“He knows, all right?” Rafael pinched the bridge of his nose. “Javier has a fucking recording of me when I had lunch with Matt yesterday. Some ...womanthat he knew overheard me talking and got the whole thing.”
“Shit. What did you say?”
“I was talking about the kids clothing line and about the girl, of course. And about how much money we could make with her as the face of the brand or whatever.”
I hated when he called Aleesathe girl, like she was just some random kid he could pick out of a lineup.
“God damn it, Rafael! This is why I told you to keep your fucking mouth shut about it! Telling the media was one thing, but talking about it in public? It’s the dumbest thing you could’ve done, even if it was with Matt.”
“I know.”
“Fine,” his lawyer snapped. “I’ll contact Judge Dalton today to cancel the battle. But you’re still paying me for my time.”
“Okay.”
“I gotta go.” His lawyer ended the call, and Rafael sat back in his chair.
“Happy?” he asked, throwing his hands up.
“No. But it will do.”
“Yeah, yeah. Just get the fuck out of my office.”
I made my way to the door but paused before walking out. “Did you even care about being a father?”
Rafael stared at me briefly before lowering his line of sight. “I ... don’t know. But I could have eventually cared. And I just ... I wanted to see the kid in person. And whether you believe it or not,” he said, rising to a stand, “I cared about Eloise. I fucking loved her. That sucks for you to hear, but it’s true. I loved her ... she just didn’t love me back. And you were right before.” He swallowed hard, as if he were swallowing a chunk of his pride. “She told me she was choosing you over me when she ended our affair. Even after I had promised her the world.” He scoffed, head shaking. “To this day, I still don’t understand why, if she claimed to be so unhappy at home.”
“You do not understand it because Eloise did not care about worldly things,” I said. “She did not care that you had money. She did not care that you were some semi-famous fashion designer. She took the job because she was bored, and sadly, she got caught up with you. What she really cared about was intimacy and love. She wanted someone to be able to give that to herevery single day, but how could we, with careers like ours? We both failed her in those departments.”
“No.Youfailed her. You chose basketball over her.”
“I did not choose basketball over her,” I countered. “I would have quit immediately if that was what she truly wanted me to do, but she made me promise not to quit. The thing with Eloise is that she struggled with making sacrifices. She wanted me to keep playing so that we could keep living out our dreams and have enough money to provide for her grandmother, but she also wanted me to be home more. She struggled with the sacrifices she had to make, while I failed to meet her needs.”
“I would have done better if she’d given me the chance,” he muttered.
“But she did not bother giving you one, did she?” I shot back. “Because she knew which one of us loved her most, no matter what she felt inside. She did not choose you, Rafael, and even if she were still alive, she would not choose you.”
He said nothing to that, but I could tell my words hit him like a ton of bricks. His shoulders slumped, and the frown he wore melted away. Looking at him now, he looked like a sad little boy that had no one to love, and no one to love him back.
“Like I said before, I do not ever want to hear from you again.” I gripped the doorknob and gave it a twist. “And if youeverput your hands on my girlfriend again, I will rip you to fucking pieces.”
Fifty
Javier
After dealing with Rafael, I went to the nearest grocery store to pick up a cake and took it home. After dealing with so much bullshit, we deserved to celebrate.
As Octavia cooked and Aleesa built a tower with magnetic tiles, I could not remember the last time I had felt so at peace. I kept thinking about my future, as well as Octavia’s.
She had told me all about Luther being arrested, and I could tell that had brought her a lot of relief. There were times when I sometimes forgot to say I was coming toward her, but she would not get startled or panic. She would smile ... perhaps because she knew this was a safe place for her now.
I sat on one of the barstools below the island counter, watching Octavia move from the stove to different countertops.
“—so I’ll probably do brunch with Naomi tomorrow, and I can take Leesa so you aren’t too worried about anything.” Octavia paused on peeling a potato as she looked at me. “What?” she laughed.
“Nothing,” I said, smiling. “I just can’t stop staring at you. That’s all.”
She bit her bottom lip to fight a smile, returning to her potato.
