FRACTURE: Hearts of Stone Book Six

by Woodward, Kaya

  I lean down to pet him as he weaves around my feet, making me wobble around in my new shoes.

  “Leigha?” Evan calls.

  I can hear the desperation in his voice, and I try to steel myself against it. I can’t give him any hope if this is to succeed and try to toughen up for this encounter. What I don’t expect is for him to walk out from the kitchen with Ethan in his arms.

  In the background, I can hear Vic’s voice. It’s like I’ve already been replaced and my instincts tell me to run.

  Our home!

  “I’m just going to go,” I tell Evan swiftly, spinning on my heels, almost stepping on poor Bond. He wails and runs out of the room.

  I am almost out the door, when Evan grabs my elbow, gently, trying to balance Ethan with his one arm.

  “No, wait!” Evan pleads.

  “No, no I think it’s best that I go,” I say, firmly. Somehow my voice does not shake, somehow, I stay upright, and somehow, I don’t cry in front of him. Ethan makes some baby noises, and I can’t help but look and notice he’s fucking adorable. A knife pierces my heart, and tears prick my eyes, and I blink in an attempt not to ruin my minimal makeup.

  “Leigha, it’s not what you think, stop!” Evan roars.

  I halt in my tracks, my hand on the door handle.

  Ethan starts to wail. Vic walks up to Evan and smoothly extracts their son. Then, Vic is holding Ethan, trying to soothe him. She smiles at me, and walks away, tending to the baby.

  I stare at Evan. His eyes are wide at the sight of me, as he looks me up and down several times.

  “We’re just having dinner! Please stay?” he pleads with me.

  I look from him to Victoire, holding their son. The smile on her face tells me everything I need to know; I’ve done the right thing. I blink to keep my eyes from producing the telltale sign that I still want Evan for myself. My heart is truly broken, I need to get away from here, out of here, be anywhere but here.

  This is no longer our home.

  “Just sign the fucking papers Evan, leave me in peace,” I say, my voice ragged with hurt.

  I suddenly can barely contain a seething rage. It’s not fucking fair! It’s not!

  I spin and run out the door.

  “Leigha!” Evan calls my name again.

  I run for the car and manage to start it and reverse in the driveway without stalling it out. As I spin the wheel, I see Evan running after the car. I hit the gas and switch gears, speeding away from him as fast as I possibly can. Dangerously fast. I take the curves in the drive at breakneck speed, trying to escape the disaster that is my life. I clip a bush as I rocket out into the road.

  I peek in the rear-view mirror, and see Evan in the distance, screaming, growing tiny as I speed away.

  Then, he’s gone.

  I hit the clutch, switch gears, and run through a stop sign, narrowly missing two cars. I don’t care.

  I need Merc.

  Now.

  5

  Evan

  January 4, 2019

  “You need to leave,” I tell Vic. I am wheezing and out of breath. I just chased a sports car halfway to fucking London and back on foot. Sweat pours down my face.

  “What?” Vic snaps at me.

  “I said leave!” I roar at her.

  For the first time, Vic looks afraid of me.

  “Evan,” she says softly.

  She puts a hand on my cheek. It’s cool, and fragrant and smells of her. I really would love to fuck her, but the fact is I love Leigha, and always will. She’s still my wife, at least up until some travesty of nature forces me to sign those damned papers!

  “Leigha is doing us a favor, Evan, can’t you see that? Her way is simple and easy. We can be a family! You and I and baby Ethan! She saw it! When she came in, just now. She saw our family! Now you have to see it, too,” she soothes.

  Vic sounds so certain. I hate her smug confidence. I want to smack her face and wipe that look from it! I clench my fists and hold them by my side, furious at what is happening. I back away from her.

  Ethan is crying again.

  “No,” I say.

  “Get out,” I order, pointing at the door. Vic stands against me, holding our crying son.

  Ethan. My god! Am I that big of a cad?

  I step towards them.

  “Here, let me hold him?” I ask.

  Vic looks at me, sadly. Then, she puts Ethan in my arms, and I look down into the eyes that he shares with his mother.

  Is this it? Is it my destiny to spend my life married to someone I barely trust? Would I even marry Vic?

  My emotions are spinning. The tiny child is me, and Vic, made into another life. Can I jeopardize everything I feel for Leigha to keep up a sham relation with the mother of my son?

  The resounding answer is: no.

  I married Leigha. I married the love of my life.

  My soulmate.

  And I refuse to let that go.

  If Leigha doesn't see what I see, I will never get married again.

  “Listen,” I tell Vic sharply.

  She looks at me, uncertain.

  “If you think this is going to end in a happily ever after, white wedding scenario, you are dead wrong, Vic. Just because Leigha wants to leave me doesn’t mean I want a life with you! It’s you who is the one tearing us apart,” I say to her.

  Every word is calm and calculating.

  “So, you’ll give her everything she wants, but you won’t give anything to me? The mother of your son?” she retorts.

  Vic doesn’t miss a beat.

  “I don’t care if you’re the mother of my son! You waltzing back into my life just cost me my marriage! If I can’t fix things with Leigha, there’s not a chance in hell I’m going to make this work with you! You treacherous bitch! You liar!” I spit back.

  Vic rolls her eyes.

  “Look around you Evan,” she says. “Your wife is gone. I’m the one standing in front of you. I’m the one here to keep you together. And, darling, you’re holding our baby,” Vic points out.

  Ethan has stopped his wailing, playing with my shirt. My heart aches, but for different reasons. I look at Vic, trying to reconcile my feelings about her. Once, I thought I loved her. Once, I made this child with her.

  But then she disappeared. And, she kept me ignorant of her real fate.

  “Stop fighting it! Just feel what you want to feel! I understand that Leigha is the goddamn love of your fucking life, but did you ever think that maybe you two aren’t meant to be together? Should it be this difficult? She left, Evan. I came back. And, I stayed, even though you keep telling me you love her more than your own life,” Vic’s says, sounding hurt.

  “I’m sorry, Vic. I know this is hard on you, too. I shouldn’t be so hard on you,” I apologize for the first time.

  “No, you shouldn’t. I had our baby, Evan. Alone. I was so desperate to get to you Noah had to beg me several times not to go. He promised me he would bring us all back together, and he did. But, look at what I’ve come back to,” Vic says, sounding so lonely.

  The hurt in her voice is so clear I can’t stand it. My heart aches for Leigha, it is true. But, to her credit, Vic is the one standing in front of me.

  With our baby. My son.

  “Let’s have dinner,” I say.

  I give in to the obvious. I can’t leave my son.

  “Come on,” I add.

  I know there’s a sad edge to my voice, but I can’t help it. Ethan is getting groggy, and Vic nods to the room where he sleeps. I hand him to her, noticing again that their eyes are the same color. Vic puts Ethan down in his playpen to sleep.

  I set the table, and we eat in silence in the dining room. Not one word passes between us, although the food is excellent.

  Vic learned to cook during her involuntary exile. The food is delicious.

  I observe her.

  She’s very different; I have to admit. Gone are the designer clothes, the haughty comebacks, and the fearless ‘I get what I want’ attitu
de. She’s entirely focused on the care of the baby. On motherhood. All her concerns revolve around Ethan. The second he starts to whimper; she gets up from the table. She retrieves him, cooing nonsense words. She methodically changes his diapers and wipes him clean.

  Then, his little mouth poking around for his nourishment, she takes him into the living room. I follow them and watch as she unbuttons her sweater, pops out her breast, and begins to feed him. The sight of Ethan suckling at Victoire’s breast does something to me that I cannot explain.

  “Do you want me to cover up?” Victoire asks.

  “No, it’s fine,” I tell her.

  “After all, I’ve seen them before,” I laugh.

  Vic giggles slightly.

  “That’s the Evan that I know. Come here, sit down, talk to me,” she urges. I comply and watch for a few moments as Ethan hungrily devours his meal.

  “How are you doing with your father still missing?” Vic asks.

  I look away, out the window.

  “He’ll turn up, I’m certain of that,” I say.

  “Tinsley explained everything, with Olivia,” Victoire tells me.

  I nod.

  “It’s been rough, especially on Tinsley. I wish I could bring him back to her, but,” I spread my hands.

  “Nothing washed up. We searched for him for months. I’m 100% certain that Olivia has my father, somehow, but she’s all but disappeared,” I mutter. I scowl, thinking of how much trouble the Three Witches have caused my family. I crave my father’s gentle guidance.

  Noah is a stabilizing influence.

  A Stone.

  “Lucius and Aidan are searching for him, I assume?” Vic asks.

  “They’re following every possible lead. Athena is with Aidan, too,” I explain.

  “Are they a couple?” Vic asks, smirking.

  “Who knows?” I snort.

  “That would be interesting, Athena and Aidan,” Vic mulls this over this.

  “It’s no more likely than Levi to get with Leigha or something,” I joke. Then, I stop short. Even the thought of Leigha moving on kills me. Does that dull with time?

  No. No, it won’t.

  I make a vow to myself. I don’t want to give up on Leigha!

  “Vic, I have to be honest with you, I truly love Leigha,” I say.

  “I want our marriage to work. But I want to be a part of Ethan’s life. I’d like for you and me to be civil about this,” I tell her.

  “Total honesty,” Vic sighs.

  “If that’s what you want Evan, I’m not going to stop you, but in the interest of total honesty, I love you,” she says baldly.

  “I love you even more because you gave me Ethan, and I know that you still love me, too. A part of you does, anyway. Don’t you want to give that a chance?” she asks.

  I look at her, feeding my boy.

  “I won’t end my marriage for you. I can’t do that,” I tell her.

  “I get it, you love me, but you love Leigha more,” she says.

  “It’s not that simple, Vic. You must realize that?” I reply.

  Am I fooling myself, though? Maybe it is just simple. Vic, Ethan and I – a real family.

  Leigha? I shake off my doubts.

  “I’m sorry, Vic,” I say.

  “I’m sorry if I led you on all those months by telling you that Leigha and I were just friends,” I tell her.

  “The fact is that I was in love with her, for a long time, and I never in a million years thought that she might love me back. It was magnetic. We couldn’t stop what happened, everything we wanted? We wanted all that together,” I say.

  Vic removes Ethan from her breast and burps him. She looks at him, her eyes full of love for our son.

  When she looks at me, I see the same love. It rattles me.

  She has changed!

  And I love Leigha!

  Once, I was confident of my destiny; of my life.

  Now that’s all falling apart.

  6

  Leigha

  January 5, 2018

  When Merc gets home, I’ve managed to put together some pasta and a salad. Considering the amount of vodka I’ve ingested since my little shopping trip, that’s a pretty decent attempt. I hum a little tune as I wait for the pasta to finish boiling.

  “You cooked,” Merc gasps as he puts his briefcase down.

  “Drunk cooked,” I slur slightly. “Can’t guarantee it’s going to be any good,” I say.

  “What happened? Because, you look fantastic, but your eyes tell me something different,” Merc says to me.

  I take a sip and a huge breath.

  I sigh.

  “I went to talk to Evan at our house. Well, his house now, I guess? Anyway, Vic and Ethan were there. In our home. And, I couldn’t bring myself to talk to him about the annulment,” I sing the words.

  “Uh oh,” Merc says.

  He sniffs at what’s in my coffee mug – it’s pure vodka.

  “I thought you were never drinking again,” Merc quips.

  “I lied,” I reply, grabbing the mug and emptying it.

  I taste the spaghetti, deciding it’s cooked, and I drain it. I add some bottled sauce. The cooking kind - vodka sauce. Merc rolls his eyes, and fills a glass with ice and orange juice, then adds some vodka.

  “Nostrovya!” he smiles and clinks my mug.

  We drink, and then he helps move the food to the table. Merc and I eat in the living room, in front of the TV, watching the news. Death and destruction, that’s all I see. The world is falling apart around us, along with my life.

  “I need to look into getting a place,” I tell Merc around a mouthful of not-quite-terrible pasta. It’s okay. As long as you like the taste of vodka…

  “You can stay as long as you want,” Merc offers.

  There’s a 'but' coming, though.

  I raise my eyebrows, slurping the pasta in through my lips. How ladylike, I think. Merc pats his mouth dry with his napkin. He sets it down and takes another sip from his drink.

  “I’m going away for a little bit soon. I’ll be back pretty soon, though,” he says, referring mostly to work.

  “Any sign of Noah?” I ask.

  Merc shakes his head.

  “Trust me, Leigha, if I knew anything about Olivia or Noah, I wouldn’t hesitate to tell you,” Merc lies to me.

  He lies to me for the first time! I’m sure he’s lied before, but this is a big one. I do love Evan. I love Evan with all my heart and soul, enough to let him go. I can still fight for this.

  “Merc, you just straight up lied to me,” I tell him calmly.

  Merc’s eyes widen in surprise, his handsome jaw drops, and he is stunned that I’ve called him out on this.

  “Leigha-” Merc starts.

  “No! You don’t get to lie to me, I’ve never lied to you, about anything. I owe Evan this, and frankly so do you, if you know Noah is alive,” I lay everything out on the table.

  Merc groans.

  “Just because I can’t tell you, doesn’t mean I’m lying to you Leigha,” Merc states.

  “Keeping secrets, trying to protect me, you know I can hold my own. I might not be a fucking secret agent, but I know what I’m doing. I’m an intelligent woman, now fucking tell me!” I leap up, knocking the table and almost spilling my glass.

  Swaying slightly, I scream at the top of my lungs. My scream echoes through the empty apartment; nothing can steel a man against a woman’s rage. I’m mad that I’m giving Evan to Vic. I’m mad that I’ve lost the love of my life! I’m furious that my life is falling apart again, as always, and more so: I’m mad that Merc is trying to protect me.

  “Leigha, this is dangerous. You will die if I tell you what I know,” Merc cautions me.

  In my rage, I don’t give a shit what happens to me. I want the truth.

  “Fuck you! Fuck you, Merc!” I hold my ground. “You owe me this Mercutio Torelli. You owe me this at the very least!” I yell at him.

  Merc closes his eyes and leans against the d
oorway, as though he’s blocking my path. Does he think I’m going to run? I’m not going anywhere.

  “Leigha, if I tell you this, you’re going to want to come with me, and I need to be at the top of my game. I can’t be distracted with protecting you, and having you along is only going to make things go very, very bad,” Merc explains.

  “Then I won’t go with you. I’ll watch,” I tell him.

  “Watch?”

  “You guys have cameras and all that spy shit, don’t think I’m an idiot!” I shout.

  “This isn’t some TV show Leigha. This is real life. Either you’re not coming with me, or you are, it’s that simple,” Merc says.

  “And, I don’t want you there,” he spits back.

  “Too bad!” I hiss.

  Merc swallows hard.

  “If you don’t tell me, I’ll go looking for Olivia myself! I’ve got my dad’s money. I could do it, you know!” I threaten.

  “Oh, I do not doubt that you could,” Merc agrees.

  I’ve given him two options and trapped him: I could chase after Olivia on my own, or Merc could give in. I know he wants to protect me; and, I know he’d do whatever he could to make me happy right now. I feel oddly powerful, as I manage to get him to do my bidding. For probably the first time in my life, I truly manipulate someone into getting what I want.

  Merc caves.

  “Olivia is in the Maldives. There’s evidence that she has Noah Stone captive,” Merc says slowly.

  He sips from his drink, scowling. I lean over and kiss his cheek, but he moves away from me. I think maybe he’s disgusted; or angry.

  But, the look in his eyes is of infinite sadness.

  I’m giddy with the revelation and importance of what he’s told me.

  Noah is alive!

  However, the realization that I will probably not be the one to tell Evan this suddenly shakes me.

  I am broken once again.

  7

  Evan

  January 6, 2019

  “Daddy, are you going to watch?” Ethan asks as I walk him towards where Vic is waiting on the bleachers.