Page 1 of Marriage Ever After
Prologue
Kash
Watching your best friend walk down the aisle to meet you and marry you is the best feeling ever. Marrying her and seeing how happy she was, is something I could never wish to see on anyone else’s face but hers. This woman, Mila was the love of my life. She changed life for me and always had my back through the ups and downs. We grew up together, the girl and boy next door except throughout high school, we were different people, age being the biggest factor adding the fact that we were never friends. She was the freshman that hid her face, body and all-around beauty, as for me, I was the senior hipster nerd. Neither of us could really say we were popular, but we couldn’t say we weren’t.
I was, Kash Emerson, the infamous Judge Rick Emerson’s son so it wasn’t like they didn’t know me at the private school that we both attended. As for Mila, she was the girl whose mother cussed out my father calling him the biggest jackass there is. I couldn’t even be mad at her mother; she was the reason why I wanted to become a criminal defence lawyer. She was charged with murder for protecting not only herself but her daughter when her rich ex-boyfriend came back in their home. The only issue was that it looked like the murder was pre-meditated. She should’ve just killed him right away when he first hit her, but she didn’t, she waited then she struck leaving him for dead. In a town like Brunswick, Georgia, things weren’t fair sometimes and neither was my father.
Anyways, years later, when I was done with law school and I saw her again, we reconnected over a drink and I had the best sex of my life. After that, I couldn’t let her go. I didn’t care what she was doing or who she was doing it with.
Our vows still rang loud and true in my ear each night.
“I will love you forever now, forever forever and until I can’t anymore….which will be never because I’d be a fool to stop loving you.”
Those were part of what I said to her.
“Kash the boy who has no middle name Emerson, you are my world. Through the ups and downs, I’ll be here. We are it for each other through the bullshit, the banter and even though I could do more push-ups than you.”
I had laughed hard at that because Mila hated push-ups with her entire being. I looked at her; she was beautiful from her almond-shaped brown eyes, full lips, a button nose, a mahogany complexion that shined, even more, when the sun hit her skin and her body to me was a work of art. She had all that I’ve ever needed. Her ass, her tits, and what I loved was that she was not the typical build like an ant shaped woman. Everything on her was all hers even if she didn’t like that she wasn’t as thin as other women. I repeated to her every single day and night that she was the epitome of beauty to me. I would never look anywhere else because she was the only one who had my attention.
Attention… That was what I promised her yet, here I was reading a fucking note left by her telling me some utter bullshit about spending the night at her friend, Larissa's house. It made no sense. I was here for her no matter what. I dedicated my life to her. I knew that I fucked up when I couldn’t make it home late at night to not only tuck our baby girl, Jordan in but to also fuck the doubts out of my wife’s mind.
I.Fucked.Up.
Chapter One
Kash
My heart was beating out of order as I pulled my cell out dialling my wife’s number. I didn’t care that it was three in the morning, I needed to hear her voice. Fuck!
“Hello?” Her sweet but groggy voice picked up. She sniffled.
Had she been crying?
“Bunny? Where are you right now? I’m coming to get you.”
I already knew where she was, but I wanted her to tell me herself.
I had no right, but I was still going to try. I raked my hand through my hair for the umpteenth time. I was still in the dark blue suit that I wore this morning to one of the craziest court cases I have ever faced then after I finally won that case, I went back to work. I was sorting out my cases then I went to dinner with my partner to celebrate another victory. Emerson & Grant was doing good for being on its own feet for six years now.
“Did you read my note, Kash?”
“That was very cowardice of you, Mila. A note, really?”
She sighed.
“I’m not fighting with you anymore, Kash. When would I have had the time to talk to you? You’re never home and today, you fucked up. That was the final straw. I repeated to you time and time again that if you didn’t figure your shit out, we were going to be done.”
The word done shut everything down for me. Right now, any sane man would be apologizing to his wife and begging for her to come back home especially with the way that I loved her, but I wasn’t sane. Never have been. I laughed, a cold bitter laugh that chilled me right to my bones.
“How the fuck can you be done with me, Mila? Does that make sense to you? You up and leave then you say it’s my fault because I don’t listen to you. I fucking listen to every word that you say. You even left with Jordy not giving me the chance to kiss her goodnight. Are you fucking serious!”
I knew my voice was louder than it should’ve been but there was no calming this temper of mine when it got like this.
“Fuck you, Kash. You forgot!” She harshly whispered. “It was my birthday and you know how much I try to never remember that my mother passed away on this day in jail but no, you made this about you again. It’s like I don’t even know you anymore. I don’t know who you’ve become but find the man I married because he isn’t you.”
“What does that even mean, Mila? I didn’t miss your birthday. Your birthday is next week. I have it all set in my calendar.”
I snatched my phone from my ear, checking my calendar and my words caught in my throat because she was right. I missed my wife’s birthday. One of the most important ones for her because it was her mother’s death anniversaries. Five years married and I have never forgotten but this year, I blew it. She turned twenty-eight, the age that she was supposed to hug her mother as she came out of jail but instead, she had to bury her a couple of years ago. Fuck.
