Second Chances

10. Elton

Elton was currently in his office, quite restless as he bounced his left leg. The day had started off on a bad note for him. His love, Esther, had turned a year older and he had wanted to be the first one to wish her. But she hadn't picked up his phone last night, or even this morning for that matter. Had he done something wrong and unknowingly hurt her? But she had been fine a day ago, they had talked for a couple of hours, everything had been hunky dory then. What had suddenly happened?

To distract himself, he picked up a random file that was on his desk and flipped through the pages, though he was pretty distracted at this point. He had so much to worry about already, and now he had a new thing to worry about. Keith had placed a condition, Adrianna was nowhere to be found, he wasn't any close to getting hold of that girl in the picture, and now Esther. He could ask Maisie, the girls were pretty close. Yes, that's right, he would do that. He closed the file and picked up the phone to talk to Maisie.

"Hey, Eli."

"Uh... hi, Mais. Did you wish Esther? I mean, it's her birthday today."

"I know, Eli. We talked last night. But that's not the purpose behind your call, right?"

"I... uhh.... actually I had called to remind you. W... Why would you think otherwise?"

"El, out with the truth," she sounded stern.

Elton let out a sigh. "Esther hasn't been answering my calls."

"Do you really blame her?"

"What do you mean?" Elton was confused.

"You lied, El. You told Esther that you tried to build a relationship with your wife," Maisie stated angrily.

Damn it! How did Maisie and Esther know that he had lying all along? His palms started sweating. "I... I did... but..."

"Save your lies, El. If that were the case, how come your wife suddenly disappeared without as much as informing anyone?"

Was it Keith who snitched on him? s**t! Did he also tell them what he was planning to do? Is that why Esther wouldn't talk to him?

"Hold on, Maisie. She didn't really disappear. She had told me she would be going but it slipped my mind. And she isn't suffering. Rather, she made this entire trip of hers appear as if I am being rude to her and that's why she had to escape! If anything, I am the victim here!" He raised his voice a bit to sound emotional. "Is that why Esther wouldn't talk to me? Okay, I respect her decision but it would be better if you could simply ask rather than making such ridiculous assumptions! I am just fed up, fed up of everything!" and he kept the phone before she could respond.

Phone still in his hand, he exhaled audibly. That was really a close save, if it worked. How did news get around though? No one had any inkling since the past one year, until he decided to talk to Keith! So he was the culprit! How dare he!

***

Maisie took a few minutes to recover from what had just happened. Sitting right beside her was Esther, who had flown down to spend a couple of days with her family and friends. Both of them were surprised, a look of disbelief on their faces, which soon turned into guilt. What Elton had said was right, they could have given him the benefit of the doubt.

Maisie looked at Esther, who was also wearing the same pained expression. "I think we have been harsh with him. He is already going through so much, we need to cut him some slack."

"I... I don't know what to do anymore," Esther sniffled. "I don't want to be the other woman who breaks a relationship or stops a relationship from developing. I... I don't know why but it feels that I am fault."

"It's just the circumstances, Esther, it's not you. Come now, it's not too late. Stop punishing yourself now and give him a call. That would be a start to amend things," Maisie consoled her.

Without any delay, Esther took out her phone and dialled Elton's number. On the other hand, Elton was still seated with the phone in his hand. He had wanted to blast off at Keith but had decided to hold out, lest Esther called. And boy was he right when he saw the phone ring.

"Baby!"

"Eli, baby, I am sorry." He could hear her sniffle, which made him sad but also happy that she had fallen for the lie he had fed her.

"No, baby. Please don't apologise. It's not your fault. The situation is such, you are bound to feel like that. Hell, even I would feel like that. Please don't cry."

"I should have heard you out..."

"As long as you are talking to me again, I have no complaints. Happy birthday, baby."

"T... Thank you, Eli. I am so sorry to mess up the day."

"Hey, hey! BIrthday girl is not supposed to cry or feel sad. And you haven't messed up the day. No, baby. We still have so many hours left. Tell me where you are and let us meet?" Elton didn't know if it was too soon to ask but he had been desparate to see her, talk to her, hold her close, and celebrate her special day.

"I... uhhh... I am actually in the city..."

"What?!" Had it been some other day, he wouldn't have let her off the hook so easily. "Let's leave the past, shall we? If you are here, that's great. Let's meet in the next half an hour?"

"B... But your work?"

"Sugar, you take priority over everything else. Let us meet, let me take you out and celebrate your birthday. We can then have a fantastic dinner at my place and I will drop you off." Elton knew he was pushing his luck as Esther had promised to not set foot in his house till he was married. Honestly, he was milking the sympathy card here.

"The plan sounds great but..."

"Please, no ifs and buts. She won't even be at home, not to forget that she brings over her boy toys so frequently..." and his tone lowered, trying to convey how pained he felt.

"I... I am sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. Yes, let's spend the day the way you have imagined."

Elton was overjoyed as Esther had finally given in. He was going to make sure that it was a date she would remember. And if he had to play the sympathy card again to have his way, he would do it again in a heartbeat. And maybe, just maybe, he would convince her to finally break her rule of not being intimate with him till the time he is married.