“May I?” Phineas asked curiously.
“Sure.” She watched as Phineas answered the phone with a gleam in his eye which spoke of nothing good to come for Kyst.
“Juniper’s phone. Juniper’s new BFF speaking.”
She almost giggled at the name he gave himself. New BFF. Suki was not going to approve.
“Who is this?”
“Wouldn’t your cheating ass like to know?” Phineas mocked Kyst. “You were told by Juniper’s legal representative that she would only communicate through him. Now how bold of you lo call her after such a warning from a powerful attorney.”
“Where is my wife?”
“Drinking a nice cup of tea her mama made for her and pondering how it is, the man who told her he’d only ever want to make love with her, managed to bring my wife home with him and fuck her in Juniper’s bed. It’s such a small world, isn’t it Kyst?”
“Juniper if you’re listening, honey I’m almost home. I’m on my way back to you.”
“She’s not there. She will never step foot in there again. She did go in this morning. She took things which belonged to her. Her granny’s throw for example. It’s all wrapped around her, making her feel loved, the way your arms used to.”
“This is Phineas Perez, right? Why are you destroying us like this?”
“I’m not. You see, you did me a solid. I admit, I’m fucking grateful for you getting me out of my nasty prenup. However, when I learned how sweet and kind Juniper is, how her entire department values her, how her mother thinks she’s utter perfection, well, it sat with me wrong. I don’t usually care if I’m the bearer of bad news but in this case, I am feeling tremendous amounts of guilt for making my new BFF cry. So, I’m going to do what any good BFF does. I’m going to take care of her. I’m going to support her. I’m going to help her get what she deserves from her cheating husband. Honestly, if it wasn’t for this sweet girl, I’d have sent you a case of Scotland’s finest scotch and a thank made you note for getting me out of my marriage. Instead, you my girl cry, and I can’t have that.”
“She is not your girl!”
“Maybe not yet but she’s also not yours anymore either. Never again, Kyst.”
“Look I just want to talk to her.”
“And she has no compunction to talk to you. I should give you the heads up too, since I feel bad for my involvement in all this shit, I’ve pulled her out of work for a while without affecting her sick leave or vacation benefits. I’ve put her in a secure location. My mother who absolutely adores her mother, has given Maeve time off to help Juniper get through all this.”
“She needs to come home eventually.”
“For what, Kyst?” Phineas laughed lowly, his voice full of hatred, “I already provided her a full moving team. Why do you think she agreed to meet you at work this morning? It was to get you out of the house. She took all of her things already. She’s gone. She’s not coming back. I hope when you sleep in your sheets tonight, the sheets you washed to get the scent of Denise out of them, you realize when you washed them, you removed the scent of your wife from them. They don’t smell like her anymore, Kyst. You washed her out of your bed, and you didn’t even realize it.”
The sound of retching made Juniper’s eyes widen and she looked at her mother through teary eyes and mouthed, “is he puking?”
Her mother nodded with a grin on her face. Maeve seemed to be really enjoying the way Phineas was goading Kyst on.
“One other thing, Kyst,” Phineas oozed arrogance, “yesterday your soon-to-be ex-wife lost a baby. If you think, there is even a remote chance she will forgive you for fucking someone against her door, on her sofa or in her bed, while she was losing a child, you’re a very stupid man. The entire army standing behind her right now will kick her ass from here to heaven and back before we let her demean herself in such a way.”
“You want her!” Kyst accused.
“Are you insane, Kyst? Are you projecting your inability to control your cock onto me? I like her very much because she’s shown me in the last forty-eight hours how remarkably strong she is. It makes me want to help her and see her rise and succeed. Don’t put your dirty little thoughts of wanting to fuck other men’s wives onto me. I would never take advantage of my new friend like this. Her heart is broken. I only want to make her feel better.”
“Honey, I’m home!” Beni’s voice called from the doorway with a smile. He walked into the living area and immediately frowned, “oh my poor sunshine. You were crying again?”
“Who the fuck is that?” Kyst’s voice boomed from the phone. “Juniper! You’re there, aren’t you? Honey, talk to me. Come home. We’ll sort this out.”
“Didn’t I tell you, you miserable cocksucker, if you wanted to communicate with my client you needed to go through me?”
“Rojas?” Kyst was incredulous.
“Yes, asshole. Rojas.”
“Why are you with her?”
“I’m here too shit face,” Adil spoke up. “We’re all here. Tell me why she would need to come home to your lying cheating ass when she’s with her Mama and three new buds!”
“You should hang up now,” Beni said to Phineas. “Sunshine is looking paler than she was when I left her this morning.”
“You left her this morning? You spent the night with her?” Kyst screamed into the phone.
Maeve reached out and pulled the phone from Phineas’ hand. “Listen here, Kyst Kennedy. You are one statement away from me calling your mother and telling her how much of an embarrassment her son is. I treated you kindly and with love and respect from the first moment I ever met you you and you repaid that by fucking a skank in my daughter’s bed. You don’t get to demand fuck all from Juni, Kyst. If she wants to throw a god-damned orgy after what you did, you don’t get to say shit. My Juni instead is sitting here with her heart broken because she lost her baby and her husband all on the same day.”
“Mama.”
“Don’t you call me that ever again, Kyst. Not ever. You lost the right to call me Mama when you betrayed my only child. These men with her right now are good men who are doing everything they can to fix what they feel is their involvement in exposing her to the truth of who you are. Your sordid accusations reek of guilt, Kyst. These men who don’t know her at all, stepped up to the plate and helped her while you were too busy screwing another woman. They carried her when her legs were too weak. They held her when she was bleeding. They made sure she had a support system in place for when all this shit went down. Where were you Kyst when your wife was losing your baby? Oh, right, balls deep in a money-grubbing bitch.”
“Maeve, you’re angry.”
“Damn right I’m angry Kyst. You know what? I think I will call your mother. I think she and your father need to have a refresher with you on morals and ethics. Call Juniper again, Kyst before she is ready to talk to you, and I’ll march her myself down to the courthouse for a restraining order. The way her heart was shattered, I hope she never has to look at your fucking face again.”
“I can explain.”
“There is nothing to explain, Kyst. You already did all the explaining in the live stream of you complaining to your mistress how your wife wasn’t giving you enough sex because she’s trying to make you a father.” Maeve sighed, “I’m hanging up now. Juniper needs to eat her lunch to regain her strength so she can move on without you in her life. She’s not only mourning the loss of her baby, but the loss of her best friend, husband and partner. You’re a disgrace Kyst.”
Maeve angrily hung up the phone and then dropped it on the coffee table. “I want to punch something.”
“Mama, I’m sorry.” Juniper whispered from her spot on Phineas’ lap.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.