distracted as long as you're around. The way my body responds to you should be illegal,” he replied, and ran his hand down to rest on her thigh.

  His touch sent shivers through her and she had to close her eyes to compose herself. “Down boy, our daughter is at this table,” she whispered, trying to remind him and herself.

  “Yeah, you're right, and plus your surprise just walked in,” he said, and nodded towards the door.

  In a quick knee jerk reaction, she directed her attention towards the door and almost fainted. “Dad! I thought you weren’t going to make it,” she screamed, and flew into his arms. He held her tightly and placed a light kiss on the top of her head.

  “I couldn’t miss my sweet girl’s wedding. Wild horses couldn’t have kept me away.”

  “I’m so glad you're here. I thought that after everything… maybe you didn’t…”

  “That’s nonsense my dear,” he interrupted her. “I raised you, and you are my daughter. Nothing will ever change that.” She had never told Alex, but when she thought Emilio wasn’t coming, she felt a sense of sadness. Now that he had arrived, everything would be perfect.

  “I have something for you.” He reached inside his pocket to pull out a silver locket.

  “It’s beautiful! It looks antique,” Meg said while examining the jewelry.

  “It’s your something old. It was your mother’s.” He flipped it open.

  When she saw the two pictures inside, she gasped at the realization. “I never knew that mom and Tia Carmen were twins.” Emilio knew the feeling, he had only recently figured that out for himself.

  “You know your mom had many secrets. There was so much about her neither of us knew,” he said sadly.

  “There is so much we will never know,” she said and hugged him tightly.

  “She had her reasons, I’m sure it was her attempt to keep us all safe.”

  After his statement, she nodded her head silently and admired the picture once more. They look as if they were close in the picture. They even had matching tattoos on opposite shoulders. Carmen’s was on the left and Maria’s on the right.

  “Dad why have we never met Avo or Tia Carmen? It just seems weird that they never visit us or want us to visit them.”

  “You shouldn’t worry your pretty little head about that. If you are meant to see them you will,” he replied and kissed her cheek.

  The truth was, he wondered the same thing. He had never seen them, and with the exception of the phone calls they issued during holidays and birthdays, he wouldn’t have ever known they existed. He still found it odd that Maria’s mother was the one to issue the call warning Meg that she was missing. So many questions floated around in his mind like for starters, how she got Meg’s number. Emilio made his way around the table greeting everyone with his grand smile, and when he got to Maddie, he took a seat next to her and pulled her into his strong embrace.

  “How are you my darling?” he asked sincerely.

  “I’m fine papa. I’m just happy for Meg.” He could see the pain she was trying to hide and held her tighter.

  “You can tell me sweetheart, you have never been able to hide things from me.” She knew he was right, she had talked about everything, but no one understood her like her father.

  “I just feel stupid papa, I feel like I should have known. Maybe if I had caught on to his game none of this would have happened,” she replied tearfully.

  At that moment, Emilio hated Sean and Bianca more than he ever thought possible. Not only had they taken the love of his life, they had also made his little girl feel responsible. “Mi Princesa Hermosa, nothing is your fault. You love your sister and I know you would do anything for her.”

  His words made her smile, he hadn’t called her his princess since she was a little girl. “I love you papa. You always make me feel better,” she said and rested her head on his shoulder.

  “Can I tell you a secret?” Emilio asked.

  “Of course you can,” she said and looked to him with admiration in her eyes.

  “I never liked Sean anyway. He was too scrawny for you,” he chuckled.

  Maddie was happy to have her dad there. Not only for herself, but for Meg as well. Since the truth came out about Meg’s biological father, things had been tense.

  Meg wasn’t sure how the breach the subject with Emilio and they knew with all the family around, they could serve as a buffer. Although things had been awkward during their last conversation, they seemed to be back to normal now. Meg and Alex’s happiness appeared to be contagious.

  Maddie was happy that everyone cared enough to keep checking on her, but they didn’t seem to understand a few things. She had seen the signs before anything ever happened. Somewhere deep inside, she knew that Sean wasn’t the one she would be with forever.

  True, they had been together for five years, but it was because she felt a sense of comfort with him. She loved him, but it wasn’t the eternal love that she knew she could achieve, which was why she never let them move past where they settled. Her head had been screaming at her for months that he wasn’t the one, but she had been too scared to follow it for fear of being alone.

  The past week had given Maddie new hope. The first night was rough, but once she told herself that everything would be fine, she found a new sense of comfort. After a good night's sleep, she gathered her strength and began her day.

  She had taken a few days off from work at the request of her boss and she put them to excellent use. Gio, Marco, and Emily all came to keep her company, and they had their first annual “burn party.” All of Sean's things were tossed into black garbage bags and they had a huge bonfire in the backyard. The fire did more than get rid of bad rubbish, it got rid of Maddie’s last connection to her old self. The new Maddie was going to live life to the fullest and only settle for the intense love she knew she deserved.

  After a couple of hours of laughter and kind salutations amongst family and friends, the dinner was ending. Emilio had gotten wind of the party for Alex, and was all in. He told them that he needed a night with the guys to unwind from the crazy few months they had all had.

  Alex and Aiden readily agreed, remembering that Emilio was an excellent poker player, but Matt looked mortified when they agreed. He had tried unsuccessfully to discourage Emilio from attending. Not because he didn’t want him there, but because he had secretly booked a set of strippers. He felt it would be weird seeing naked women with his father-in-law, not to mention a little disrespectful.

  Despite his desperate attempts, he was overruled by all the guys and given a side eye by Aiden. Once everyone started to file out, Aiden approached Matt in a close huddle to inquire about his strange behavior.

  “Hey what was that back there? I thought you and Emilio got along great.”

  “We do, but I didn’t want him to see us in a compromising position,” Matt blushed.

  “All we have planned is poker and drinks. He has been around us when we were a little intoxicated.”

  “Intoxicated yes, but he has never seen us with live entertainment,” Matt said, finally driving his point home.

  “Oh god, Matt. We have to stop him! You and Alex are going to be in the dog house permanently,” Aiden exclaim
ed.

  As they both raced to the parking lot in search of Gio to do some damage control, Emilio approached them with a huge smile on his face. The guys were thrown by his sense of amusement. “You know, I was young once boys. I understand if you don’t want me to hang out with you guys after the strippers arrive.” Both Aiden and Matt felt their hearts racing after his statement.

  “How did you know about the girls?” Matt asked sounding confused.

  “I told you, I was young once,” Emilio responded and chuckled.

  “You don’t have to leave, we can cancel the girls if it will make you uncomfortable,” Aiden offered.

  “No way, it’s Alex’s last night as a single man. As long as you and Alex don’t get too crazy and make me regret letting you marry my little girls, then I’m fine,” Emilio replied, and eyed Matt sternly.

  “Yes sir, I’m a one woman man,” Matt assured, and shook his hand firmly.

  Aiden was in a fit of amusement after Matt and Emilio’s brief encounter. He couldn’t believe that they were about to embark on a wild bachelor party with his brother’s father-in-law none the less. Although he knew it would be slightly uncomfortable, he had to admit that he was anticipating the loose night with the boys. He had been stressed out as of late.

  His current situation was taking its toll on his mental stability and Emily was starting to notice the change in him. He couldn’t help it, but every waking moment she consumed his mind. He thought about her night and day and it was driving him insane.

  True, they had moved into a relationship, but they had yet to speak the three magic words. He had come close to telling her so many times, but stopped short when he thought about her aversion to all things serious. He felt like he’d burst if he didn’t tell her how he felt soon.

  They had been staying together every night since she came back to town, but she still had all of her things in bags, even though he had offered her half of his dresser. He had wanted to ask her what her hold up was, but every time he chickened out. He didn’t want to come off too eager and scare her away, but he knew at some point he would have to discuss things with her to give him some peace of mind.