What I just witnessed, until my third outburst, when the bailiff escorted me out, was a joke. A humorless joke, of gross proportions, and a glaring example of why I define marriage as a ludicrous step in the direction of impending disaster. Lily got trampled over, torn to absolute shreds, by the man who once supposedly loved her enough to vow his life to her.
Not that I can possibly fathom ever wanting to get married in the first place, but if I were to imagine it, I’d like to think that I’d never be able to truly hate the same woman whom I once foresaw my forever with the way Ethan so obviously loathes Lily. That bastard didn’t even bother trying to hide his snide smirks of victory and vengeance, thoroughly enjoying each blow his lawyer landed on Lily.
Sweet, pure, defenseless Lily.
And for that, he must pay. For that, he will pay. Dearly.
Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to see to it personally.
The spineless prick may have reigned supreme in that farce of a hearing, but the show’s over now, which puts us back in my ring. Out here, in the real world, he doesn’t stand a chance against me. I have more money, influence and power than he could ever dream to, and Ethan’s turn to feel powerless is coming. The calls have already been made, putting the wheels of Ethan Reynolds’ ruin in motion, but there’s still a few finite details I want to nail down myself before we leave.
“Maxwell, please see Miss Myers to the airport; I’ll meet you there shortly,” I instruct my driver as I open the rear door for Lily, helping her inside. “Beautiful,” comes my plea for her to give me those emerald eyes, which she denies me, “everything is going to be fine; I promise you. I have something to take care of, so go with Maxwell for now, but I won’t be long. Then, I’ll get you fed, and far away from here.”
She continues to withhold her gaze from me, simply nodding and speaking solemnly. “I understand. It stands to reason that you were flying here for something, and would need to get around to it eventually. Good luck, with whatever it is, and thank you, Trevor, so much, for everything.”
The dejection in her voice only serves to confirm the opposite — she doesn’t understand; not at all. She thinks, much like what she just endured, that I’m now done with her, dismissing her… which couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, after watching her in the courtroom, I’m more invested than ever in getting to know her better. My respect and admiration are now involved as well, which never happens, intriguing me on a whole new level.
She was unbelievable, almost literally, in there. No matter what they threw at her, from thinly-veiled insults to insinuations of laziness and co-dependency, Lily remained composed. Humbly regal, as though too far above such loathsome behavior to be bothered to react, unaware of her own aura. And the many times the judge called upon her directly, handing her the chance to reciprocate with accusations of her own, she held firm to her character, responding in calm civility. Honesty.
She already had my attention, obviously, but she now has me curiously captivated beyond reason. Beyond everything I felt sure I knew, for sure, about myself.
How does one train their eyes to always look first for the good, and, even if slightly hidden, search harder? How does one remain so genuinely pure of heart, non-vengeful, and content while in the direct line of spiteful fire?
Though it borders shamefully close to the edge of short-sightedness, I remain of the general opinion, infuriated heavily by multiple, personal experiences, that everyone begins on their best behavior, showing only what they think others want to see, but in the end, everyone is out for themselves. What they can again, take, steal, as though owed it.
No, I don’t believe that authentically truly good people exist.
But Lily seems to be just that. And then some. Thus, my quickly growing fascination.
I have so much more than her; money, possessions, power, opportunity, options. Everything. So how is it that she is stronger? Happier?
It baffles me.
“Lily, sweetheart, you have my word; I will meet you at the airport,” I halt my reeling mind and reassure her.
“Of course you will. I still have no idea why, but I believe you,” she mutters toward the floorboard… and my plans instantly change.
“Slide over, beautiful,” I prompt as I seat myself beside her, pulling the door closed behind me and pushing the button to raise the partition. “Look at me, please,” I urge one last time, waiting, again denied, taking what I must have by gliding a hand up her cheek to turn her face to mine. “I know you’re upset, as well you should be, but I need you to trust me when I say everything is going to be all right, Lily.”
“It has to be,” she produces a shrill laugh. “What other option is there? I can’t just give up and roll over, stop living, right? I’m still young enough to start over, thankfully, because that’s exactly what I have to do. I was alone and looking for my future when I met Ethan, so, I’ll be alone and looking for my future when I find it next too.” Now, her eyes lock, freely and directly, with mine. “Go, Trevor. You have things to do, and I, I have a new life to start building.”
I stay focused on her, easily feeling out the familiar button. “To the airport, Maxwell.”
“You are too stubborn for your own good,” she huffs, rolling those vivid pools of green skyward.
“You have no idea just how very persistent I can be.” I grin the devilish I suddenly feel. “Tell me you don’t like it, at least somewhat, being cared for, seen to, and I’ll have this car stopped right now, so I may exit, never to bother you again. But, if you’re going to say it, make sure I believe you, Lily.” I rub my thumb along her supple cheek, awaiting her reply, that doesn’t come. Instead, she closes her eyes as a soft sigh slips past her parted lips and she leans into my touch. I dip my head, sure to tease those lips with my next words. “All right, then tell me this, beautiful. Have you ever, even once, let go and done what you wanted, manners aside?”
“Like what?” she purrs, her pulse flickering in her closed eyelids as she pets herself against my hand.
So beautiful. Sweet. Starved for affection, attention. She’s been living amongst the blind, the ignorant, the unfortunate… their loss, my gain.
“Anything, that you wanted to do, or say, or see, that you did, right then and there. Without planning it first, or asking permission. Without guilt. Have you ever just indulged?”
Her eyes slowly open, peering up at me while she bites at her bottom lip. “I, uh, paid for my ticket in first-class on Ethan’s credit card,” she confesses, the naughty twinkle in her eyes conveying a triumph her voice won’t.
I laugh, though perhaps I shouldn’t, at the risk of scaring her back into her shell, and quickly replace it with a warm smile. “Anything else, rebel?”
She pulls away from me, face bathed in adorable affront. “That was a bold move, Trevor, almost like… larceny, or something. That ticket was expensive, and I just, just went for it.” She snaps her fingers. “I can’t believe you’re not impressed.”
“Oh, make no mistake, I am quite impressed,” I murmur, edging in closer.
“Good.” She nods, then tilts her chin up in pride, but only for a second. “I mean, it’s not exactly good, stealing, or that I want you to be impressed by my stealing, but at least you weren’t mocking me. That’s the good part… I guess.”
Again, I must laugh, the number of times I’ve done so since meeting Lily now totaling more than that of the last many years combined. “Darling girl,” my hand reclaims her cheek, “you didn’t steal anything, nor is that what impresses me; supposing, of course, that you had.” Her brows meet in confusion, prompting me to explain. “Lily, any money spent on a credit card, in either of your names, was accounted for in your divorce as marital debt. So, my dear, you paid for that ticket too, technically. And the thing, about this, you, that leaves the biggest impression, is the fact that even after everything he did steal, from you, your love, loyalty, time, heart, you genuinely harbor no ill-will toward him. That’s a very unique quality, Lily. Almost unbelievable. And… impressive.” She’s silent, studying me, her eyes touching every part of my face for what fast becomes an uncomfortable amount of time. “Lily?” It leaves me unfiltered, more telling than I would have liked.
She won’t be rushed though, finally meeting my gaze long moments later, on her terms. “You’re telling the truth,” she whispers.
“I am.”
“I just needed a minute to make sure. You’re so good at hiding what you’re really saying, what you really mean, behind all those stiff, proper words of yours that it takes a while to decipher it.” She lifts one hand and slowly reaches out to trace a single fingertip over my lips, my eyes tracking every tentative tremble. “Your truths are far more impressive than your extensive vernacular, Trevor. You should share the former as freely as you do the latter; might surprise you to see what you’d get in return if you did. Oh, and just so you know, you assumed a few things before that you shouldn’t have, because, like most assumptions, you were wrong. Ethan didn’t steal my love; I gave it. And my heart? I tried to give it too, but, looking back, and being honest with myself, I failed. I never really gave him all of it. Maybe that’s why I’m not as angry with him as you seem to think I should be; because that’s the one thing he didn’t take. It’s still right here,” she pats her chest, over her heart, “safe and sound. A little battered, yes, but sound.”
“Lily,” I groan past her finger still learning my lips.
Her eyes shift, lighting into mine with unmistakable warning. “Whatever you’re about to say, you better use real words and, make sure I believe you.”