Friday evening,she arrived home,her head reeling from the things Sandy had told her.Janka told her she should do what Sandy wanted.Sending her to another continent to never darken Liesl’s door again seemed like a great idea to her,but Liesl was torn.She didn’t want anything to do with any of it.
She didn’t think Sandy was going to be a good mother and aiding her in absconding with the child,Merlin’s child,felt like a situation she did not want to be part of.
It was after seven and she made her way into the kitchen to find Matilda putting the last dish away from the dishwasher.
“Hi Liesl.You’re home late.”
“I know.I had drinks with Elsie while we spied on Janka.If her date turned out to be a toad,we were going to rescue her,but she told us to get lost.”
Matilda laughed,“Well,I’m done.I have a few meals for you in the fridge for the weekend.Don’t get too caught up in painting and forget to eat.I’ll be back Monday.”
She walked her to do the door and gave her a hug,“thanks.”
Closing the door behind her she made her way through the house,puttering around.She sat at the kitchen table and stared pitifully at her phone.She could hear Janka in her head telling her she was moping,and she knew she was.She’d never been as emotional as she was today,and she felt like she was being tested.
Her phone rang and she eagerly answered it.“Isaias.”
“Hi beautiful.I miss you.”
“I miss you too.How are you?”
“Horny.”
She squealed at his comment,“terrible.”
“I am,”he sighed loudly.“Terribly horny.Next time I’m taking you in my suitcase by force.”
She giggled at his comment.“I might sneak into it.It’s been a hell of a few days without you.”
“Your mom still calling?”
“Yes,and Sandy showed up at the gallery today.”
“What?Mallory didn’t say anything.”
“I don’t think he realized it was her since the man she was with was not Merlin.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean she came in appropriately dressed on Roddy’s arm.”
“Who is Roddy?”
“Her ex-husband.He wants her back.She wants to go back.Merlin has her on a tight leash,apparently to the point where he has her passport locked up.No divorcing until the baby is born or the kid doesn’t get his million.”
“What does any of this have to do with you?”he questioned snidely.“She made her bed.”
“I know.She told me today Merlin lied about her blackmailing him.”
“And you believe her?”
“No,”she admitted quietly.“I could tell she was lying but the thing is,I like Roddy.He’s genuinely a nice man.He loves her like a fool.She has him convinced he is the only person who really understands her real heart.She was begging and pleading and giving me this sob story about how it took for me to serve her with the restraining order for her to understand the best way for her to get better is to get distance between us.She’s going to pick a fight with him at dinner Sunday and say she’s staying at Mom’s for the night and then hop a plane.”
He was silent as she spewed her frustrations.
“The thing is,not ten minutes after they left,she was texting me telling me I had better not tip off Merlin about her plans to leave the country with Roddy because if she was forced to stay,she would make my life a living hell and there wouldn’t be a court order in the world to make it stop.She also started in on the godmother thing again.I think I had thirty text messages from her this afternoon.”
“And the rest?”he questioned.“Merlin,Trent,Torrie?Are they texting you now too?Calling?”
“Merlin has.He messaged me a couple of times to ask me if I was happy now that he was unemployed,and his father was filing for bankruptcy and his mother was on anti-depressants but at least he’s not demanding I go back to him.He’s convinced I sold him out and I did but I have zero regrets about hurting him in the wallet but Torrie being affected is bothering me.”
“You’re feeling guilty.”Isaias suggested.“You shouldn’t.Either with or without your help,Trent McGrath was losing his company.I did it three months sooner than I had expected but babe,I promise I was ready to take him over.”
“I know.I feel bad because really,aside from lying to me and keeping secrets about her son,Torrie was always lovely to me,and I know she genuinely loves me.Trent and Merlin can rot.At the end of the day though I know she chose to be where she is.”
“What do you think Sandy’s end game is,Liesl?You’re her sister.You’ve known her forever.”
“I don’t know.”
“Would you be okay with me using some less scrupulous methods to find out?”
“I don’t want her hurt,Isaias.”
“I’m not going to kidnap her and beat it out of her,”he laughed at her words.“I simply mean would you be okay if I had one of my investigators do some research?”
“I guess.”
“Hey,we’ll get to the bottom of it.”
“Isaias,I hate Merlin.I despise him with all I am but,”she took a breath,“of the two,he is far more likely to be a better parent than Sandy,even if she has Roddy around.I don’t want to help Merlin in any way but helping Sandy take his kid away is a line I don’t think I want to cross.”She knew he was contemplating her words as he exhaled a long sigh,“Isaias,what am I supposed to do here?I don’t want to tip him off because I don’t want to be involved and I really don’t want to deal with her wrath.If I say nothing though then I’m aiding her in taking a child to a foreign country where he might not ever get to see it.Worse,with her the way she is mentally,is this going to put the child at significant risk?”
“What if you simply skip the dinner?”
“If I do nothing,then she leaves,and I get the distance I really feel I need from her.I could finally put this nonsense with her.I think if she gives me the space I need,between you and the security team the McGraths will eventually back off.I know she’s the culprit behind a lot of Merlin’s pushing,like the ring,the house,being a family again and so on.She hates me.She always has.The only reason she wants to be around me is to make me miserable.If she leaves,she takes it with her.Distance will be good for me.”
“Then go to the dinner,suck it up and let her leave.Your mental health is far more important than him.”
“But the kid.I keep thinking of their ugly beady eyed kid being raised by a crackpot like her when I know,despite the fact he’s a total asshat,he will love this child unconditionally.I don’t know what to do.”
“But it’s not your kid,not your responsibility.You don’t owe him anything.”
“I know I don’t.”She could tell he was frustrated with her.“Why are you angry with me?”
“I’m not babe.I’m upset she put you in this situation and I feel helpless over here.She could have done everything she wanted to do without you knowing.She could have gone to your grandmother’s home for dinner whether you were going to attend or not and still did what she planned to do.”
“She really is a terrible person,isn’t she?”
“She is,”Isaias said quietly.“I hate to do this to you love,but I have a meeting I am late for.I wish I was there with you to help you through this.”
“It’s okay Isaias,I understand.”
“Where are the girls tonight?Can they come stay with you?”
“No.Janka has a date and Elsie and I had drinks earlier,but she has to work this weekend.She has a big case coming up,so she’s been pulling a lot of late nights.”
“I’m sorry babe.”
“You have no reason to be.”
“You need me.”He said quietly,“you need me to be your partner and hold your hand through this shit and I’m not there.”
“I’ll be fine,Isaias.I appreciate you being my sounding board,even at a distance.I love you.”
“I love you too.”
As they said their goodbyes,Liesl could feel his reluctance to hang up the phone and it made her feel a smidge better.
