Circle of Deception 2 (16 page)

Chapter Eight

Abortion.
That word floated around in Meg’s mind for the rest of the time at the hospital and the rest of the night when she got home. After hearing the news of Melia’s pregnancy, they stayed at the hospital for a few more hours long enough to receive news. Gio was doing well despite his predicament, and Lexie was a candidate to become a donor. The only things to do now were for her to undergo the rest of the diagnostic tests to be sure she was the best match.

This news was music to their ears, and they all celebrated in the waiting area along with Lexie. She was so happy after all these years to have her little brother back, and being able to do something that meant so much to him made her emotional. She felt like she owed him for the way she reacted when he told her he was gay. Now, she would be able to get their relationship back on track, and she had Meg and Marco to thank for that. Marco had been secretly calling her to tell her of his progress, and she knew that only Meg could have inspired him to forgive her. They all seemed to be so close, she was quite envious of the family they seemed to be. She desperately wanted to be a part of it too.

Even with all of the celebration for Gio, the room seemed to be tense, particularly between Melia and Meg. Alex kept looking to them to see what the issue was, but Meg wouldn’t give him any info. He knew by the way Meg kept glaring at her, that it was big; he had never seen them looking at each other with so much disgust before. When it was finally time to leave and get home to the children, Meg hugged everyone conveniently leaving Melia out, and offered Lexie a place to stay for the night. Lexie refused at first saying that she needed to stay with Gio, but when Marco stressed that she get some rest for her evaluations the next day, she accepted.

The trip home was extremely quiet between Meg and Alex. She spent most of the time staring out the window, and the occupants in the back seat just kept quiet. Emilio could see that there was something going on between his girls, and he wanted to resolve it. He never could stand to see them fighting in the past, and this was no different. He had to resolve the issue because they had so much to be thankful for now; whether they knew it or not.

Hopefully their mom could come back soon and restore some order to their lives. He knew they still thought she had just left them, but he now had the knowledge of why she left in the first place, and he loved her so much for it. She had sacrificed her happiness for their wellbeing. There would never be a better mother in the world, and he couldn’t wait until they could know that. He could just see the shock on their faces when she was finally able to show herself to them, also when they revealed that they were still married and never going to be apart again. Emilio had made a decision, he was going to retire from running the business and stay in Los Angeles with his wife and their children; they were going to be a family.

***

When they arrived back and Meg and Alex’s house, they all split up saying their goodbyes and began to load into their cars. Melia watched as Matt led Lexie inside and showed her where she would be sleeping, and was green with envy. She knew they were broken up, but just seeing him with any woman, no matter how innocent, sent her into thoughts she didn’t want. What if she actually had to see him with another woman in the near future? It would be hell; pure hell. Meg noticed her staring the door down and walked over to her.

“You know, that could be you with him if you stopped being so damn stupid. Tell your husband and get this over with.”

Melia rolled her eyes and huffed. “No, Meg, this is not your business, and quite frankly, I’m tired of your interference.”

Her answer only fueled Meg’s anger. “Just go. Leave my house. I can’t stand to look at you right now.”

“Fine,” Melia snapped.

Emilio watched the argument and swooped in. “Girls, calm down. Everything is better now, your brother is doing better, and we added a new addition. This should be a happy time.”

“A new addition? They told you! Who was it papa? Meg, Maddie, or Emily?”

Emilio sat back and sighed. Both Meg and Melia could see that he was playing her words in his head. They both knew they were busted. “I was speaking of Lexie, but I see that you mean something different. Tell me what you’re talking about, right now.”

“Papa,” Melia pleaded. “Please don’t do this.”

“Now, Melia,” he roared in a voice that startled her. He had never raised his voice with either of them, and his stern expression frightened her. Meg sat with her mouth open as he stared Melia down. “I’m waiting, or should I have Meg, Maddie, or Emily explain it to me?”

“Papa, don’t be angry,” she sighed. “I....I... I’m pregnant, and....”

“Well, why would I be angry about this? This is a blessing, I can’t wait...”

“But, papa, you didn’t let me finish. I’m not keeping it. Matt and I are getting a divorce, and I don’t want him to stay with me because of the baby.”

Emilio’s complexion turned a bright red tint, and before he knew it, he was screaming loudly. “You were raised better than this! Your mother and I never taught you to behave this way, this is unacceptable.”

When Emilio started yelling she was cursing herself for enraging him, but when she heard the comment about Maria, she suddenly felt angry. “Papa, I’m sorry, but I’m an adult. You taught me many things, but mom, taught me how to run away. She is the reason why I cling to my daughter so hard. I never want Cici to feel how we felt growing up. We always wondered why she didn’t want us, and dad, I’m tired of acting like she was this big martyr. She left us, she left you, let’s stop pretending now. I’m going to do what I need to do and that’s final.”

“You listen to me, you ungrateful ass little girl, your mom was the best woman in the world, and you would be lucky to be half the mother she is. You ruin your life if you want, but don’t expect us to pick up the pieces. You see, you don’t deserve that man. He gives his all to you, but you’re selfish. You will regret everything you’ve said here tonight, and you’ll regret getting rid of that baby.”

Emilio turned and left Melia and Meg with their mouths open. They were both stunned by his outburst. Their dad had always talked to and treated them like princesses, and him yelling at Melia was out of character. Meg turned and gave Melia a look that said go to hell before walking in the house, leaving her outside alone. Melia watched as the door shut and stood next to her car, clutching her stomach. Why did things have to be so complicated?

***

“Angel Face, talk to me. I can tell by the look on your face that there is something bothering you,” Alex sighed.

“Baby, I just want sleep. Can we please talk about this later? I just want to kiss my babies goodnight and climb into bed.”

“I’ll let it go for now, come with me.” Alex pulled her down to Allison’s room and they creaked the door open slowly. Allison was fast asleep with her tablet in hand and Cienna was fast asleep next to her. Alex reached out and moved it away and kissed both girls on the head, as did Meg. When Allison felt Meg’s lips on her forehead, her eyes fluttered open. She smiled at both of them and pulled Meg to her.

“Thank you for letting me have my party, mommy, I love you.”

“Did you enjoy it? I know Uncle Gio got sick, but did you still have fun?”

“I did mommy, is Uncle Gio going to die like Granny Maria?”

“No, baby,” Meg pushed her hair back, “Uncle Gio is going to be just fine. He even told me to give you a message.”

“What is it?” Allison squealed.

“He said to tell you sorry for dropping you, and he would like for you to send him one of your pretty pictures.”

“I’ll make him one now!” She sat up.

“Not so fast, princess,” Alex protested. “It’s too late to be up. You can make him one tomorrow, it’s your bedtime.”

“Okay, daddy,” she said sadly.

“Don’t be sad. Daddy will help you tomorrow, I promise.”

“Thank you!”

Alex kissed her again and pulled the covers over her small body. “Goodnight, we love you.”

“I love you too.”

They made their way back to their room, and Jordan was fast asleep in his bassinet. They had moved him out of his room to give Lexie some privacy. He had a full sized bed for when Alex and Meg had to be in there longer than expected, so they just let her sleep there.

Marisol also spent a great deal of time in there when she would hear him stirring in the night and didn’t want to wake Meg or Alex. They had a pool house built a few months back for Marisol when they realized the house was getting too full. They wanted her to be able to have her privacy, even though, she had been sleeping with Jordan ever since he moved back into his room.

Marisol was a great help with the kids, they couldn’t have asked for a better maid. She doubled as their maid and nanny without batting an eye. They gave her a huge raise when the kids came, but they could tell she loved spending time with them.

Alex watched as Meg stood over Jordan, watching him sleep. He knew she had something on her mind, but he didn’t want to continue prying. He just needed her to know that she could tell him whenever she was ready. They had all had a pretty dramatic day, and he knew she needed time to unwind. When she felt his hands on her shoulders, she sighed deeply and relaxed under his touch. He rubbed her gently, and she molded into his chest.

“That feels good, baby. You really know how to spoil a girl.”

“We’ve had an impossible day. Come lay down with me and I’ll break out the oil. You’re really tense, maybe I can help get rid of it.”

“That sounds heavenly, but I was thinking of something a little different.”

“Baby,” he nodded towards Jordan. “We aren’t alone tonight.”

“Not that,” she hit him playfully. “I just want to do the massaging. You need to relax as well, and I’ll feel better if I know I helped you.”

“I don’t mind doing you first.”

“I do, you’re always thinking of me first. I want you to feel special.”

Alex smiled and leaned in to kiss her. “Whatever I did to deserve this, just let me know, and I’ll keep it up.”

She pulled him to her and held him tight. “You’re just you. You are always exactly what I need you to be, and I never want to lose that.”

Alex wasn’t sure what brought this on. She was always affectionate, but this was different, it was as if she thought she might lose him. He ran his hand through her hair and tried to relax her tense body, with no luck. He hated seeing her this way, because he knew there was no way he would leave her, not now, not ever. All he could do was reassure her with each breath in his body.

“Baby, is there something you’re not telling me?”

Meg closed her eyes and exhaled deeply. “Matt asked Melia for a divorce. She is so stupid, it’s her fault, and she doesn’t understand how lucky she is to have him.”

“I can’t believe it. What happened?”

“He realized how selfish she is finally. Melia has never had to deal with heartache or pain, she has just always had it all, and it made her selfish. You see, both Maddie and I have had our share of trouble in love, but ever since high school, Melia has had Matt. As screwed up as what he said was, he has always given her the world, and now he wants her to show him something other than the fact that she can just keep taking. I just didn’t want you to feel that way about me one day. You do so much for me and the kids, I just want you to know that I will always meet you half way.”

Alex took her hands and pulled her down on his lap as he took a seat on the bed. “The thing is, they may be our siblings, but they’re not us. The one thing you can never be is selfish. You think of me, the kids, and your whole family before you think of yourself. That’s why they all come to you for advice and support, your heart is so big, and I’m lucky to have a piece of it. I do all I can for you because I’m not sure if I even deserve you.”

“You’re the best person in the world,” tears fell from her eyes. “You’re always honest with me.” The guilt from everything she had been keeping from him today was wearing on her. She wanted to come clean, but she knew they weren’t her secrets to tell. Everything with Matt and Melia was making her crazy, and she knew it was time for her to step back and let the chips fall. Now was the time for her to focus on their family and that would be first and foremost.

Alex rubbed her back and she sobbed on his shoulder. He hated seeing her cry and he felt like she had been doing so much of that lately. All of the drama from outside sources was weighing them down. He pulled her back and looked into her eyes, the eyes that always enchanted him, and smiled. “I want you to promise me something, sweetheart. I want you to tell me that from here on out, there are no more tears. I only want to see your smile, we have so much to be happy about in our lives. We’re happy and our children are taken care of. Smiles are all I want to see on your beautiful face.”

“I can promise that,” she smiled. “Now, I still want to give you that massage I promised. Lie down, honey.”

Alex laid on his stomach and closed his eyes in preparation, he felt like a king having her pamper him like this. He was truly lucky to have her, and in that moment, he felt a sense of regret for Matt. Here he was the happiest he had ever been, and his little brother was in such distress. He knew he had to do something to help him out of the funk he was in, but for now, he was going to enjoy his time with his wife, while secretly fighting the urge to flip her over and take her delectable body.