SHE'S MY WIFE (completed)

Chapter 1; Getting Laid

"It's your fault he's dead. If you had listened to me and made it clear to Lisandra that you didn't love her then this wouldn't have happened. My son wouldn't be dead!"

"I'm sorry Emilia, I'm really sorry"

"Is your sorry going to bring him back? Will your sorry give me back my son? Huh?"

"Em...."

"Screw you Max. I curse the day I met you. If I could turn back time, I would never marry you. All you've done is make my life miserable. I hate you, I hate you, I hate you"

"I'm sorry...." was all he'd said. What else could he tell her? She was right. Marrying him had brought her so many misfortunes. She would have been better off with someone else, living her life peacefully instead of suffering the way she was.

"Why Max, why him? I was there too. I should have died instead of my poor son. What did he do? What did Zander do to that witch? Why couldn't you love her and just leave me alone? Why? Why?.......

"How about her?" Preston asked pointing to a woman on his left. Max didn't bother looking at her. He took a sip of his drink ignoring what his friend was saying. He'd only agreed to go out with him because he couldn't stand seeing the look on Mel's face. Pity, worry, sometimes the two got mixed up and he didn't know which was which. "Come on man, you have to let her go this time. She won't be coming back"

"She's my wife Nash" he said taking another of the whiskey he'd ordered. The way it burned down his throat didn't bother him anymore. He'd already gotten used to it. Although, if someone asked, he wasn't any closer to being an alcoholic. That didn't mean he was that far either.

"Did you forget that she already signed the divorce papers? This isn't like last time. You shouldn't hope for anything or you'll end up getting disappointed and hurt"

"Easy for you to say when you don't know what it's like to love her and lose her twice. I lost a son, I'm not losing my wife too"

"How long will you wait for her to come back then?"

"I'm not waiting around. I will go look for her myself"

"Fine, as your bff, I'll help you. But first you need to get laid tonight. Excuse me, would you perhaps be interested in my friend here?" he stopped a woman walking by their spot. Max felt her eyes going over him before she said,

"Well, he's not so bad...."

"Oh please lady, he's like the hottest bachelor in town. Have you ever heard of Carter industries?"

"Yeah, who hasn't?"

"He owns it. All of it. How do you like him now?" Preston asked waggling his eyebrows. Max only shook his head. This was a thirty five year old man acting like a five year old and bragging about his friend's wealth. Would Nash ever grow up? At this point it was unlikely.

"No f*****g way. Why would the owner of Carter industries be here drinking instead of on his yacht?"

"Yacht?" Preston turned to him "You bought another yacht without telling me?" God help him. If he didn't go crazy from losing his wife, his friend would help him get there.

"Wait, you guys are actually serious?" the woman asked straightening up. Max looked at her, taking in her short red dress, extremely high heels and excess makeup. God, he needed his wife back. Not some random who only cared about his yacht. Maybe next time he could go there alone to get some peace and quiet. Why hadn't he thought of that earlier? Even Preston was starting to bother him now. All he wanted was Emilia. Only her.

"Uh duh. Don't you have internet where you come from? You know what, forget it. If you don't even know who he is, you're not worthy of even touching him. Keep walking lady"

"Gee, did I say I was interested?" the woman retorted walking away but she magically had a phone and was checking him out online. He shook his head again.

"Remind me again how old you are?"

"Don't worry I'll do a better job at being your wing man. You just wait and see"

"No thanks. I'm going to go home and sleep. Tomorrow I start my search"

"How did our lives turn out to be so pathetic?" Preston asked dramatically, following him outside. Neither of them had driven there so they hailed a taxi.

"How is your life pathetic compared to mine?"

"Well, Thea is out of town for starters"

"I see. Is that why you're trying to get me laid?"

"Maybe, maybe not. Let's go home"

"Whatever happened to your house anyway? It's as if you've completely moved into mine" Max got into the cab with Preston right behind him.

"Well, my apartment is under renovation so I'm just crashing at your place for now"

"Since when?"

"The other day" he replied looking out the window.

Max didn't push or tell him that he knew his friend had been living in his house for almost a year now. He understood Preston was worried about him. Unlike Em, he hadn't broken down because he'd been busy taking care of her and everyone else. The death of Zander had changed everyone. Gwen had opted to go study abroad after the funeral while Darren had sobered up. He was more responsible partly because he thought his older brother might have a breakdown any time.

In fact everyone was waiting for it. Mel tiptoed around him, Preston had moved in to keep an eye on him while his brother Darren had taken over Carter industries. Not that Max gave them any reason to think that way. They just assumed it was bound to happen since he'd lost his son. Truth was it hurt. He couldn't close his eyes without seeing that burnt body or hearing the medical examiner's voice confirming that the DNA test was a match. He'd stopped breathing for a few seconds when he heard that. He could have sworn he felt his heart physically break.

But he didn't have time to think about his pain. He'd needed to be strong for Emilia. So he hadn't shed a tear in front of her or anyone. Instead he cried when he was in the shower or in bed, where no one could see him. Emilia's last words still echoed in his head. It's your fault my son is dead. He knew she didn't mean that but that sentence sliced his heart into two. Because deep down he knew it was somehow his fault for trusting Lisandra. Even after making sure she was put away, he wasn't closer to feeling better.

What was the use of doing that when it wouldn't bring Zander back? It pained him to think Emilia was out there all by herself. If he couldn't handle thinking about his son's memories, how was she? Did she at least smile once in awhile when she remembered him? God, the pain was too much. Was that how other parents felt when they lost their children?

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Uh? Yeah I'm fine"

"Then why do you keep rubbing your chest like that?"

Max looked down only to find his hand on his chest where his heart was. How long had he been doing that? "It's nothing. Just a heart burn"

"I'll send Mel a text to have something for it when we get home"

Yeah, that was what he was now. A small kid that needed to be taken care of. He didn't mind how they treated him, like a ticking time bomb, but they had to stop. It was enough already. He'd lost his son, not his mind. As a matter of fact, Max didn't have the time to lose his mind. He had to keep it intact so he could use it to find Emilia. Two years was enough for her to stop hating him. Wasn't it?

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Heartburn his ass. Preston thought inwardly. It was so like Max to try and hide his pain. The guy had refused to cry even in front of him. They'd been friends for as long as he could remember. The list of embarrassing things they'd done together could fill a book. So why was it so hard for him to cry on his shoulder? He'd f*****g lost a son. He was entitled to break down. But then again he'd always been stubborn. It would take more than what he was doing to get him to open up.

He'd sat Darren down and told him it was time to man up because Max was going to be taking a long vacation. Little Gwen couldn't believe the person she once called her best friend could do something as evil as that so she'd run off overseas using school as an excuse. Preston knew he was the only one who could think straight so he took turns watching the siblings. Even though he hadn't known the kid for long, he felt as if he'd lost a nephew. Thinking about it now, he realized that he should also feel guilty for not looking out for him. If he had, Lisandra wouldn't have gotten to him.

Jesus, just the thought of that woman made his blood boil. He'd known she would do anything to get Max but this was unacceptable. If she hadn't kidnapped him, nothing would have happened. Instead she had ruined her life because of her selfishness. Preston hoped she would rot in prison forever. The trial had been short. She had admitted to k********g Emilia and Zander but claimed she wasn't the one who set the place on fire or shot Em. Like anybody cared. A child was dead because of her. Thank God k********g alone was a felony so she was charged with first degree k********g and sentenced to the maximum time in prison. Twenty five years.

In his opinion, that wasn't enough but it would have to do. Who knows, they could get lucky. Someone might stab her while she was sleeping or taking a shower. There was no saying what the other women would do to her when they found out she'd kidnapped a child and caused his death. Not that he was celebrating or anything. But good news like that was always welcomed. Heavens knew his friend needed some kind of relief. Max took responsibility for something that wasn't his fault. All because his wife had said things in the heat of the moment.

And Emilia? Jesus Christ, it was as if that woman had been trained by the CIA to disappear. Once she packed her bags, you wouldn't find her unless she wanted you to. He'd tried looking and asking Thea. All in vain. She might be his sexy detective but when it came to Emilia she wouldn't say a thing. He'd tried everything, including handcuffing her to the bed. Which had been a bad idea because she'd gotten really pissed and kicked his naked ass out of her house. Point was she wouldn't tell him where her friend was. Period.

Of course Preston wasn't stupid. He had tried following her and gotten caught a few minutes after. Hiring a PI had been useless. Once Thea found out, she'd threatened to leave him if he didn't stop harassing her. Her own words, not his. All in all, no one could call him a bad friend. He had done all he could to help Max and when that had failed, he'd moved into his house to keep an eye on him. Mel was worried about him. He barely ate, only drunk alcohol without getting drunk and spent every waking moment staring at photos of his wife and dead son. It was something worth worrying about.

"I've got numbers of a few hookers, in case you change your mind" Preston said getting out of the cab.

"How has your girlfriend not found them yet?" Max asked making him stop. Between him and Thea, they didn't hide anything. Especially their phones. There was a reason that woman had made detective. But Preston was clever. He'd saved those numbers among his client list. There was no way she would know they belonged to hookers.

"I'm insulted man. Do you think I'm so stupid?"

"No. But she's a detective. She could easily look those numbers up if she was suspicious. I'm sure she's got friends who owe her favors that could dig up what you ate when you were in highschool"

Holy cow, Max was right. In her line of job, Thea had to have met all types of people. "f**k! Why hadn't I thought of that?"

"Because you're obviously not stupid" Max clapped him on the back and headed inside. Still reeling from that realization, he quickly called Thea to make sure they were okay and just to see if trouble was brewing on the horizon.

"Heyyy babe"

"Hey you. How was your night out?" she asked making his heart skip a beat.

"Uh... How did you know I was out? Are you having me followed now?" Preston looked around just to make sure no one was watching him.

"You told me earlier you were taking Max out. Did you already forget?"

"I did?" he asked swallowing nervously

"How would I know that? Do you think I'm some kind of angel or something?"

"No babe. Only the most beautiful woman in the world" crap, that was definitely a dead giveaway.

"Okay, spill it. What have you done now?"

"Nothing. I just called to say I love you" oh my God, did I just recite a line from a song? I'm loosing it.

"Preston Nash" she said in a warning voice and without meaning to, he spilled the beans.

"I was hiding a few numbers of my former hookers under my client list but I promise I haven't used any of them ever since we started dating" he said all in one breath then cursed himself. What was wrong with him? When had he started becoming such a p***y?

"Oh, those? I found them a few months ago. You really need to be creative my dear. I mean who saves a client as Dorothy jobs? Did you think I wouldn't know she was the one who gave the best blow jobs? I even called her to ask for a few tips"

"Have I ever mentioned how sexy you are when you talk like that?"

"Like what?"

Preston smiled knowing she was frowning "Like a smart-ass. It makes me want to teleport to where you are and rip off your.... Wait is that a baby I hear crying? Where are you Thea?"

"I told you, I was going to a conference out of town"

"People bring babies to those things?"

"Dummy. I'm staying at a hotel so obviously there's bound to be a mother around. Gotta go, I'll call you later"

"Hey I'm not done...." she hang up. Sighing, he followed Max inside. For the first time he understood why his friend didn't want to let go of Emilia. Love made you do crazy things.

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You can always count on Preston to make you laugh even when you don't feel like it.

First chapter in. What are your thoughts?