Forever After All

by Catharina Maura

Right before I fall asleep, I hear him speak, his voice barely above a whisper. “A new acquisition, the sun streaming in from my office window, and having you in my bed.”

Emilia looks into my eyes, her gaze searching, and then she smiles. She reaches into her purse and slides a card my way. “This is my husband’s direct line. Call him and tell him I told you to get in touch with him. Whatever you need, he’ll get to you.”

I see the damage that witnessing my marriage did to Alec. He tries so hard to protect me, but in doing so, he’s hurting himself. His father’s affairs combined with what Jennifer did to him… it’s made him lose faith in love. He doesn’t think it can last. He’s come to view it as a weakness, and that’s largely my fault.”

Jen I think I made a mistake, Alec. I miss you so much. Please, can we talk?

Part of me wants to keep her hidden, keep her here in my home, where she’s safe from the press, the rumors, the pressures she’ll face as my wife. But I can’t. I didn’t marry her to protect her. I married her so I could use her as a weapon against Matthew, as a shield against my grandfather’s terms.

My conscience is weighing heavily on me tonight. I’ve got Elena in my bed, but it’s Jennifer that’s on my mind. It should be my wife that I’m focused on, but all I can think about is whether Jen is okay.

He adored you when you were little, so there’s a good chance he’ll be happy for us.”

“You can call me Grandpa,” he says, and my eyes widen. Elena has no idea what he’s just offered her, and she smiles cluelessly. Everyone is always trying to gain access to my grandfather, and he notoriously keeps everyone at a distance. Grandpa is reserved for his own grandchildren only, not their spouses, not any distant cousins.

My grandfather doesn’t eat anything that isn’t made by his own cook. He doesn’t even go to restaurants. The only person whose food he’ll eat, other than his cook, is my mother’s. “I’d love to,” he says, and I stare at him with raised brows—not that he notices, all his attention is on Elena.

“She’s a nice girl, Alec. Very kind. I’m old, son. I’m old enough to know, to see how genuine she is. She’s the type of person I want raising my great-grandchildren. You’ve chosen well. Now don’t fuck it up. You let her slip away, and you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”

push away from him, but he won’t let me go. Instead, he pulls me closer. I blink, turning my head just a little. He’s got his phone in his hand, scrolling through his emails leisurely, his other hand on my waist.

I feel like a fraud. Like everything might come crashing down on me soon.

The trust in her eyes… it does funny things to my heart.

“What has the world come to for a mistress’s daughter to liken herself to my girl? You must’ve lost your mind.”

“Where the hell is your security team, Buttercup? Little fruit flies like her shouldn’t be able to get anywhere near you. Enough of this bullshit.”

you’re my wife. Any insults thrown your way, I’ll take personally. Besides, I don’t like it when people mess with my possessions.”

“My father hasn’t checked up on me since I turned eighteen, but he takes such good care of Elise,” she says, her voice breaking. “He doesn’t even seem to care whether I’m dead or alive.”

“I know it isn’t the same, but you have me now, Buttercup,” I say involuntarily. She looks at me and nods. “I do. I do have you,”

She still loves her brother, but she’s lost faith in him, she’s given up on him. Matthew is a fucking idiot.

Elena smiles shakily, and she looks so damn broken, so hurt. It makes me want to tear the world apart for her. She was never supposed to mean anything to me. She wasn’t supposed to be someone I’d care about. All I wanted her to be was my trophy wife, someone to keep my bed warm, someone that’d keep my mother happy and entertained, and my grandfather off my back. I shouldn’t care about her tears, but I do.

Why is it that there’s so much about my wife that I’m only just finding out about? I guess it’s because I never bothered to get to know her, to talk to her.

She looks at me with a small spark of hope in her eyes, but I see the fire douse almost as soon as it’s lit. She doesn’t dare put her faith in me, and I can’t blame her. Not after everything she’s been through.

that’s where the danger lies… Elena makes me want to give her the world.

What have I ever done for him to treat me this way? I think of Alexander, my heart sinking. He, too, has always made it clear that he won’t treat me the way he’d treat someone he’d actually want to be with.

You’re the only real friend I ever had. The only person I ever confided in, the only one I’ve ever really trusted.”

My heart is aching today. I’m tired of being reminded that I don’t mean anything to anyone, that I’m just a thing to be owned, used, and discarded. I know I have no rights to Alexander, but I’m sick of feeling like I’m a mere object.

With that painful realisation, comes another. For years I was powerless, but not anymore, not with Alexander by my side.

“You have me hooked on your pussy,” he tells me, and I smile at him. “I’m going to hate being away from you next week.

He looks at me like I’m all he can see. When he looks at me this way, I’m convinced that what we’ve got is more than he’s willing to admit to himself. He gives me hope, and that’s the one thing I cannot afford to have.

Even though most of our promises were childish, there’s one I know Lucian will want me to keep. “I will always keep your secrets, and I will try to never be caught between your brother and you,” I promise him.

Alec is never impulsive, but he wanted you. I doubt he even realizes it himself.”

All I can think about is how those curls are going to look on my pillows tonight. No, there’s no way I could let her go. My phone buzzes and my mood drops even further when I realize that it’s another text message from Jennifer.

I glare at Elena, annoyed that she’s calling me Alexander instead of Alec, yet she calls Lucian Luce. She’s my wife, yet it’s my brother she has a nickname for. The worst thing is that it’s my own fault.

There it is. She blinks twice. She’s done that whenever she lies ever since she was five, and I doubt she even realizes it.

She’s fidgety, something that hasn’t changed either. She always used to fidget whenever she knew she did something wrong.

I hate that I love those eyes of hers.

I’ve gotten too lax with her. It’s about time I remind her who owns her.

He hasn’t been himself lately. Ever since he got back from his business trip, he’s been cold and distant.

Alexander looks up at Matthew. “So what? So what if I’m using your sister?”

It gives me hope, and hope is the most cruel emotion of all. I glance at Matthew, a bittersweet smile on my face. If given a choice, I’d pick his cruel words over Alexander’s sugar-coated lies any day.

“You need to stay the fuck away from my sister, Alexander.” Alexander chuckles, the sound sending a chill down my spine. “The way you stayed away from my fiancée?”

“You got what you wanted,” I say, my voice breaking. “You’ve thrown me in Matthew and Jennifer’s face. He was right, you know? You’ve treated me like some sort of call girl tonight—and I let you. Because you’re right, Alexander. You own me. Is this enough now? Have you embarrassed me enough?”

I’ve somehow managed to push my brother so far away that he trusts my wife more with his secrets than he does me. And my wife… I’ve accused her of disloyalty over and over again, when I couldn’t be more wrong. It’s her loyalty that kept her from telling me the truth, when that would have resolved all our issues. She kept the promises she made to Lucian, even as I made her suffer for it.

“Thank you,” I whisper. “For taking care of him in my stead.”

“I’ve been so fucking horrible to you, baby. I’ve ignored you, hurt you… I was punishing you for a crime you didn’t commit. This afternoon, when I followed you… Elena, I expected the worst.”

“Then ask me for forgiveness, Alexander. Don’t command it.” I drop my forehead to hers, my eyes falling closed. “Elena, will you forgive me for my stupidity? For the way I’ve treated you and hurt you? I have no excuse. All I can say is that I can’t stand the idea of any part of you belonging to someone else.”

“The proposal,” I tell her. “A public proposal for the press. I can’t wait any longer, Elena. I want my ring on your finger.”

I keep her on the edge, needing her with a desperation I’ve never felt before. I want all of her. I told her love would never be an option for us, but I want to be the one her heart belongs to, the only one she can see.

Feel free to smash everything in our bedroom if it’ll finally make you call me Alec outside of bed.”

He’s changed since the incident with Marcus and Lucian. When he looks at me now, his eyes are filled with remorse. He’s treating me better, and while I’m enjoying this softer version of him, I wish it wasn’t born out of guilt.