Into the Light

Lex Edwards

P.S. I love you Charlotte, my wife, that still hasn’t nor will it ever change.

* * *

The screen flickered as I stared into space. If I stared long enough the images morphed into different shapes. This consumed me, and for the few minutes that I’d spent lost in my computer screen, I forgot the pain that pierced every part of my soul. The pain that tugged on my heart, begging it to come out and play, go for a jolly stroll together. The pain that ate me alive the moment she disappeared that morning in the Hamptons.

I begged her to speak to me. I sent emails and texts relentlessly but nothing. I even put read receipts on my emails but all I got in return was an ‘unread’. Nikki warned me to stay away but how could I? She was my fucking wife! She said I do… Was this my fault? I was so confused. Surely she had to have known how ridiculous this all was. Why would I even look at another woman when Charlotte was mine? Was I not sincere enough that she couldn’t believe me when I said the words I love you, when I vowed to be her lawfully wedded husband? Questions…more fucking questions with absolutely no answers.

I took a long draft of the flask that was tucked into the pocket of my jacket. It burned as it made its way down my throat, but the numbness it brought made life more bearable, until it wore off. I wasn’t one to drink at work and this unprofessional behavior made me cringe, but I had no other escape. The trip back to London was the longest flight of my life, and even worse was having to deal with my sister who flew back with me to make sure I was okay. Yeah I guess I was okay for a man who lost the woman he had been waiting his whole life for. I felt the burn again...yes that helped.

It was Thursday afternoon when I was sitting in the boardroom of Preston Enterprises. Victoria of course had been avoiding me and the New York Times refused to retract the article saying that their sources were reliable. What fucking sources was what I wanted to know?! The room was silent as I sat on one end waiting for her attendance. The other sheep in the room just sat there twiddling their thumbs pretending to not notice how my fists were clenched ready to pounce on Victoria the second she walked through that door. Five minutes later the devil herself appeared.

“Good afternoon everyone, I apologize for my lateness.” She placed a pile of papers down and adjusted the screen ready for the presentation. Avoidance only worked for a certain amount of time and her time was running out.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Edwards. Nice of you to attend our meeting here in London,” she said not looking my way for even a second.

The projection screen slid down and the lights turned off. The sheep turned around in unison to watch the screen. As the presentation began I couldn’t help but use this opportunity to castigate her for her childish behavior that fucked up my life more than she could ever imagine.

“You avoid all my calls and emails. Tell me Victoria, did you achieve what you wanted by feeding bullshit to the press?” I whispered into her ear.

She remained still, her posture straight as she focused on the presentation. “There is a time and a place for this, Mr. Edwards, and now is not that time or place.”

My anger spiked; the stupid whore. Who the fuck did she think she was? “Don’t play games with me, Victoria. You and I both know nothing happened and nothing ever will. Find a way

to fix this or Daddy will see that lovely picture of his best friend with his cock in your pussy.”

She abruptly turned to face me. Even though the room was dark I could see the shade of red forming on her face, her fury enough to satisfy me in this moment. I turned my chair to focus on the presentation. Suddenly, profit and losses seemed like the most entertaining topic in the world.

Sleep had become obsolete the past few days. I gave up trying and instead focused on my counter attack while in the ring. My trainer, Hank, had never seen me so dedicated, even suggesting I played up against the big guns. Okay, I may have been angry but being beaten up by professional boxers wasn’t on my list of things to do. After the initial anger wore off I knew I had to fly back to New York to win Charlotte back. This was the only thing I could do. No more drowning my sorrows, wishing the problem away. I had to take action and prove to her once and for all this was one big load of old shit. Even if it meant I had to sit outside her apartment for days on end waiting for her to return home. I was determined and nothing was going to stop me now, not even Nikki’s warnings.

Thursday night, 11 pm. I sat in the car opposite her apartment block, the windows dark, not a hint of life. I had been here for three hours and nothing. As every minute passed by my rage grew uglier, slowly spreading to every part of me. My mind conjured up every possible place she could be staying and, of course, as the bitterness started eating away at me, I knew there would be nowhere else she would stay out this late on a Thursday night except for Julian’s.

The thought alone was like acid, burning my soul bit by bit. It wasn’t just her trust in question, it was mine as well. As long as he was living and breathing, she would run to him.

…

I waited outside her office building for a group to enter so I could sneak in. Nikki had warned me that security had been informed that I was not allowed to enter the premises, like that was going to stop me. As a group of men entered the revolving doors, I followed behind them hoping to get lost in the pool of navy suits. It worked, I thought when we reached the lifts. The doors opened as my name was being called. I ignored the sounds but unfortunately the door stayed open long enough for the two overweight security guards to enter.

“Mr. Edwards, you are not to enter these premises. Miss Mason was strict on her instructions,” the older one commanded.

The elevator crowd looked on, waiting for me to respond. I stood there watching the numbers on the screen light up. 5...9...11. Only two more floors.

“Mr. Edwards, we are asking you to leave before we call the police to escort you out,” the younger one now demanding I listen to his threat.

We arrived at level 13 and the doors opened. The security guards followed me with their empty threats. Seriously, these overweight chumps had no chance in hell of catching up with me. I entered her reception area to be greeted by an unfamiliar redhead at the front desk.

“May I help you?” she asked, confused by the security surrounding me.

“Mr. Edwards. Leave. Now.”

“I’m here to see Miss Mason.”

“Mr. Edwards, you are leaving us no choice.”

Emma walked into the lobby carrying a stack of papers to be greeted by the scene before her. “Lex?” she asked.

“Emma. I need to speak to Charlotte. Where is she?” I pleaded.