In Love With My Ex-husband's Nemesis
Maria
The Christmas holidays were the best season in Iceland.
Families apart from each other due to work or relocation returned home to be with their loved ones. Hot cocoa was sweeter during this period because it was made with a sprinkle of the festive spirits. Let's not forget the snow! I was a sucker for building a snowman from scratch with my sister and swatting my tongue out to get a taste of fresh snow falling from the sky.
Even in my current state of giddiness and holiday excitement. I would find myself staring across the street, counting the cars parked at the Reed's family garage, hoping that Cade's would be one of them.
This year wasn't different. I counted the cars in the garage, expecting it to be four. Two black Mercedes-Benzes, one gray-colored SUV, and a cream-colored Camry. There was one more navy-blue Benz parked beside the Camry.
The Reeds weren't exactly welcoming to outsiders. They always spent the holidays in the company of family and a few trusted friends. Which heightened my curiosity about who owned the navy-blue Benz parked in their garage.
I wasn't the type who did well with minding my business, and since this business was one I was keenly interested in, especially when the probability of Cade coming home for this year's Christmas holiday was near to zero. I had to place a face to the car parked in their driveway. Hopefully, it would be Cade's, and my curiosity would be satisfied.
I strolled across the street, poking my head through the thin line of the curtain covering the marble-carved dining area of the Reed family.
With my petite figure, I had to elongate my neck in order to get a better view of the people eating dinner, oblivious of me watching. There were three black balls of hair sitting pretty on the Reed brothers. Axon, Liam, and Aiden. But there was no Cade.
Sighing defeatedly, I turned to leave when I noticed those familiar blue eyes staring at me five feet away from where I stood.
“Cade.” I whispered his name like it was an answered prayer. “Please tell me I'm not dreaming and it's really you.”
A tear streaked down my cheeks as I walked at first with hesitation, not wanting this moment to end up indeed being a figment of my desperate imagination. When he didn't vanish and the smile on his face grew wider, I heaved a sigh of relief, rushing into his embrace, hugging him with an intensity that almost caused the both of us to lose our balance.
Cade tapped on my back, making a comical face. “Hey, Pookie.” He whispered into my hair, hugging me back.
Cade Reed was my childhood friend. He was a year older than I was. We attended grade school together, high school, and even college. He was literally a brother figure in my life. Only that I didn't see him that way.
I'll be brutally honest. I loved Cade. He was the man I envisioned spending the rest of my life with back when I was still bubbly with the idea of settling down. There was more. Cade wasn't just my childhood friend. He was also my ex-husband's arch nemesis, Jöel Timothy Farrow. The man who taught me to never again judge a book by its cover.
“It's been five years… Where have you been?” I asked, sniffing loudly.
He chuckled, tucking a strand of wild curls poking out from my bun behind my ears. “I’ll tell you everything you need to know. But first, it’s freezing out here.”
Inside the Reed mansion, I exchanged pleasantries with Cade's mother, who warmly received me with a hug. His brothers were still the same. Age and time did nothing to change their cocky behavior and endless banter. I always had a comeback for their taunts, which made it entertaining being in their company.
“Maria, tell your mom I'll be coming for the usual first thing in the morning.” His mother said, smiling widely. The usual that she spoke of was my mom's signature pumpkin pie. I had to give it to her. The pie was a taste of heaven wrapped in moist goodness.
After dinner at the Reeds's, Cade walked me home. All the while he had his gaze fixated on me, making me question if he already knew about me and Jöel no longer being together.
As expected, he knew. Cade, like everyone else, asked me the same question. “Did he hurt you?”
To avoid giving a response to his question. I mimicked his earlier display, raising my legs up to ruffle his hair. “Now who is the one with all the questions?”
Cade stood tall, his six-foot height making it difficult for me to continue playing with his hair. “Did he hurt you?” He repeated the question, eyes glinting with what I interpreted as brewing rage.
As far as Cade went. He wouldn't relent until he got me to tell the truth. Seeing he was keen on knowing, I shook my head, whispering. “No, he didn't. Not physically.”
That was all I was willing to share. Even if he persisted with wanting to know more of the situation surrounding my divorce from Jöel, I wasn't going to divulge any more than that.
The next morning, I was woken up by the sweet aroma of Mom's pumpkin pie. I could have sworn that I saw a thin smoke from the oven leading me downstairs.
There were two batches of already made pie on the kitchen counter. I picked up a fork, about to dig in, when she slapped my hand away.
“That's for the Reeds, and the other one is for the Parkers.” She informed me, handing the pie meant for the Parker family to my junior sister.
I tiptoed my way to the first few steps in an attempt to avoid running errands to the Reeds's when she caught me escaping. “Take this to the Reeds. Antonia has been craving my pie for days.”
Antonia was Cade’s mother. A redhead with a big heart and beautiful smile that brightened even the gloomiest places. She answered the doorbell, dressed in a formal outfit, checking on her wristwatch.
“Maria, will you be a darling and leave the pie on the kitchen counter for me?” She pleaded, not waiting for my response before leaving.
I wanted to avoid seeing Cade. I was certain what we would talk about was my ex-husband. What Cade failed to understand was that speaking about Jöel would open old wounds. Wounds I spent months trying to heal from. Then there was also the fact that he warned me about Jöel, and I refused to listen.
The plan was to sneak into the kitchen, drop the pie, and sneak out quickly. That wasn't what happened because Cade, alongside Liam and Aiden, was in the kitchen engrossed in a lighthearted argument about the season's volleyball and who would end up winning the trophy.
Aiden swooped the pie from my hand, taking a slice from it. I moved out of the kitchen, headed towards the entrance of the house. A sigh of relief tickled my throat as I turned the doorknob, only for Cade to beat me to it first, clicking the door shut and taking the keys with him.
