The Ultimate Betrayal (2 page)

H
ey, Mel,” Alicia said, hugging her best friend when she walked inside Nordstrom. “Thank you so much for coming. Thank you for everything you've done to help with all of this.”

“Please. You know I'm here for you all the way to the end. I'm really happy for you and Phillip. I'm glad you're
finally
getting back together for good.”

“Thank you, girl. There were times when I wasn't so sure it would happen. I mean, who could blame Phillip if he'd decided to move on?”

“Well, he didn't, and that's all that matters. He loves you, you love him, and that made all the difference.”

“Very true, and I'm so excited.”

They walked through the department store and went into the mall area.

“Wow, Woodfield is packed today,” Alicia said.

“Not surprised. Not with it being Saturday.”

“I remember a time when I would have been either here or at Oakbrook right when they opened.”

Melanie laughed. “Yeah, I remember that, too. You used to shop your natural behind off.”

“It caused me way too many problems, though, so I had to make some changes. I had to realize I had issues.”

“I'm glad you did. Some people never admit that they have a shopping addiction, and they go on for the rest of their lives spending beyond their means.”

They walked a little farther, looking inside various stores and chatting along the way. When they arrived at Swarovski they walked in. It was pretty crowded as well.

“So have you thought more about what you want to wear?” Melanie asked.

“Something noticeable but elegant. For example,” Alicia said, pointing to a pair of rhinestone earrings in the glass case, “I really like those, but they're a bit on the small side.”

Melanie strolled farther down the counter. “What about these?”

Alicia moved closer. “The second ones from the right?”

“Yep.”

“I really like those.”

“I do, too. They're beautiful.”

Alicia turned around, checking to see if one of the salesclerks was free. None were available at the moment, so she said to Melanie, “Since they're all busy, let's just see what we can find for you. Then we can try them on at the same time.”

They searched the next case and the one after.

“Oh, what about those?” Alicia said.

Melanie leaned forward. “I like them a lot. Actually, I love them.”

They browsed a few minutes longer, until a twentysomething woman walked over.

“Can I help you ladies find something?”

“Yes,” Alicia said. “We'd like to see a couple of pairs of your earrings.”

“Of course,” she said.

Alicia showed her which two, and once she and Melanie tried them on they loved their selections even more. Then they found necklaces and bracelets that were perfect, too.

“Can I help you find anything else?” the young woman asked.

“No, I think that'll be it,” Alicia, said opening her tote and pulling out her wallet. She also looked at her phone when she saw a flashing blue light. She had either a text message, an email, or some sort of social media notification, and she couldn't help checking to see which. She hoped Levi wasn't trying to contact her again. But he was. This time, he'd sent her a private message on Facebook. A part of her wanted to read it right then, but she didn't want to do that in front of Melanie, or, more important, she didn't want Melanie to somehow see who the message was from. On top of that, it just didn't seem right to read anything from Levi right now when here she was shopping for her and Phillip's wedding.

After paying for the jewelry, Alicia and Melanie left and browsed in a couple of other stores. When they walked out of Lord & Taylor, Alicia said, “I'm hungry. You?”

“Not really.”

“Well, I'm starving. Let's go over to The Cheesecake Factory.”

“I don't know about that one. Everything is good, but they give you so much food.”

“Just order a salad.”

“I guess.”

After waiting twenty minutes, the electronic gadget the hostess had given Alicia buzzed, and they were seated in a booth.

“Are you okay?” Alicia asked.

“I'm fine,” Melanie said.

“You don't seem fine. I sort of noticed it when we were looking for jewelry.”

Melanie sighed. “I'm just a little worried about me and Brad.”

“Why?”

“He lost a bunch of money in the stock market.”

“How much?”

“Ten thousand.”

“Oh my goodness. How?”

“Playing around with some stocks he had no business messing with.”

“I remember when he did that last year.”

“That's why I'm worried. One time was already enough, but again?”

“Did you talk to him about it?”

“I did, and he swears it won't happen again. But it's like I told him: He said the same thing last time.”

“I'm sure things are gonna be okay.”

“I hope so, because you know I can't live like that. Then, to add more problems, he's still working a lot of hours. It's one case after another, and if he's not working into the wee hours of the morning, he's sleeping so he can work a ton more hours the next day.”

“Maybe that'll get better, too. Maybe he's just trying to prove that he's worthy of his new promotion.”

“I'm sure he is, but no marriage can survive when you don't spend time together. Or if it does survive, it's only because two people have made it up in their minds to be together just because it's convenient. Either that or they haven't found someone else who makes them happier.”

A young male waiter set a basket of bread and butter on the table. “I'm Antonio, and I'll be your server today. Can I start you ladies with something to drink and maybe an appetizer?”

“No appetizer for me,” Melanie said.

Alicia scanned her menu. “I think I'll pass on the appetizer, too.”

“Do you need a few more minutes to decide on your entrée?”

“No,” Alicia said. “I'll have raspberry lemonade and your stuffed chicken tortillas.”

“Excellent. And you?” he asked Melanie.

“I'm not really hungry, so I'll just have a glass of water.”

“Are you sure?” he said.

“Yes.”

“Okay, then I'll be right back with your drinks.”

Alicia raised her eyebrows. “You're not ordering anything?”

“No, I'm good.”

“Are you on a diet?”

“Sort of.”

Alicia looked at Melanie. She hadn't noticed it or thought about it until now, but Melanie's face looked narrower.

“Actually, you do look like you've lost a little weight.”

“Well, the scale says just the opposite.”

“But it's not like you need to lose anything. Otherwise, you'll look way too thin. You don't look to be more than a hundred fifty pounds.”

“Try one-sixty-five.”

“That's just a number, plus look how tall you are.”

“That's easy for you to say because you've worn eights since high school. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“But that's always been normal for me. It's just the way my metabolism is set up.”

“Well, I'll be a whole lot happier when I lose these final ten pounds.”

Alicia hoped Melanie's mother hadn't been razzing her about her weight again. She'd done that for years, even though Melanie looked fine. When Alicia and Melanie had been in high school, she had weighed just a little too much, but by the time they'd entered college, she'd lost down to a healthy size and toned up her body with daily workouts.

“You really do look great, Mel,” Alicia said, trying to encourage her.

“This is one of those times where you and I have to do what we do best: agree to disagree.”

Alicia shook her head and smiled. “It never fails, does it? We're best friends forever, yet sometimes we couldn't be more different.”

They both laughed.

“We do agree on one thing for sure, though,” Melanie added.

“What's that?”

“Phillip, and how perfect he is for you.”

“That he is,” Alicia said, but then she wondered…if that was so true, why was she still thinking about that email Levi had sent her and dying to read his Facebook message? Why couldn't she leave well enough alone and just be happy?

A
licia grabbed Phillip's hand and looked farther down the front row. Her dad and her stepmom, Charlotte, sat to the left of them. Then, she turned and smiled at her two-year-old nephew, little MJ, who sat to her right. On the other side of him was his dad, Matthew, who was home on summer break from Harvard, and Matthew's girlfriend, Stacey. Alicia's seven-year-old baby sister, Curtina, was over in the other building attending children's church, and Alicia couldn't wait to see her later when they went to dinner. Behind her, of course, were Melanie and Brad. Life was good, and Alicia finally had everything she could possibly want…but for some reason, she couldn't stop thinking about Levi.

It had been one thing for him to email her, but when she'd gotten in the car to leave the mall yesterday, she'd read his Facebook message and had found herself almost wishing Levi would call her. She'd had the same cell number for years, and she knew Levi hadn't forgotten it. For some reason, he was waiting for her to respond to his messages first, and knowing him, he wanted her to willingly ask him for his number or ask him to call her. She'd actually thought about doing just that, but thankfully, she'd talked herself out of it.

When the choir took their seats, her father walked up to the pulpit and stood in front of the glass podium.

“This is the day the Lord hath made, so let us rejoice and be glad in it,” Curtis said. “It is a blessing just to be alive. A blessing to have woken up in our right minds and in good health. It's a joy and a blessing to be here and have yet one more opportunity to worship our Father, His Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

Amen
s filled the entire sanctuary.

“My plan was to deliver the message this morning the same as usual, but after traveling to three different speaking engagements last week, I'm still a bit tired. I arrived home late Friday evening and met with some of the officers for a lunch on Saturday, but I was sure that relaxing at home last night and getting a good night's sleep would energize me. Unfortunately, it hasn't, and so I've asked Pastor Sullivan to bless you with today's message. And if I could, I just want to say how proud I am to have this young man in my life. I am, of course, proud of all my associate ministers, deacons, other officers here at the church, and my administrative staff, but having my future son-in-law as the assistant pastor is a blessing in more ways than one. He loves God, and he loves my daughter, and I just can't ask for anything more than that. I've watched him for a number of years, and no matter what happens, he always tries his very best to honor God's Word. He tries to do the right thing, and what a great example that is for all of us. I know that none of us is perfect, and that we can never say never, but Phillip, I really do believe with all my heart that you love my daughter and that you will always honor her as your wife. And I love you for that.”

The congregation applauded. Phillip leaned over and kissed Alicia on the cheek and then walked into the pulpit. He and Curtis hugged, and Curtis returned to his seat.

“Thank you so much, everyone,” Phillip began. “Thank you for continuing to show such love and respect for me, and for all your support. Not just for my position here in the church, but also as our pastor's future son-in-law. When Pastor Black says that he believes I love his daughter and that I will always honor her as my wife, I'm here to tell you that every word of that is true. I simply couldn't be happier about marrying her again, and I thank God for giving us a second chance. I love and adore her. And when we divorced, my biggest worry was that I would surely have to spend the rest of my life alone, because I couldn't imagine loving another woman the way I loved her.”

Tears streamed down Alicia's cheeks, and she could hear others sniffling as well. Charlotte reached across Phillip's empty seat and rubbed her arm. She was teary-eyed also. Phillip was absolutely the best, and Alicia silently thanked God for giving him back to her. She loved him, he made her happy, and he was her soul mate. It was the reason she had to push Levi completely out of her mind. She had to ignore any future messages he might send her. Maybe then he'd take a hint and leave her alone.

Phillip pulled a white handkerchief from inside his suit jacket and wiped his eyes. “Well, now that I've made everyone cry a river of tears in here, I think I'd better get started with my sermon.”

Everyone laughed and wiped their own tears away.

Phillip touched the screen of his electronic tablet until he found his sermon notes. “Today, I want to talk about temptation. And to begin, I'd like to read to you the meaning of temptation, as defined by the
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
. ‘Temptation is a strong urge or desire to have or to do something; something that causes a strong urge or desire to have or do something and especially something that is bad, wrong, or unwise.' It then goes on to give three examples of temptation which are, one: ‘Money is always a temptation'; two: ‘The dessert menu has a lot of temptations.'” Members of the church laughed at that one. Phillip chuckled as well. “I knew that one would get everyone's attention, because we all struggle with trying to fight off our desire to eat sweets and all kinds of foods. And then there's number three: ‘the temptations of the city.'”

Phillip looked out at the congregation, and Alicia felt uncomfortable. Not because he was saying anything wrong, but because she knew that when she'd had that affair with Levi, she'd allowed temptation to get the best of her. She felt guilty and ashamed, because it wasn't like their church members didn't know what she'd done. They knew the whole story, as did many people nationwide because of who her father was. There were times when being Curtis Black's daughter was beneficial, but there were other times when it felt like a curse. Being the daughter of a well-known pastor meant you had to take the good with the bad when it came to the media and gossip, and even more so, when infidelity was involved.

This was also the reason Alicia now knew for sure that this thing with Levi had to be squashed. She hadn't spoken to him, she hadn't responded to his messages, and she certainly wasn't planning to see him, but she had to stop thinking about him. Since first reading his email yesterday morning, she hadn't thought about much else, but this was the end. She wouldn't make the same mistake twice. She was older, wiser, and well aware of what happened to people when they made bad choices. There were dire consequences to pay. People were hurt in the process, and in some cases, they were scarred permanently. Phillip was a good example of that, and Alicia wouldn't harm him like that again. She would marry him and be the best wife imaginable. She would be faithful until death.