Chapter 3

#The_mistake

_Vicky_

Who the actual fuck does Michael Kane think he is?

“Pardon?”

I asked in disbelief.

“Look here, mister, I don’t know if your memories have failed you, but let me help you remember the fact that you don’t own me. Gracie and I — you don’t own us. And this isn’t your house, so quit acting like you own us. I will talk to whoever I want to talk to whenever I want to, and there isn’t a thing you can do about it!”

I rasped in annoyance and anger.

What he just said pissed the living daylight out of me, and I felt like smacking his brains out.

Has he forgotten why we are in this situation in the first place? Why I have to tolerate him for a month?

The phone began to ring again, and this time around I thrust the phone in his face.

“Who is Cole? He’s my fiancé and I am going to talk to him whenever I want because you don’t own me.”

I declared.

Michael chuckled. All of a sudden, that coldness in his face had disappeared and he looked amused, as if he didn’t believe me. How dare he!

I know I’ve stepped out of line by saying I’m engaged to Cole when in fact we are broken up and I hate his guts, but I can’t always let Michael Kane win or have his way.

I huffed and picked the call, bringing the cell phone to my ears.

“Hello.”

I muttered.

“Babe. Why didn’t you tell me you lost your friend? I went to your place earlier and the cleaner said you won’t be returning home for a month and that you will have to move in with Connie’s stepbrother and co-parent the child together. Why don’t you come back home and we can talk about it, huh? I’ll have my lawyers fight for custody so you don’t have to suffer with some *loser* for a month. I know I messed up, but let’s try again. I’ll be good to you, okay?”

For a full minute I just listened to him talk.

I know Cole. He’s not so different from Michael — he likes to own a person like a trophy. But he’s also a gold digger at the same time, and he’ll leave me for the next rich posh girl he sees coming. *I’m a fool in love*, but I’m not entirely an idiot. For two years I’ve maintained a low profile and let him think I’m just some hopeless girl he can keep at home, when really I didn’t just want an office job. I could work from home and I didn’t like going out, so it was a suitable arrangement. I’ll stay at home and work when no one is looking. He still thinks my writing is just a hobby and I just waste my time, but he doesn’t know how rich it has made me.

He cheats his way up the societal ladder and dates every rich girl he sees, cheating on the perfect gullible girlfriend he has at home.

I’ve forgiven him two times already. I’m not about to do the same foolish move.

He knows Connie has quite a fortune to her name, but he doesn’t know that she’s the daughter of the Kane family. With her gone, he knows I’ll get a fair share of the inheritance money — perfect reason for him to have me back under his wings.

I wanted to cuss him out in an instant, but I held back. I can’t wash my dirty linen in front of my enemy.

I’d rather make a fool of myself so it will prick Michael Kane’s ego than let him see how pathetic I am.

“Of course, I’ll come over so we can talk when I have time.”

I answered with a smile. I didn’t wait for him to say any other thing before I ended the call.

Michael raised his eyebrow.

The call wasn’t on speaker, so he probably didn’t hear a thing we just said.

“Stop trying to fight me, sweetheart. We both can’t be stubborn and survive under the same roof.”

He said gently.

His face shifted back to its usual look as he cleared his throat.

“Whoever Cole is, make sure he doesn’t come close to the child. I don’t care what you do with yourself, just don’t do it under this roof.”

He stated, and just like that, he turned around and left.

I scoffed in disbelief.

Is this egocentric man kidding me?

Once again I’ve lost to Michael Kane in a verbal battle, and I felt pained.

I thought using Cole as my trump card would make him feel some type of pain, but it didn’t. It only made him more determined to spite me.

The phone began to ring again, and I glanced to see who it was.

It was Cole again.

I ended the call without picking it and quickly blocked his line. I didn’t want to think of anything that would make me boil with anger.

The servants were still tidying up the house and moving about.

I dropped Gracie on a couch and took my time to look around the spacious living room that had now been transformed.

Everything in the room was now in emerald green and cream.

It was a direct contrast to the usual bubbly pastel colours that were visible in the room.

Michael made sure every old decor in the house was thrown out.

“Excuse me…”

I called for one of the servants, who left the cleaning she was doing and rushed to my side at once.

“Yes, ma’am?”

She asked as soon as she was in front of me.

“What happened to all the portraits that were in this room?”

I asked.

“Master Kane asked us to take them out earlier. I don’t know where they’ve taken them to.”

She replied.

I scoffed in anger and almost lashed out at the servant, who looked at me in fear and trembled.

Why would Michael throw out my best friend’s pictures? There were several portraits of my best friend and Gracie hung up on the walls, and now all of them were gone.

“Michael Kane, what the fuck is wrong with you?”

I cried out in anger and screamed.

The servant trembled and kept apologizing.

“Take the child upstairs and give her a bath. I’ll go prepare something for her to eat.”

I told the maid, who nodded and quickly picked Gracie up from the couch. The little girl didn’t want to leave my side, but I coaxed her, telling her I’ll bring her favourite milk. She agreed and left with the maid.

I took some time to rest and then proceeded to the kitchen, that was also overrun by at least three maids.

I didn’t like it. The house seemed too crowded.

“How many of you are here?”

I asked one of the maids.

“All the servants, including those cleaning up outside, amount to fifteen. But we will leave as soon as the house is all clean.”

The servant replied.

I sighed. At least Michael ordered them to leave. If they don’t, I will probably go crazy with all the maids around.

I sent them off and proceeded to make the baby formula for Gracie. I also took some of her favourite biscuits and went up to the room the servants prepared for us. She was all cleaned up and was in great spirits when I came in, so she didn’t waste any time and ate all the food I brought for her.

Afterwards, I coaxed her to sleep and proceeded to take a shower myself. By the time I was done and went downstairs, the place was already clean and the servants were ready to leave. The place was dark. I didn’t mind and I happily saw them off before moving to the small wine cellar to find something to drink. I took a bottle of strong wine and went back upstairs to my room. Gracie was already fast asleep, so I sat on the ground and drank directly from the bottle.

All the events of the day had left me exhausted and tired. I had to deal with Michael on top of all that, and I hadn’t really had time to think or take care of myself. I felt lonely. This was my best friend’s house and her memories still linger. Even her scent still fills everywhere in this house, but I still felt lonely. She was gone for good, and I’ll have to live with that.

The wine was strong. My head felt heavy and my legs felt like jelly as I continued to take large gulps from the bottle. I didn’t know how long I sat there or how much I drank. I heard small noises outside. The door opened, and Michael’s tall and towering figure stood by the door.

I couldn’t see properly, but his shirt was unbuttoned and his ripped chest and abs were exposed. I don’t know why I felt that way. I felt hot, the room felt stuffy, and I felt as if I was having a bad dream.

His tall figure walked towards me. He leaned forward and snatched the bottle from my hands.

“Give it back!”

I snarled. My eyes felt heavy and I felt dizzy.

“You stupid girl.”

He said calmly and took the bottle forcefully. He wanted to walk away, but I grabbed his leg.

My cheeks flushed. I felt the anger rushing back. I wanted to bite his legs.

“Why did she pick you? She knew I hated you.”

I muttered with a sniff.

For a moment he didn’t say anything. I was starting to drift into sleep while holding his legs. He turned around, kept the bottle on the floor, then picked me up from the floor and placed me on the bed. I held onto his shoulders and punched him hard.

“Because she knew you’d burn the world down for Gracie. And so would I.”

His response surprised me. I looked up at him. For a moment I could see his eyes. They looked like he was in pain. Why does the almighty Michael Kane look so sad? His lips, they looked so pink, and edible. What am I even thinking? I’m probably hungry. Still, I couldn’t help myself from touching his lips. He looked at me. His eyes looked red, as if there was something he wanted to say but couldn’t.

I leaned forward and kissed him. It was quick and fast. I regretted it immediately and pulled back.

He grabbed my neck and kissed me. It was forced and fast. I melted into his arms like jelly. He wasn’t gentle. He ate my lips like steak, leaving soft painful bites every now and then.

I struggled to get rid of his shirt. He broke off the kiss. His breathing was fast and his eyes burned with a desire I haven’t seen in his eyes before.

“I hate you.”

He muttered, almost like a rasp.

“We shouldn’t.”

There were tears in my eyes. I know I shouldn’t. I know it wasn’t right, but my desires wouldn’t let me. Was it the alcohol? Was it the grief? I didn’t know.

His hands found their way to the hem of my pants, and he pulled them off in an instant.

“I don’t care.”

I said. He didn’t wait for me to say any other word. His lips found my neck and I was pushed back onto the bed.

I don’t know what exactly we did or for how long we did it. All I know is that when I woke up the next day, my entire body felt sore. I had a terrible headache, and little Gracie was standing on the floor, staring at me and my naked body with curious eyes.

Shit!