ALLISON

　　Pure, unadulterated rage. That’s what I want to feel as my eyes travel from his full lips to his perfectly sculpted neck. From a small opening on his Versace button-down shirt, I can see a small part of his chest slightly exposed. A part of me wants to reach out to touch it, but it’s a good thing that I have total self-control these days. Yeah, that’s the power of yoga for you.

　　Crap. What the fuck am I thinking? I’m supposed to be mad at him, remember? Not fantasize about him while he’s here, sitting right in front of me.

　　Subconsciously, I reach for my Kombucha and take a long, hard chug. I realize how thirsty I am, and this hundred-degree weather is certainly not helping. Thank goodness for waterproof makeup or else, I’ll risk my mascara running like crazy.

　　“Thanks for meeting me here today,” He says, smiling. My eyes meet his, and my heart just practically wants to somersault right then and there. Despite his age, his undeniable charm and masculinity will make any hot-blooded female gasp and scream ‘perfection’.

　　I notice the subtle lines of crow’s feet forming on the sides of his dark gray eyes, but even those only add to the ethereal appeal of Marcus van Hauten.

　　But I want to act as if he can’t affect me anymore. I shrug coolly, trying to avoid his gaze.

　　“God, I miss the kids,” His smile does not fade, his gaze turning towards the direction of Connor and Amandla who are happily playing with the other kids just a few feet away from us. “It’s been, what? Three months since I last saw them? Didn’t know they could grow up so fast like that.”

　　“Yeah, they do,” I agree, fiddling on my phone just to break the anxiety that’s slowly building up on me.

　　“Allison?”

　　“Hmm?” I don’t look up. I continue fiddling on my phone, mindlessly scrolling through Instagram. I double-tap on a photo of a pumpkin spiced latte on my feed, not even bothering to think that I find people sharing countless photos of their pumpkin spiced lattes ridiculous. I know that I have to do anything – absolutely anything – just to avoid meeting his eyes.

　　“I’ve missed you too,” His deep voice sounds like a melody to my ears.

　　I stop scrolling on my phone and immediately put it back inside my bag. I take a deep breath, and wipe a bead of sweat on my forehead with the back of my hand.

　　“No, you don’t,” I say. This time, I am getting frustrated. “That... that is completely bullshit.”

　　“Look Allison,” He crosses his fingers together, and I know that when he does that, he’s about to say something serious. I used to call it ‘The Talk’. “I am truly sorry for what happened and for everything that happened between us. I know you might not believe what I’m going to say right now, but I do miss you. I miss everything about you. And I wish that things could have been different for the both of us.”

　　“Will you,” My voice rises higher than I want to, causing the people from the other table to look in our direction. I sigh and continue, this time in a calmer voice, “shut the fuck up? You know, if you’re just here because you think you could fuck me again, you’re wrong, Marcus. You’re absolutely wrong.”

　　“What?” He looks at me, visibly confused and visibly offended. His brows are already furrowing. “No. I am not here to do that. I am here because I want to see the kids – our kids, by the way – and I want to see you. Are you gonna give me a hard time just because I told you that we can’t be together? You know that I can’t just simply walk away and leave my family in the dark.”

　　“You,” I point out. “Can’t walk away from fame and fortune. Doesn’t it disgust you? Your marriage is obviously not working out anymore, but you and Elena want to stay together because you’re too obsessed with the paps and the glitz and the glamor that you have no choice but to suck it up. I don’t know about you, but to me, that’s disgusting. You’re disgusting!”

　　His jaws tighten. “You don’t understand. You will never understand.”

　　“Yeah,” I agree, crossing my arms underneath my chest. “You’re right. I will never understand. What do I know, right? I’m simply your side-chick who you got knocked up twice. To your wife, I’m just your dumb, little whore.”

　　I don’t want to wait for his answer anymore. I can feel the tears already forming in my eyes, and I’m not about to start the drama. I may love social media, but when I’m out in public, I don’t want anybody to know my business. I stand up and grab my bag.

　　“You better be there on your kids’ birthday,” I warn him. “Or you’ll never see them again.”

　　I turn around and walk towards my kids, wanting to leave and get away as far from here as possible.

　　***

　　JESSICA

　　I head to the kitchen, realizing that I’ve got an hour to kill before my shift starts. But when I see Allison slumped on the dining chair with an empty beer bottle in hand, I know that there’s a big problem. I only want an apple, but suddenly, I don’t have the appetite for it anymore.

　　I pull a chair in front of her, resting a hand under my chin. I stare at her and wait for an answer.

　　“So,” I clear my throat, realizing that she’s not in the mood to start the conversation. “There’s a problem.”

　　“No, there isn’t,” She lies. Clearly, she’s a bit intoxicated judging from the slight slur in her voice. Allison has an extremely low alcohol intolerance, and even half a bottle of beer is enough to get her drunk.

　　“It didn’t go well, did it?” I press on. I already know what’s happening even if she doesn’t tell me. I’m not her sister for nothing, after all.

　　She doesn’t say a thing. Instead, she opens her bag, opens a pack of cigarettes, and puts one between her lips. She’s about to light it up when I snatch the cigarette, crumpling it on my hand.

　　“Smoking doesn’t make you look cool,” I say.

　　“I’m not trying to make myself look cool!” She exclaims. “Look, I’m a fuckin’ loser, okay? Marcus... he...that old freak doesn’t wanna be with me. And oh fuck, he has the audacity to say that he misses me? I say, go to hell you freakin’ old fool!”

　　Yep, she’s really drunk.

　　“Where are the kids?”

　　“Put them to bed already.”

　　“Good,” I say. “’Cause I’m about to say something that they don’t wanna hear. Listen, Allison, you’re crazy for hoping that Marcus would want to be with you. Sure, you’re super hot, but at the end of the day, Elena van Hauten is Elena van Hauten. You can’t beat a woman who’s got, like, a Chanel endorsement and who’s been rubbing elbows with the royalties.”

　　“Wow,” Allison rests her hands over her head, looking at me in disbelief. “Thanks for making me feel better.”

　　“I’m not trying to be an asshole here,” I clarify. I shift on my seat so that I’m leaning closer to her. “What I’m trying to say is this: Elena van Hauten is a million light-years ahead of you, but it doesn’t mean that you need to compete with her. You’re your own, Allison. The same as she’s her own. And you don’t need to feel insecure about this woman. Look, you’re beautiful. You’re charming. You’ve got a lot of guys who would kill just to date you... I say, why not give them a chance? There are tons of better men out there. Men who are more deserving of an Allison Hayworth.”

　　I can see Allison’s lips trembling. I can’t tell if she wants to cry or if she wants to laugh. “T-thank you.”

　　I smile, and I know that I said the right thing. She’s not really that big on ‘thank yous’. “There you go. You want me to stay?”

　　“Nah,” She says, rubbing her eyes and yawning. “I’m going to bed, anyway. Besides, I’m not gonna pay for your plane ticket to Paris, so you better work your ass off, sis.”