Second Chances

14. Elton

"I promise you, Elton Scott, you will pay for this. And I won't hold back for anyone. Three days, remember."

Adrianna's words replayed over and over again in Elton's head. What was with the sudden change in her behaviour today? What had gotten into her? The Adrianna he knew would silently bear everything he would throw her way. Did he cross a line today? No! She and her father deserved whatever he said. Of course, daddy's little princess couldn't handle the truth, he reasoned as he still stared blankly at the door of Adrianna's room.

But then, what did she mean by that threat? What was going to happen in three days? And what exactly did she mean by getting his act together? Did she want him to dump Esther and give Adrianna a chance? To start behaving like a husband? No way! Was she crazy? Even if he didn't have Esther in his life, he still wouldn't have given Adrianna a chance! He never wanted a wife who was socially awkward and ugly, and Adrianna was all this and more. Though she did look different last night, his conscience butted in.

Letting out a groan and rubbing his eyes, he couldn't help but remember how Esther was pissed off last night, only because he allowed Adrianna to affect his mood. If only he would have kept a check on his temper and behaviour, Esther wouldn't have noticed a thing and the night would have gone as planned. But no, the bad luck charm of his life had to spoil everything with her arrival. Letting out an audible exhale, he poured a glass of water as his mind replayed how Esther had been angry with him when he had become aloof and had unintentionally blurted out that his wife had come back from the trip and that she had heard her saying she was going for a bath.

Emptying the glass, he felt frustrated - not at himself but at the situations that always trapped him, at his father for blackmailing him to get married to that spoilt, stupid, ugly snob, at Adrianna for forcing everyone to agree to this arrangement, and at her father for those absurd and downright humiliating terms that he was forced to abide by.

***

It had been a couple of hours since the showdown this morning and Elton was currently in his room. Once the initial bewilderment over Adrianna's behaviour had worn off, he had realised the disrespect she had shown to him and how he couldn't let it go without any consequences. Though somewhere he knew that she would parade around her dad's money and rub it in his face, living with her all these months had made him think otherwise. But now that the war lines had been drawn, he wasn't going to back down. He quickly reached out for his phone on the bedside table and dialled Keith's number. If he had previously planned to simply fool Adrianna so that she could divorce him, he now wanted to hurt her so badly that she would regret ever raising her voice against him.

The call went unanswered as Elton impatiently tried calling him again. He knew Keith had been drunk last night, but what he had said was something he couldn't bring himself to put on drunk rambling. Considering how last night and this morning had panned out, he needed this assurance from a sober mind.

"H... Hello?" Keith's voice broke through his thoughts.

"Keith, hi. It's a little important. Are you up for meeting me in the next...ummm... fifteen minutes? Our usual brunch place," Elton asked.

"Uhh... Yeah, sure. Is everything okay?" Came his confused voice.

"I guess so. Just tell me something, do you remember what happened last night?"

Keith took a few moments to reply, as Elton was getting impatient by the second. If Keith actually didn't remember their conversation, it would surely put a dent in his plans as that would mean convincing him all over again.

"D... Did I, by any chance, call you?" Keith hesitated.

"Yes, yes you did. You remember! But do you recollect what you said?" Elton was hopeful.

"I think I do."

And that was all Elton needed to hear.

***

"So let me get this straight. You basically want me to play the role of an abusive lover after trapping her in a fabricated relationship or whatever it would be? And all of this because she voiced her thoughts, AFTER you provoked her? Dude, you could have had a simple conversation! What the f**k is wrong with you?" Keith almost yelled in exasperation, momentarily forgetting that there were other patrons around. He had seen the girl, had also briefly interacted with her. In no way did she come across as the person that Elton had described all these months. Not to forget, he had been enamoured by her and his judgements and thought process were influenced by his likeness towards her. Such a pretty soul couldn't be that bad. Elton was definitely at fault.

"Excuse me? Are you going to teach me how I should be talking to my wife?" Elton was irritated. First that argument with Adrianna, then his calls to Esther going unanswered, and now this - being blamed for something that was clearly not his fault.

"Chill out, man. I am on your side. I am just saying we need to know her schedule and stuff. Don't you think then it would have made sense to calmly talk to her? You jeopardised your own plan, man!" Keith tried to pacify him.

What he said did make sense, but Elton was a man with too much pride to admit that he was wrong. "No, she deserved it. Anyway, you don't worry about all that. Just remember that she should be completely broken. The way she behaved was unacceptable. And how the f**k did she dare to challenge me, threaten me?" Elton let out, not realising that he was audible to Keith.

"Wait, what? What do you mean?"

"The girl had some guts to threaten me, saying that she would get back at me for what I said. Huh, as if! She doesn't know who I am and what I can do. Now listen, I should have a better idea about her movements in a few days. So you had better use this time to prepare yourself well. She is dull and drab, do not expect her at clubs and stuff. And for God's sake, do not approach her when drunk," and Elton scrunched his nose.

Keith simply nodded, feeling funny as he realised there were so many things Elton didn't know about his own wife. For starters, she was definitely not dull and drab. He could still vividly recollect the way she was dressed last night, and at a club out of all the places! Though he didn't agree with Elton's plan of being an overbearing and abusive lover, he was wise enough to not voice it now and spoil his chances of impressing this heartbreaker who was Adrianna Morgan.