Cheers To Comeuppance
Chapter 30

Third Person

The much-anticipated peace and quiet Annika had been so desperate for earlier weighed heavily on her as she had trouble sleeping and was grappling with her intrusive thoughts alone. Despite the soothing sound of crickets chirping and the faint glow of moonlight illuminating her room, the deep slumber she so desperately wanted was ever so elusive, and her suppressed emotions began to bubble underneath the surface once more after her confrontation with Sadie at the police station.

“ARGH!” Annika g*****d while slapping the bed with her hands in frustration and sat straight up. She glanced over at the clock on her nightstand and saw it was 3:10 AM. Annika knew better than anyone else it was counterproductive to behave this way, and the realization made her feel even more isolated somehow. Putting logic aside, she was forced to tend to her emotions that felt like she was sinking beneath quicksand, and the walls she had painstakingly spent so long building around her heart and mind were beginning to crumble. The harsh words Sadie had flung at her kept replaying in her head like some broken radio whose end goal was to torment her to the point of insanity.

‘You don’t have s**t!’

‘You don’t have the looks or the personality that would make Jeff even want to stay with you!’

‘I’m having his baby!’

‘He will always choose me! He will always choose us!’

‘Jeff didn’t cheat on a whim!’

‘You’re a dead fish in bed!’

‘You’re as worthless as they come!’

‘You weren’t a filial wife!’

‘Imagine how much he has to despise you to the point where he doesn’t want to be in the same house as you and actively avoids you!’

“AHHH!” she screamed into her pillow so that she wouldn’t wake the rest of the family. Lately, Annika had made a habit of grabbing her hair and tugging as hard as she could to escape her suffering, and she found herself doing it again to get Sadie’s voice out of her cerebral cortex. Her words seeped into Annika’s conscience like fast-acting poison that left her mind paralyzed. Not once had Sadie ever gotten under her skin since this whole ordeal started, but then again, all of their encounters had consisted of Sadie insulting Leon but not her per se.

Annika had responded by giving Sadie a tongue-lashing of her own and felt better knowing she had successfully bewildered the dumb blonde and her attorney about her secret wealth. But she wasn’t immune to the textbook gaslighting Sadie had maliciously weaponized against her, and it fed off her insecurities like a noisy mosquito drawing b***d endlessly.

“Did he really hate me to the point where he couldn’t even stand to be alone with me? Is that why he chose to walk away?” Annika mumbled under her breath as tears filled her eyes to the brim, obstructing her vision. The man she gave up everything to had given her nothing while he took advantage of her love. And all the while, lying to her face about it all. The supposed love Jeffrey swore he felt was all fake, at least that’s what his actions had come to show, but her love was sincere and deeply rooted to the point where it became part of her identity. “Why wasn’t my love enough? What did I do that was so wrong to warrant him hurting me to this extent?” she questioned again as the tears in her eyes fell of their own accord.

Annika had never been the type to fear rejection and had never experienced it herself. It was just like she told Sadie; she had grown up with a platinum spoon encrusted with diamonds in her mouth and was the youngest of four children to the most loving parents a child could ask for. She was the princess in the family, but that didn’t mean she was spoiled rotten. She still had to work for everything given to her. Both of her parents came from money, but they were also raised to work for their bounty. It was the typical things such as cleaning their own rooms, helping to set the table during meals, getting good grades in school, and not doing anything reckless by hanging out with the wrong crowd. It was why all of them were sent to international boarding schools. Annika broke the mold when she demanded to attend a public institution for high school, which she now regretted more than anything because that was where she met the biggest mistake of her life.

Annika wasn’t like Sadie. She wasn’t a trust fund baby. She was wealthy all on her own without her family’s money; however, that didn’t mean that her family’s wealth didn’t belong to her. It was, in fact, her birthright. With Huxley building his own empire, Matthaeus and McKenna having their successful yet very expensive law firm, and Royce doing what shall not be named all over the world, it was only a matter of time before her parents named her their ultimate successor. That was something she didn’t want to happen until she was on her own two feet and a successful doctor first. It was why she chose the path of medicine rather than majoring in business. The business could easily be learned through firsthand experience and shadowing her family when the time came, but being a doctor had always been her lifelong dream. That, and being a wife and a mother, just like hers.

Wishing she could just disappear into the void, Annika continued to sob as she began to seriously question if she had made nothing but a life full of wrong choices up until this point in her life. Had I not been so adamant about attending public school when I turned 14, I never would have met Jeffrey and had to lie about my status in the elite world. Had I just stayed abroad, I would never have married him and spent eleven years of my life with the wrong man. Had I listened to my family about not rushing marriage, I never would have been cheated on. Had I just studied business like my family had wanted me to, I might have been able to see through the lies he told me. Maybe, just maybe, had I told my family about this sooner, it would never have gotten to this point, as Huxley and Royce said. Her inner monologue was filled with negativity, threatening to consume her entire existence.

Ring, ring, ring. Annika was stirred from her thoughts as the sound of her phone suddenly pierced through the silence, so she reached over to the nightstand and was surprised to see Kenzie calling. She hastily wiped the mixture of tears and snot coating the lower half of her face and cleared her throat before answering.

“Hello?”

“I was right; you are awake.”

“What? How did you …”

“Hunter came home and told me all the bullshit and vile things that b***h said to you.”

“Kenz, I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine. Why else would you be awake at almost 3:30 AM? And crying, no less?”

“I’m not …”

“Yes, you are. You don’t think I can tell the difference in your voice?”

“Kenz, it’s not a big deal.”

“It shouldn’t be, but I know what she said is getting to you. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be up right now. Anni, do NOT take what that skank said to her heart. You know better than anyone that Jeff had won the f*****g lottery when it came to you. Her? She’s nothing but child’s play, and he will throw her in the trash once he’s done with her. Hell, he technically already did. You’re a pure, uncut diamond, Anni. That b***h? She’s nothing but cubic zirconia posing as a diamond. She wouldn’t understand a thing about the pressure it takes to become a diamond.”

“But she was right about one thing. I wasn’t a good wife to Jeff. Why else would he step out like that?”

“ARE YOU f*****g SERIOUS RIGHT NOW!? You were a fantastic wife to that bastard who didn’t even f*****g deserve it! You did everything for that fucktard, and what did he do in return!? He lied, manipulated, cheated, and gaslit you. All the times he denied his affairs to your face and called you crazy was textbook gaslighting. DO NOT question your worth, Annika Noelle Silverton!”

“But Kenz …”

“No! No ‘buts,’ b***h! Do not let that homewrecking slut get into your head! That’s exactly what she’s trying to do—get inside your head. And you’re f*****g letting her!”

“Kenzie! My own husband, whom I loved for over a decade, despised me to the point where he walked out of my life with his own two feet! And he did so happily!”

“Why is that your fault, though?! Are you his keeper!? Are you his master?! Are you his mother!? No! You were his wife! His partner! His equal! Him walking away from you, he did that on his own. No one forced a gun to his temple or a knife to his carotid artery. Jeff packed his bags and walked away because he wanted to. And why did he do that? Not because you were a bad wife or couldn’t please him, it was because he was a selfish, narcissistic bastard who only cared about his own needs. Don’t you think I saw firsthand what kind of wife you were to him? I know damn well what kind of wife you were, Annika. You were the picture-perfect f*****g wife! You put me to shame! Hunter even said so once before.”

“What?”

“Yeah, Hunter and I had an argument several years ago, and at one point, he asked me why I couldn’t be more like you as a wife. Someone who was successful and career-oriented but also driven to put their marriage above everything else. I wasn’t very happy with his comparing me to you at first, but I admit that he had a point. Back then, I only cared about med school and graduating with honors. I would always flake on dates with Hunter or forget our anniversaries and even his birthday. Hell, I even forgot about his parent’s anniversary dinner and didn’t show up that year. But you, girl, you made sure that you always took care of that two-timing piece of s**t, right down to sending money to this family. You did what a daughter-in-law was supposed to do. And then some! You treated him like royalty while he treated you like a pauper. You always had dinner ready, clothes cleaned, house cleaned, granted you had the maid, but you always made sure that he had a warm meal ready, his suits picked out for the next day, and his lunch ready to go by the time he was walking out of the door. On top of that, you had your work to take care of with medical school and setting up the practice with me. Do you want to hear something really ironic?”

“What?”

“Jeff used to brag about how perfect you were, even with everything you were trying to accomplish.”

“He what?”

“Oh yeah. He would brag to Hunter and their other lawyer friends. Hunter told me how these guys would always ask how he managed to snag a wife like you, and you know what he said to them? He said that you were his biggest blessing.”

“That was obviously a lie.”

“At that time, it wasn’t. It was at that time that Hunter had made the comparison between you and me. Some of those men were single at the time, but they knew exactly what they wanted in a wife after Jeff was finished bragging. They wanted someone like you.”

“But I’m no one now. I couldn’t keep Jeff happy. Why would anyone want me now that I’m used goods? A divorcee who made the front page of the tabloids and whose name is being shared all over social networking sites.”

“There is someone who wants you, you i***t. And it’s someone who has just as much baggage as you, whose name is also on the front page of said tabloids, and whose name is also being shared millions of times on social networking sites.”

“Kenz, don’t bring Leon into this.”

“Anni, that guy is nuts about you! Pun very much intended! He’s seen you at your worst and wants you, regardless of it all.”

“I can’t put myself in such a vulnerable state again, Kenzie. Being hurt like this is already one too many. I can’t do it again.”

“Anni, you’re being unreasonable. Everyone goes through breakups and divorces. Look at JLo and the Kardashian sisters. How many divorces and broken engagements can you count amongst them? And yet, JLo just reunited with Ben, Kim can care less that she’s been divorced multiple times with multiple kids, and Kourtney or Khloe or whoever just got married for the second time.”

“Kenz, they’re celebrities that turn their misfortunes in life into a profit.”

“Exactly. They make money off their own misfortunes and turn something negative into a positive. Now, I’m not saying their methods of making money are good, but it works for them. What I am saying is that you shouldn’t give up on the prospect of love and marriage or having a baby because you made a mistake in life. You are more than worthy of having a man who will love you wholeheartedly. And actually mean it. You are more than worthy of having a family of your own and being the mom you’ve always wanted to be. I see how you interact with kids when they come into the office. You’re a f*****g natural.”

As Kenzie’s words of encouragement sank in, Annika found it impossible to refrain from completely breaking down, and she cried her heart out to her best friend.

“WHY!? WHY WASN’T I GOOD ENOUGH FOR HIM!?” Annika wailed out, drowning in her tears as she unleashed all of her internalized pain.

“Don’t get it twisted, Anni. He wasn’t good enough for you! Why else would you replace it in your 14-year-old brain to hide your true identity? Even at that tender age, your intuition knew something wasn’t right, but you were so in love with him that you chose to ignore all of the flaws and red flags. You saw the best in him, even when he didn’t deserve it, and he took full advantage of your kindness and love. You did nothing wrong! You didn’t drive him to cheat. He did it himself because, no matter what, he’s incapable of understanding what love actually is. He needed the validation from a woman because he himself lacks the self-confidence to be a decent human being, let alone being a good man. The fact that you didn’t have a baby with him is the silver lining; nothing is tying you to him. Period.”

“I loved him so much!”

“I know, babe. I know. But he didn’t deserve that love. And that b***h Sadie? She’s not getting it either. Why? Because Jeff is incapable of loving anyone other than himself. He interpreted all of the wonderful and loving things you did for him as putting him on a f*****g pedestal, foolishly convincing himself that he could do whatever he wanted and that you would still grovel at his feet. Well, honey, Jeff obviously didn’t know you as well as he thought. You do not grovel to anyone, and that is a fact. Do not let what Sadie said get to you. She’s jealous of you, point blank. Pure jealousy. In her world, she’s perfect. It’s just like you told her. She comes from money but doesn’t have the brains to make it herself. You, though? Girl, you’ve been making money for yourself your whole life, starting from daily chores to part-time jobs, and now you run the most successful family medicine practice in NYC with yours truly. Me, you, Hunter, we were all raised correctly even though we also came from money. It’s why we have morals and principles in life, and she doesn’t. It’s why the public is against her and Jeffrey, and they’re on our side. One thing I know is that most affluent women are the madams of their marriages, their daughters are the biological offspring of said marriages, and the one thing they despise the most are homewrecking mistresses who blatantly try to destroy those unions. So, right now, Sadie is the most hated woman in the state. Hell, I’m sure she’s the most hated woman in the country right about now.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that I’m a divorcee or that Jeff chose her over me. Even if he did break up with her at her birthday party.”

“You’re right. It doesn’t. But it does change is that you’re no longer obligated to be that ‘filial wife’ that you always were. Now, you can show them what you’re truly capable of doing.”

“Has it really come down to this? Sometimes, I wish I could just wake up from this hellish nightmare.”

“I know, babe. But, unfortunately, this is actually happening. But don’t forget, you have all of the power in this. They have none. And you’re not alone. You have me, Hunter, Leon, and your entire family behind you. Hell, even our families are behind you in this. A lot of people may be saying, ‘I told you so,’ but you know those are just empty words. The moment you ask, dozens of people will move mountains for you, unlike that useless, knocked-up piece of garbage sitting at the police station with only her parents and attorney by her side. You have actual friends while she has none. Jeff? Don’t even get me started. Jeff’s been abandoned by everyone in the gentry circle at this point. His office cut ties with him, the public is against him, the legal system is embarrassed by him, and all of his so-called lawyer buddies are pretending as if they’ve never even met him.”

“What about Nathan Kendall, his assistant? They were like two peas in a pod.”

“HAHAHAHA!!! Kendall hated Jeff with a passion! Jeff treated him like garbage! Get this; Kendall has been trying to work for Hunter for almost two years!”

“What!?”

“Yeah, girl! Jeff made a lot of enemies as the D.A. due to his case records but also within his own office. Jeff was a douche to everyone because he was one of the youngest A.D.A.’s when he initially got to office, and he had no problems rubbing it in people’s faces when he became an actual D.A. He was anything but humble. According to Hunter, rumor has it the D.A.’s office was trying to replace a way to get rid of Jeff the second he took office. He was unprofessional in many ways, although never enough to get him canned. This whole debacle gave them the perfect way out. Jeff’s predecessor, A.D.A. Reagan, who is now the acting D.A. in his place, is dying to fry him.”

“Wait, what? I thought Hunter was handling my divorce case, and Daddy’s lawyers were supposed to handle the rest?”

“Oh, s**t. You don’t know, do you? The D.A.’s office is filing a separate claim against Jeff for his part in defrauding Leon, creating fake evidence on Sadie’s behalf, and tampering with the actual evidence of their affairs. Jeff committed one of the biggest crimes a lawyer can commit. So, it makes sense that the D.A.’s office wants to prosecute his case personally.”

“Oh, wow.”

“Yeah.” There was a slight pause between the two of them. “Thanks, Kenzie. I really needed that.”

“Girl, that’s what best friends are for. I got your back, and I know you got mine. And as your best friend, it’s my sworn duty to tell you to stop being a prude and go to Leon and get f****d to the point of blacking out because Lord knows you deserve it!”

“KENZIE!”

“Bye!” Kenzie abruptly hung up before Annika could continue playing their game of cat and dog. Annika stared at the blank screen of her phone and scowled with annoyance at her so-called best friend. She rolled her eyes and was about to put down her phone when it pinged with a new message. She thought it would be Kenzie being stupid about the whole getting laid thing, but to her surprise, it was actually Leon.

Annika, I know it’s late, or early, and you’re probably sleeping. I wanted to let you know that I am leaving for a business trip this morning and will be back hopefully in about a week. I didn’t want you to reach out and then me not answer while up in the air.

I also wanted to be sure that you weren’t letting all of the despicable things Sadie said to you last night get you down. She’s jealous of you, plain and simple. From what I can tell, you were more than a filial wife to someone who didn’t even deserve it. Anyone lucky enough to be married to you won the damn lottery but was too stupid to keep the winning ticket. Now, I have that ticket, and I’m ready to cash in.

I know I said we would wait until the trial was over, but after hearing all of the things she said to you to hurt you, all I saw was red, and I wanted to strangle the life out of her. But your retort was so f*****g sexy that my eyesight went from red with anger to black with l**t. I wanted nothing more than to stomp over to you, grab the back of your head with my hands, and slam my lips against yours while I devoured you to the point of suffocation. Because I seriously can’t breathe around you, Annika. I’m constantly hard as a rock when you’re near me, and I can’t help but fantasize what it would be like with you writhing underneath me while I show you what a real man can do to the woman he loves.

With that being said, Annika Silverton, this is my formal request to you.

Will you please my girlfriend?

If your answer is yes, come with me on my trip. I know it’s for business, but I will make plenty of time for pleasure. If your answer is no, then I will see you when I return and formally try again in front of your eyes. Because I know that doing this through text isn’t very romantic, but I’m honestly afraid of your rejection. At least I won’t have to show you my glum expression if you were to say no.

But, if you are willing to let me show me how much I can love you and pleasure you to the point where you never want to get out of bed again, then meet me at JFK’s Private Jet Terminal at 7:25 AM sharp. My jet will depart at 7:30 AM. I hope to see your beautiful face, Annika Silverton. I hope to be able to show you happiness, passion, l**t, pleasure, and most importantly, love.

After the blitz of text messages stopped, Annika’s mouth was gaping open with pure shock at Leon’s sudden proposal of a relationship, to her complete dismay. She was even more shocked when she could feel the pool of utter gratification that had formed between her legs when she read the part about wanting to suffocate her with a k**s and writhing beneath him until she didn’t want to get out of bed. She even found herself wondering if Leon was as well-endowed as she thought he could be.

Annika began to contemplate his offer and tried to decide if it would be a good idea. Before she could make her final decision, she felt it was necessary to ask Kenzie her thoughts despite knowing what Kenzie would say. She took screenshots of his texts and sent them to her, hoping she hadn’t fallen asleep after their call. After a few minutes, Annika got the answer she needed.

GO!