Cheers To Comeuppance
Chapter 58

Third Person

“He what?” Kenzie asked incredulously. After Hunter had returned home from Annika’s, Kenzie immediately saw that his face was crestfallen. She got him to open up, and he explained what happened to Jeffrey. She couldn’t believe it, just like everyone else. “He couldn’t have,” she continued in her dismay.

“He did. On the way home, I called around to see if it was some elaborate ploy of his or if he could have even been killed, you know, with him having been the D.A. for a few years. But it wasn’t either. Jeffrey really did kill himself.”

“That … That’s insane, Hunt. Why would he do that?”

“Panic? I’m going to assume safely. Jeffrey would have been imprisoned for over two decades for fraud and evidence tampering. Reagan was going to make an example out of him. His image was already destroyed by the news of him being a cheater and getting his mistress pregnant. Add on all those charges and then the blow of him being an illegitimate son and unknowingly committing bigamy. I guess he couldn’t handle it.”

“Well, if you ask me, he got what he deserved after everything he had done to Anni,” Kenzie snorted while crossing her arms.

“Kenz, how could you say that?”

“Why wouldn’t I? Do you not remember all of the horrible things he did to Annika? He broke her heart, humiliated her, and even assaulted her. Let’s not forget that he was planning on stealing everything from her by trying to frame her as a cheater. Sorry, not sorry, my dear husband, but Jeffrey Hollands deserved whatever was coming his way. It’s his own fault for everything that happened to him.”

“It’s not his fault that he was an illegitimate child, Kenz.”

“As the saying goes, the apple doesn’t fall from the tree.” Hunter stared at his wife, unable to comprehend her unadulterated hatred toward Jeffrey.

“Kenz, even if that all is true, Jeffrey was once our friend too. Don’t you feel bad at all?”

“No. And you shouldn’t either. He didn’t just betray Anni, Hunt. He betrayed us too. The four have been inseparable since college. At one point, he was your best friend and married my best friend, but what did he do? He chose his materialistic pleasures rather than loyalty to those who loved him. His choices got him to where he ended up. Broke and alone.”

“He didn’t deserve to die, Kenz!”

“No one forced him to off himself, Hunter. Again, he made his own choices that led to his death. He could have gone to court and faced his punishments like a grown-a*s man, but he didn’t. He chose the coward’s way out. Why should I feel sorry for someone like that? Rather than fix his wrongs, and repent for his misdeeds and betrayal, he chose to leave this Earth. He left behind his parents, the woman who raised him, his unborn child, and his little brother! He made another selfish decision. He was not the victim, Hunter.”

“I never said he was. I’m just … I don’t know, babe. I hate him for everything he did to Anni. But I didn’t want this to be the result. I wanted him punished, yes, but not with death.”

“It’s not a punishment unless he was coerced into it, but you said that he did it all on his own.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. It just sucks because I would have liked to talk to him one last time. You know? To get an actual explanation for why he did all of this.”

“I can see where you’re coming from, baby. But it’s over and done with. Jeffrey is gone, and he’s never coming back. As to why he made all the horrible decisions he did, I guess we’ll never know the real reasons why it all.” They sat in comfortable silence for a minute or two before Kenzie realized something. “Honey, did he leave a note?”

“No, he didn’t. That was another thing I wanted to check for. But it seems he didn’t care to leave one of those for us to replace.”

“As I said, selfish.” Hunter nodded his head. Hunter and Kenzie eventually went to bed after spending time with each other in silence.

The following day, there was an abrupt knocking on their front door, and their doorbell rang incessantly. Hunter dragged himself to the front door and was suddenly faced with Annika and Leon.

“What are you guys doing here?”

“We have a problem, Hunter,” Leon stated while forcing himself in. Annika followed after him.

“What’s going on? Why do you seem like you’re about to lose your s**t, Leon?”

“Because I’m this close to losing my s**t!” Leon roared and rubbed his vigorously.

“What’s going on?” Kenzie asked as she came out of their room in her robe. “Anni? What’s the matter?” she asked when she saw how concerned Annika looked.

“Are you going to tell them, or do I have to!?” Leon shouted at Annika.

“Whoa! Leon, what’s got your panties all up in a wad?” Kenzie questioned him.

“He’s a rhino on a mission,” Annika replied.

“Meaning?”

“Jeff’s family is suing Annika for manslaughter!” Leon burst out in frustration.

“WHAT!?” Kenzie and Hunter exclaimed while looking back at Annika.

“Why?” Hunter asked.

“They’re blaming me for Jeff’s death. If I hadn’t publicized our divorce, his affair, his love child, outed Jack’s infidelity and dug up the unintentional bigamy with Sadie. Jeff wouldn’t have killed himself,” Annika explained.

“You can’t be serious?” Hunter asked in disbelief. “No judge in their right mind would take this case to court. They would squash it before it even hit their desk.”

“Yeah, that’s a load of bullshit!” Kenzie shouted in agreement.

“I know, and he does too,” Annika replied while pointing at Leon, “But he’s still flipping his lid over it.”

“They have some f*****g nerve trying to sue you for something that has nothing to do with you!” Leon thundered.

“Babe, please, will you calm down?” Annika pleaded. She hated seeing him so worked up over nothing. She wasn’t even concerned with it, yet Leon was about to burn down the world because of it.

“They’re grasping at straws, Leon. There’s no reason to get this worked up over it,” Hunter told him, trying to calm his new friend.

“What if this was Doc Malloy!?” Leon shouted.

“If it were, then I’d have it dismissed immediately.”

“And that’s what Matt and the other family attorneys are going to do, but Leon still can’t seem to calm down,” Annika explained.

“Wait, your family already knows?” Kenzie asked. Annika nodded and looked at the still-fuming Leon. “So, he’s worked up for nothing?” she continued. Annika nodded again. Kenzie’s face dropped in annoyance. “You woke us up at the a*s-crack of dawn for nothing!?” she shouted at Leon. Leon narrowed his eyes at her but couldn’t retort.

“It’s almost as if he doesn’t trust my family!” Annika said in an accusing tone.

“I trust our family, Doc, but I don’t trust the justice system! I’ve been f****d over it by it once already, and it was one time too many!”

“Leon, my family owns half the justice system in this state. I guarantee you that they don’t have a case against Anni. Trust me if you can’t trust anyone else,” Hunter said firmly, placing his hands on Leon’s shoulders, assuring him. Leon let out a deep breath while grumbling but nodded nonetheless.

“Cool. So, if we’re all good here, I need to shower so I can get ready to head to the clinic,” Kenzie told the room, then faced Annika. “Need a ride?”

“Sure.”

“If it will make you feel better, I’ll call Matt and get the 4-1-1 on everything that’s going on,” Hunter offered as Kenzie returned to their room to get ready.

“Yes, that’d be great. I’m sure Leon would appreciate your hand in this. Right, babe?” Annika nudged Leon.

“Yeah. Thanks.”

“Now go to work,” she commanded him. “You can pick me up afterward.”

“Fine. But if any of those leeches show up, you call me or Toby immediately.”

“While you were storming out of the penthouse this morning like a typhoon on a mission, Royce already offered to keep an eye on the clinic. He’ll let me know if any of them decide to visit,” Annika reassured him and kissed his cheek.

“I can always—”

“GO TO WORK!” she shouted, shoving him out of the Malloy residence. Once the door was closed, she let out a deep sigh.

“You know he’s only worked up because he loves you that much, right?” Hunter said to her as he made his way to the kitchen. Annika followed him and sat at the dining table. “Coffee?”

“Can’t. Pregnant.”

“Oh, right, my bad. Peppermint Tea?”

“Oh, please!” she lit up. “And yes, I know he loves me. Almost annoyingly so,” she said, making Hunter chuckle.

“Leon’s right, though.”

“About?” she asked as Hunter placed her tea in front of her.

“If it were Kenzie, I wouldn’t just have the case dismissed. I’d make sure those who f****d with my life wouldn’t see the light of day again.”

“It’s not the end of the world, though,” Annika said while sipping her tea.

“Don’t shrug this off, Anni. It might not amount to anything on its own, but Jeff’s family coming after you like this is only the beginning. Even if we can stop the lawsuit, we must ensure they don’t cause any future problems.”

“What do you mean by future problems?”

“You’re so naïve, Anni,” Hunter told her with a smirk. Annika furrowed her brows at the subtle insult. “Anni, you have to think about the fact that you didn’t just ruin Jeff’s image but also that of his family. You outed Jack as a cheat, and he had been having an ongoing affair with Jeff’s biological mother, who was pretending to be a distant cousin, in front of the whole nation. You also destroyed Ruth’s marriage with that information.”

“But she already knew that Jeff wasn’t hers. She’s the one who decided to give Jack another chance after he had already cheated on her once before.”

“Be that as it may, she had no idea that Jack was still cheating on her with Piper. We may only have evidence that it was recent, but you never know how long they slept together. It could be a month, a year, or even their entire marriage. None of us will ever know.”

“I see. So, you’re saying that it is my fault?”

“No, not all. I’m just saying that’s how they’re going to portray it to win sympathy from the public. Even if everyone out there knows what you went through, many will be on the side of Ruth and Joey on this one. If you really think about it, they were innocent bystanders in all of this.”

“I guess you’re right. I do feel a little bad for Joey.”

“Have you spoken to him at all?”

“No. Why would I? It’s not like we’re family anymore.”

“I guess that’s true.”

“Does she know what happened?” Annika asked while giving Hunter a knowing look.

“I’m sure we’ll replace out as soon as she does. I doubt she’ll stay quiet about it.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Well, even though she’s clinically psychotic, she, as you put it, did, in fact, love Jeff. She’s also pregnant with his kid.”

“Hmm… I see your point.”

“What are you going to do about her baby?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you asked Kenzie to continue to be her OB-GYN.”

“And?”

“And I figured you wouldn’t have done that unless you had an explanation.”

“What are you talking about, Hunter?”

“Aren’t you going to tell Leon you want to adopt her baby?”

“WHAT!?” Annika explained in horror. “What in God’s name gave you that absurd idea!?”

“Huh? That’s not what you were aiming for?” Hunter asked, confused.

“GOD, NO!” Annika shuddered in disgust. “You didn’t tell Leon this, did you!?” Hunter pursed his lips and kept mum. “YOU DID!? Hunter, why would you go and spout nonsense like that!?”

“Well, because you’re you!”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean!?”

“You’re too kind for your own good, Anni. I figured since you wanted to give their baby the best care, you intended to take their baby for yourself.”

“Why would I want any remnants of that a*****e and his w***e in my life!? Why would Leon!?” Hunter had no retort and just pursed his lips as he thought about his foolishness.

“All right, I’m ready to go!” Kenzie sang as she came into the kitchen. She went to the fridge to grab a drinkable yogurt, her everyday breakfast, and Hunter handed over her coffee mug that she always took to work with her.

“Have a good day, babe,” Hunter said, giving her a chaste k**s, and pretended his awkward conversation with Annika hadn’t just happened. “Love you.”

“I love you too, babe. Have a good day at the office. Let me know what happens with this bullshit lawsuit.”

“I’ll be in touch with both of you once I get with Matt later today.”

“Bye, Hunter!” Annika called out grudgingly as she and Kenzie left for the clinic.