Chapter 9
“You’re divorced, and you’re still making Effie miserable? What is your problem?” Kevin roared, unloading a tirade of accusations. “Have you no shame? Playing hard-to-get like some manipulative jerk. Think you’re slick with these games?”
I held the phone away from my ear as his shouting rattled my skull.
Effie’s sharp voice cut in. “Kevin, enough.”
It was followed by the clatter of the phone hitting the floor and their heated argument.
I blinked, not expecting them to fight over me.
“Am I wrong?” Kevin yelled defiantly. “He treats you like dirt, and you still hold on? You’re divorced!”
“What’s it to you?” Effie yelled back. “You don’t get to mention Gabriel. Do your job and don’t overstep.”
Kevin froze, not expecting his place in her heart to have sunk so low.
“You’re snapping at me over him?” he muttered. “After all your gripes about Gabriel, you said if you ever got bored, I’d be your first pick. Were those…”
“Lies, of course. You actually believed that?” Effie said, shattering whatever promises she’d dangled before.
Kevin’s voice cracked with betrayal. “Then what am I to you?”
Effie shrugged. “A fling. A sidepiece. What else?”
Their argument escalated until Kevin stormed out, slamming the door. “You’ll regret this!”
Effie didn’t flinch.
Moments later, she picked up the phone from the ground. “Gabriel, you still there?”
“Yeah,” I replied, savoring their fallout.
She mistook it for an opening. “I cut Kevin off for good. You can come back without worries.”
I rejected her firmly. “How many times must I say it? We’re done, and I’m not coming back.”
“Are you that cruel? What about our six years together?” she choked with sobs.
I said evenly, “You lost your chance the moment you cheated. I won’t forgive you.”
I hung up, blocked their numbers, and threw myself into my new job with renewed focus.
The next few weeks were a breeze of winning cases and earning praise.
Henry hinted at a promotion next year if I kept up the momentum.
Life was finally steady, the chaos fading into the rearview until a call from the police jolted me back.
It was Effie, She wanted me to defend her in court.
Florence is a passionate reader who finds joy in long drives on rainy days. She’s also a fan of Italian makeup tutorials, blending beauty and elegance into her everyday life.
