Loving Lily(25)

Ending the call, I took a moment to gather my energy and bearings before telling myself to start getting a move on. The traffic going to the valley, where I was going to meet Shannon, was going to be hellish at that hour. Since she was adamant that I shouldn’t be late, as much as I was tempted to push her buttons, the time for games wasn’t on the agenda. I had a family to look after. My wife and unborn child came first before my temper.

The drive to the valley, particularly towards Encino, was indeed hell to deal with. Therefore, instead of taking the 405 Freeway, I had to take the Sepulveda pass. Once I got there, I parked my car a couple of blocks away before killing the engine. I waited a moment or two to convince myself that I wasn’t wasting time or setting myself up for some trap with Shannon. All I had to imagine was my future and how fulfilling it would be once we had our baby with us. It gave me that extra push to get going, getting out of my car and strolling towards the restaurant/bar entrance.

I was five minutes early, and the second I spotted the bar, I didn’t hesitate to order a glass of scotch. The barman acknowledged me with a curt nod before pouring my order and sliding it towards me.

“Rough day?”

He had no idea, and it was about to get rougher.

“Something like that,” I murmured before taking a good gulp of my drink.

He beamed, giving me a kind look. “Don’t you just hate those? They fuck you up good, don’t they?”

“Yeah.” As soon as I finished saying that, my phone made its daunting pinging sound. Without needing to look at who the sender was, I knew it was Shannon. Here was to hoping her message would entail her cancelling this atrocious meeting.

I’m all the way to the back, waiting.

“Gotta go,” I said to the barman before paying for my drink and adding a hefty tip.

My blood was boiling, and my temper was teetering on the edge as I made my way to where Shannon was sitting, lounging as if bored before she saw me. Her face then lit up, appearing more conscious of her appearance as she straightened herself while I reluctantly took a seat across from her.

“I thought you might be hungry, so I ordered some tapas. I remembered that you like them.”

I grounded my teeth together, needing to breathe. “I’m not hungry. I’m not anything. What do you want, Shannon? What the hell do you need me here for? Get down to business. I don’t have time for stupid games.”

She made a sickly sweet smile that made my gums hurt. “This. I want this, and I promise I won’t do anything stupid, Drake.”

“What is this?” She could mean so many fucking things by “this.”

“Once a week, I expect you to meet me here. Same day, same hour. That’s all I ask of you.”

“You’re fucking crazy! I have a wife to go home to. I’m a married man. Why can’t you just accept that so we can both move on with our lives? Why do you have to cling on to the past and make our lives fucking miserable by playing stupid games, Shannon? Haven’t you had enough?” I wasn’t going to be coerced into agreeing to see her once a week. What the fuck was she on? Fucking hell.

“I know you’re married, Drake. There’s no need to keep putting salt to my already injured heart. It’s supposed to be me, remember? You and I were supposed to get married, but you’re fickle and had to change your mind at the last minute.” Her stormy face instantly changed to something serene. She took a moment or two as she toyed with her glass of wine, while I stared at her in total and utter disbelief. “The weekly rendezvous will be my compensation. It’s the least you can do to make up for the damage you have caused me.”

Compensation? Since when was breaking an already deteriorating relationship part of a bargaining tool for anyone in their right mind? However, that was the thing: this woman wasn’t in her right mind.

“Shannon, I’ve apologized to you before, and I’m apologizing again. I fucking feel bad, but there’s no point in any of this. I can’t and won’t agree to the agreement because you think you deserve it.”

“Are you sure about that?” Her blue eyes were icy as they bore into my gray ones.

“Of course I’m sure!” The pulse in my head started beating furiously. I felt like I was about to have a heart attack from being so enraged at Shannon’s demands.

She nodded her head. “All right, Drake.” She sighed. “Just don’t blame me if things become a little … shaky from here.”

My blood turned cold. “What do you mean by shaky?” I hissed at her as I tried to calm myself from shaking some sense into her.

When she smiled, I could see the evil witch emerge. “I can play dirty, too, Drake. And this time, I’ll make sure you feel the pain. I’m going to make sure it lasts for a very, very long time.”