Wife's Bitter Revenge Against Neglectful CEO Husband-Chapter 127: Making Peace with the Past

"Teela, have you checked your emails or voice messages since you left?"

I shook my head.

"Where’s your phone, baby?"

"I threw it away."

"You’re staying up here all alone with no phone? That isn’t safe, Teela."

Alec pulled out his phone and ordered a new phone to be delivered overnight. I didn’t know that was a possibility so far out here. Then again, I wasn’t raised to think money could solve pretty much any problem.

"Pull up your email, Teela. Let’s read them together."

"I-I-I don’t remember the password."

"We’ll reset it."

"I can’t. I don’t want to."

"Teela, you can’t avoid your life forever, and I don’t really think you want to. Do you?"

Sometimes, I hated it when Alec was right.

Alec cooked breakfast for dinner. It was the only thing I had enough of to feed two people that didn’t need to be thawed from the freezer. Alec’s cooking talents were as good as ever, and regardless of the circumstances, it was nice to have someone else cook for a change.

I couldn’t believe Alec was here. It still didn’t sit right with me that he knew where I was and waited so long to confront me. What had changed?

"Dad and Estelle ask about you all the time. When I told them I was coming, Estelle told me to make sure you knew she was following the contract."

"That’s good."

I didn’t care anymore.

"Father DiMarco opened the church to the public. He stays busy saving souls. I see Jake and the boys when I attend."

"How are the boys?"

"Recovering. They don’t look scared all the time now. Jake brought a woman with him last time. She’s pretty. Smiles easily."

"Good. Jake deserves to be happy."

"So do you, Teela."

I picked up my plate and took it to the sink. The plate was clean, and I was working on the silverware when Alec joined me. We stood shoulder to shoulder. He was close enough that his body heat took the edge off my permanent chill. I caught myself leaning into him to capture more warmth.

Turning to Alec and wrapping him in my arms would be so easy. But it would be a temporary fix, so I washed his plate while Alec rinsed and dried.

After dinner, I played soft music and went to the porch. The breeze was a little more brisk than usual. A storm may be moving into the area. I’d have to adjust my routine for the storm. Then again, Alec showing up screwed with my routine as well. Maybe I should give up on routine for the time being and just go with the flow.

Hopefully, the storm will hold off until after my morning hike. I needed the space to expend this antsy feeling crawling up my spine.

Alec brought me a blanket. "Can I join you?"

"Do what you want."

Alec sat next to me and spread the blanket over both of us. He rested an arm over my shoulders. I tensed momentarily until I forced myself to relax. This was Alec. He would never hurt me. Human contact, while foreign to me recently, was perfectly unnatural. Some doctors would even argue that it was necessary.

"You picked a beautiful area. The cabin is comfortable as well."

"Thank you."

"You’re not making this easy," Alec said.

"I didn’t ask you to come."

"No, I guess you didn’t."

We sat in silence for a long time until Alec yawned and stretched.

"It’s been a long day. Mind if I take a shower and sleep?"

"Make yourself at home."

"Does that include sharing your bed?"

I shrugged and left it to Alec to interpret. It didn’t matter. I didn’t plan to sleep either way.

"I have work." I took the blanket to my office. Only I didn’t have work. I didn’t even wake up my computer. Instead, I stared at the blank screen and debated whether to follow Alec’s advice and catch up on my email.

But what if there was hate mail? I didn’t know if I could ever handle it. I could delete it all as if it were spam, start fresh from this point, and make everyone say what they had to say to my face.

Only that didn’t resolve the problem of handling the hate. I was one accusation of killing Bea away from stepping off a cliff without a safety harness.

Alec tapped at the door before coming in. He looked like a demon lover in the low light, with his hair hanging down around his angular face. His tattoos were on display from under his tank top.

"Come to bed, Teela. We can review the email together tomorrow."

"Go without me. I can’t sleep."

"Come on. Try." He took my hand and helped me out of the chair.

He took me to my room, but I could only look at the bed. There was no way I could lay down. Alec wrapped his arms around me from behind. He rested his head on my shoulder.

"I miss you, Teela. I’ve been faithful while you’ve been gone. I want you. I’ll always want you, but we don’t have to do anything. I’m satisfied to be near you again. We can just sleep."

I gently pried his hands from my waist and stepped away. "You sleep. I can’t, Alec."

Dejection etched Alec’s face. "I’ll go to the couch."

"No, don’t. It wouldn’t matter. I don’t sleep well sometimes. Sleep here. If I decide I can sleep later, I’ll come to bed. Let me know if you need anything."

I left Alec standing there, closing the bedroom door behind me. For the longest time, I stood there, leaning against the door, taking long, cleansing breaths. I was so confused between wanting to hide and wanting to give in to Alec.

I went to the kitchen for water and took it to my office. I didn’t even sit down before I decided I needed something stronger than water. I traded the water for vodka. That was better.

By midnight, I’d built up enough alcohol courage to turn on the computer and open my old email account. Thousands of emails flooded the inbox.

I did the easy part first. I cleaned out the obvious spam first. Spam filters suck. They always have. The thousands of emails shrank down to hundreds. I sorted by name and deleted dozens more of reminders for hair appointments long missed, Red Dragon sessions missed, dental checkup reminders, etcetera.

That left names I knew.

The emails were still sorted by name. I debated reading them by sender or sort chronologically and read from oldest to most recent.

I took another shot. Since a story reads better from the beginning, I sorted by date, which was my first mistake because the oldest message was from Bea.

Her last email was a reminder that my birthday was coming up. She wanted to plan a party.

I’d forgotten my birthday.

Lettie got in one last jab, and I didn’t even realize it until now. That vicious old woman killed my best friend and tried to kill me on my birthday.

I broke down crying. My fingers shook as I debated deleting the email or saving it as a painful last memento from my friend.

No. I deleted it and reached for more tissues. I was out.

Extra tissues were in the bathroom linen cabinet. I took a break and tiptoed through the house. I was relieved to see Alec sleeping, his breathing heavy and steady.

I closed into the bathroom, shutting the door before turning on the light and retrieving the extra tissue.

Alec was sitting on the edge of the bed when I came out.

"Sorry," I said. "I didn’t mean to wake you."

"I’d sleep better if you were here with me." He held out his arms. I walked into them instinctually.

Alec held me to him, his head resting against my stomach. My hand went to the back of his head, holding him there.

I still loved this man with all my heart. A part of me was ashamed for leaving him behind, for pulling away since he reentered my life, for not pushing him away hard enough to free him to find happiness with someone more worthy. But I couldn’t give him up.

Bea would want me to move on. The Bea who left that email would want me to cling to my love with Alec and grow it into a lifetime of rewards. Bea couldn’t live her best life anymore, but I could. I could live it for both of us.

I went to my knees, holding Alec’s face between my palms. I kissed him so softly that it was little more than a passing of breath between two lovers.

I didn’t stop there. I kissed him again with more confidence. I remembered his taste. Yes, this was familiar. It was good. And then Alec kissed me with fervor. I wanted more.

"You’re mine?" I asked. "You love me after everything I’ve done?"

Alec helped me onto the bed, cradling me in his arms, answering me. The words reverberated against my lips. "All yours. I’ll never stop loving you."