Wife's Bitter Revenge Against Neglectful CEO Husband-Chapter 139: Lunch with King

Lunch with King was a midafternoon affair at a restaurant King favored when we had dated. The food and atmosphere were pretentious, and the private dining room made me a bit uneasy. I wasn’t afraid of King. He would never do anything to harm me intentionally, but I couldn’t see Alec approving of me being locked away alone with my ex and his teenage rival.

Once the server set down the last dish and refilled our water, she disappeared and left us alone.

I wasn’t hungry. How could I be after King’s interruption last night? While it was exciting to make out on the streets for anyone to see, the one and possibly the only person I didn’t want to see was King. I must have used up all my luck on finding Colby.

I wasn’t ashamed of what I did. Embarrassed, yes. King never wanted intimacy with me when we were married. He made it feel dirty, a chore to be done, and not a pleasure to be enjoyed. For the most part, he acted as if I weren’t even there. I was just the ghost in the room that shared a bed with him. Only after I left him did he make an effort, but for some reason, it always felt like an effort on his part and not a natural magnetism between two people who loved one another.

In short, marriage to King was toxic. We were so much better off apart, and I couldn’t be responsible for King’s failure to see that.

Now, every time I saw him, I prepared to fight that battle again, to convince him we weren’t meant to be together no matter what promises he made to my mom. No matter whether he thought he was in love with me or whether King had ever learned how to love in the first place.

And, until he learned how to truly step away from his role as the center of the universe and actually think about the needs and wants of someone else first, he wouldn’t be a fit companion for any woman. Not in a healthy relationship.

I really wanted King to be happy. He’d made amends as best as he could to many of the people his family had hurt over the years. In his heart, I didn’t think of King as a bad person. Lettie had raised him to be the way he was. Even with his best efforts, it would take a lot of time and therapy before King recovered from his venomous upbringing.

Oddly, Ben, who had been raised in the same household by the same mother, survived mostly unscathed, but then again, he had King protecting him from a lot of the nastiness Lettie forced upon her children. Maybe King was capable of more compassion and loyalty than I gave him credit. Or maybe he’d expended what little he had on Ben long before he had met me.

"How long have you been back?" King asked.

"I returned yesterday."

"And you were already all over Alec like that? No need to reconnect or anything?"

"King, it really isn’t any of your business, but just because I was gone doesn’t mean Alec and I broke up. He gave me space. I took it. When I was ready, we reconnected before last night."

"Alright. You are correct. It isn’t any of my business. It is also not my business that you are getting married, but Teela, didn’t you think you owed it to me to tell me before I found out like this?"

"The engagement is new. We’ve not had a chance to announce it to anyone. You upset me last night, and you weren’t listening. I was trying to get your attention and to make you walk away. Flashing the ring was the only thing I could think of at the time to do the trick."

"That it did."

I pushed back from the table and stood. "If we are done here, I’d like to go. I’m in the middle of a project."

"Sit, sit," King urged me. "I’ll be brief."

I retook my chair, sitting on the edge of the seat, ready to leave as soon as possible. It was one thing to share social situations with King, but it really was another to share private time with him. It made me uncomfortable. I didn’t like it.

"Teela, I wanted to apologize for everything Lettie put you through. She had no right to do anything she did, especially what she did to Bea. You know I wasn’t a big fan of Bea, but she wasn’t a bad person. As much as I hate that she took you away from me, I’m also grateful you weren’t out in the world without someone looking after you.

"If there is anything I can do for you or her family and friends, please let me know. I’ve inherited all of Lettie’s assets. I’m intent on spending her wealth giving back to her victims."

"Thank you, but King, you don’t need to apologize for Lettie’s offenses. You aren’t responsible for her actions. It’s admirable that you are using her fortune to compensate her victims, but don’t take on the guilt for her actions."

I’d seen King when the reality of how horrific Lettie’s actions were. It had destroyed him. He had done everything he could to end his life. If we hadn’t saved him, he would be dead now. I hoped he never went through that again.

"My therapist tells me the same thing, but Lettie raised me to take responsibility for the Heavenly family. It is a hard habit to break, especially around you. I feel I owe you so much."

"If you feel you owe me something, then accept my relationship with Alec. Use this time to heal and rebuild your life. If we see each other on the streets, fine, say hello, but don’t expect more from me."

"Teela, Alec’s dad is a mobster. If one pill gets popped, if one bank gets robbed or a car is stolen anywhere in this city, probably in this state, then Eugene Crest is behind it. He is just as crooked as Lettie."

"Maybe, but at least he treats me better, and he draws a line at kids."

"Is that what he told you? You’re crazy if you believe him."

I nodded my head. "You may be right. I may be crazy. After all, I married you, didn’t I?"

King’s face turned to stone.

"I think we are done here, King. You’ve said your piece, and I have things to do."

I gathered my things to go. I was at the door when King said, "Can you forgive me and the Heavenly family, Teela? It’s the last thing I will ever ask of you."

I stopped with a sigh, but I didn’t turn around. "If you are asking if I forgive you, sure. I can do that. If you are asking about the family, as in Lettie, Daniel, and Anya, then no. Never."

I marched out of the restaurant without looking back. King was my past. I wanted to keep him there. I really hoped this was the last time I had to clarify that we were over. We socialized in some of the same circles. We would see each other infrequently. I didn’t want to dread every encounter.

It would be much easier if King found someone new—please not Nan—to whom he could transfer his attention. He needed someone like him, who liked routine and was good at compartmentalizing things. Someone who could help him lead what was left of the Heavenly family to renewed greatness.

I would never be that person. I would be the person suppressing the urge to burn down the Heavenly Estate. I would be the person who still had revenge nightmares starring King and Lettie Heavenly—Lettie for what she did to me and King for letting it happen.

I still had nightmares of the reflection room and rats, too. Sleeping next to Alec helped with those. I truly adored that man. With his help, I might find happily ever after one day, after the pain eased some more and the guilt faded. After the love list was blank and Stiff moved on.

Stiff. I should tell him I was engaged before he found out elsewhere. Min knew. He would tell Ben. If Ben knew, it would surely come out at the grand opening. I wait that long to tell him.

I didn’t tell Estelle earlier. It wasn’t my place to tell Alec’s family. Besides, what was the rush? We weren’t getting married tomorrow. Probably. Maybe. I suspected we would if I mentioned it, but I wasn’t in any hurry. I was confident Alec’s love was true and long-lasting no matter how much time we took to make it legal.

Alec was leaning against my car when I arrived.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I was in the neighborhood."

"Um, isn’t your office like twenty blocks from here?"

Alec pulled me into his arms and kissed my neck. "Would you believe I had a meeting nearby and saw your car when I entered the garage, so I waited for you?"

"My car stands out that much?"

"It does for me." Alec tapped his temple. "Everything about you is etched into my brain."