“Phineas, you’re going for the jugular.”
“She told Juniper’s husband she was sexually deprived because dick doesn’t work, and I suffer with ED.” my
“Do you? Is it broken?”
“No, it’s repulsed by her completely and tries to crawl back up into my body each time she steps into a room with me,” he ducked away from his mother’s head slap, “but I promise you, it works perfectly fine and someday I will happily provide you the Phineas Perez the Fourth you want so much but it won’t be her crotch goblin, that’s for sure.”
Her father was quiet a moment and then he grunted, “the cheater is still out here whining about letting him into Maeve’s apartment. Hold on a minute.”
Juniper was surprised by the way Phineas’ father suddenly spoke, “hey, kid on my screen. You should know Maeve isn’t here. I called my wife, and she took Maeve to your daughter. They’re taking care of her. My understanding is she needs women around her right now and not a man. They asked me to pass along the request to give the girl some space. She will call you when she’s ready and not a minute before and if I find out you’re not respecting her request for peace, I have a couple of old army buddies who’d be willing to help me teach you a lesson on respecting boundaries.”
“She’s my wife and I need to find her. She’s hurting.”
“Did she ask you for, son? No. She did not. A man knows when to listen to his woman. Are you a man? Clearly not if she asked you to leave her alone and you’re here. Leave Juniper alone. Now get the fuck off my property before I call the police.”
Juniper looked at her mother who made wide eyes back at her and pushed the plate in her direction and waved at her to eat. She took a bite of the peanut butter sandwich and pursed her lips at the nostalgic snack. This was always her mother’s go-to to ensure her daughter was fed and full. Benicio pushed a cup of tea in her way.
“Phineas, tell Juniper, the boy is getting in his car and leaving. Keep her safe, son.”
“Will do, Dad.”
“I’ll be home in a bit, Phin. Love you.” Sandra said with a smile and hung up the call with a shake of her head at Juniper. “They aren’t much for manners or sugar coating anything, but my boys do have good hearts buried in there somewhere.” She patted her son’s chest and then motioned to the packet, “what else is in there.”
“The deed to this place.” Phineas shrugged. “Confirmation of a bank transfer I promised Juniper if she let me use her apartment as the backdrop to my marital demise and in the manila folder there are your divorce papers, Juniper. Beni wants you to sign those before he leaves. He’ll be filing them in the morning.”
“Why don’t you rush her a bit more?” Sandra grunted, “what if she doesn’t want to divorce him? Some women work it out.”
“I’ll kick her ass,” Maeve said bluntly.
“I’d kick my own,” Juniper retorted. “I love him. God knows I love him, and this hurts more than I care to admit. It hurts so bad it feels like my lungs are on fire and my skin is burning, and my entire world is crashing down on me, but I’d rather die from the pain of heartbreak than forgive this. He knew I valued the fact we were each other’s only. It was important to me. I know it’s not realistic in today’s world, but it felt so special to me that for all of our lives I would be his and he would be mine. Then, if it wasn’t bad enough,” she wiped away and angry tear as she shredded her sandwich on her plate, “he brought her into our home, into our bed. What the fuck is wrong with him he couldn’t do it in a hotel or a motel like any other cheating bastard? Why my bed?”
“Because he could get caught in a hotel or motel,” Adil said quietly. “We’d never be able to get into our apartment to get our proof. She could be going to any floor on the building, and it would take some strategic planning. If you weren’t going to agree to the plan, I was going to rent the unit below you at the end of the month when the tenant moves out, but Denise knows my face. We would have needed to use someone else from my company to catch them and they aren’t as good as me.”
“She knows you’re a PI.” Juniper nodded with exhaustion as it dawned on her, “she knew her husband’s best friend is a PI and it’s why they were discrete the way they were. If we’d not put the cameras in, I’d never have known.” She looked around the room angrily. “I want justice. They don’t deserve to be this sneaky and conniving and to get away with it.”
Phineas nodded, “justice for Juniper is going to be our motto for the next little while. Part one is going to be you, laying low, getting rest, and not going to work. Avoid the places you usually go to and only meet with him with Beni present. We’re going to protect you Juniper, but we all saw things today in his behavior which left us disturbed. Until we know what we’re dealing with, don’t meet with him alone.”
Whoever said things look better after a good sleep was a fucking liar.
Juniper slept like a log when she slept but it was interrupted sleep full of heartache, pain, and misery.
Her mom slept curled right next to her and hugged her tight through the night and held her when she woke up sobbing over her losses. Maeve brought her acetaminophen when her pain was excruciating along with a hot water bottle and whispered promises to stay at her side.
Now it was morning, the worst of the worst was over, in terms of her physical symptoms of her miscarriage. The rest though? The destruction left in the wake of Kyst’s betrayal, and the agony of her heartbreak was leaving her struggling to even want to move on with her day.
Her mother was up long before Juniper, making breakfast and getting ready for the day.
Now Juniper was sitting in her new living room, curled up with a blanket which was not the one her grandmother made her and wishing she could forget the events of the last forty-eight hours.
“You need to call him,” her mother spoke softly from the kitchen. “You told Mr. Perez you would let him know when you called Kyst to tell him you’d meet Kyst at work. It’s already almost seven-thirty.”
“I know Mama, but I don’t want to call him. I’m really angry. Fourteen years Mama. We’ve been together fourteen years and I’m livid.”
“I know but if we want to get the movers in to quickly pack your stuff, you need to get him out of the apartment and the best way is to send him to work to wait for you there.”
“Fine.”
She turned her cell phone on, ignoring the flurry of text messages and voice mails which popped up on the screen. She dialed out the number and he answered on the first ring.
“Baby, where are you? Are you okay?”
No. She wasn’t but she would be, eventually, especially with her Mama pushing her forward. “I’m fine, Kyst.”
“Where are you?”
“Mrs. Perez put me and Mama up in a hotel,” she told another lie. “I needed to breathe, Kyst. Are you on your way to work yet?”
“I was hoping you were coming home. I’ll stay home with you today and-“
“No.” She cut him off. “I need things to return to normal as soon as possible. I need it to. Go to work. I’m going to do my job, and I need you to do yours.”
“I need to see you.”
“Fine. I’ll see if I can take an early lunch. Maxine was feeling pretty badly for me yesterday so I’m sure she won’t mind. I’ll be at your office by eleven. Meet me in the reception area.”
“Promise? I’m so worried for you.”
“I’m strong Kyst. Mama told me I’m strong and I’ll get through this, and I will.”
“Stop. I don’t want to do this right now. I need to finish getting ready for the day and heading to the office. Mama is going back to work at the Perez’s house.”
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.