by Mara Lynne
“No more lies,” I reply.
“No more lies?”
“I swear.”
“Okay, then. You’ll have to tell me everything that has happened to you in the six months I was away!”
Ray pulls the cab door open for me then shoves all his luggage at the back of the cab. The driver starts the engine and begins to drive. He swerves the car multiple times before we reach the long, straight boulevard that connects the city to our suburban town.
“So what did I miss?” Ray asks with one eyebrow arched, his gaze directed at me.
I miss this kind of inquiry from the ever curious Ray Gaskell. The unknown place where he had been didn’t change his inquisitiveness.
“But first, tell me where you’ve been. Your complexion has turned fair, and your pores seem to have—”
“Okay, enough!” he cuts me out. “You don’t have to remind me how huge and ugly my pores are, Angel. You know I dread them.” He peeps into the rear-view mirror and pulls out a compact mirror from his Chanel handbag. “I love this foundation. Charles bought it for me.”
“You went to France?”
“No. Not in France.”
“Then where?”
Ray pulls out a paper bag from his side and hands it over to me, a wide smile plastered on his face.
My eyes grow big as I open the bag and found a huge can of Wild Berry Products.
“Chocolates are good for depression, honey. I know you are not so over with what happened.”
Ray got me there.
He shouldn’t have said that. It’s been six months, I know, but it still hurts. Every time I am reminded of my foolishness, the deep wound in my heart bleeds anew, and I fear no amount of time and space can heal it. I wish I can cry right now because the hammering in my chest is pushing the tears out of my eyes. Then again, I can’t let the driver see how emotionally unstable I am, and so I bite my tongue and press my lips together.
“Try them, honey. You’ll definitely forget the graduation nightmare.”
“Yeah. These Alaskan chocolates must be so good, Ray.”
I turn my eyes to the view outside my window. The tall buildings and the different colors their glasses reflect were so beautiful, but they cannot take away the thoughts out of my head.
Ray continues to talk about his beautiful experience in Alaska while I watch those mesmerizing lights change colors.
His face doesn’t leave me.
The look on his face that night is constantly engraved in every fiber of my memory.
Every night, I can only wish for the storm to cease… to eliminate the doubt and rage I saw in his eyes.
I know all of these will stay as wishes, though
“Angel?”
When I finally feel Ray’s nudge, we are already at his place.
The cab driver helps us unload all of Ray’s luggage and places them inside his small foyer. Surprisingly, his house has been kept neat and organized this whole time even in his absence.
“Dinner tonight? Mom will cook for you,” I say while watching him drag his entire luggage to one corner.
“You are too quick to tell them about our reconciliation, sweetie!”
“Mom was actually expecting for everything to be okay.”
“She was that positive?”
I nod. “She’s always been an optimist, and she knows you love me like a sister.”
“Sarah is officially my new favorite girl!”
“What about me?”
“I can only make you my favorite girl again if you tell me everything—everything, Angel! No hidden secrets, okay?” he says after clearing the couch of some piles of magazines and books. He then sets two bee-shaped pillows on the seat. “I am waiting!” he exclaims, tapping the side of the sofa.
Okay.
I let out a sigh.
I thought he has forgotten about the nightmare.
“Which part do you want to know first?”
“You and Stone.”
I tell him everything about Stone and me—how we first met, the lady who referred me to Paul, my first escort job, and the second one that led me to my demise. I leave out nothing, and I know he appreciates my honesty this time.
“You did all that for a kidney?” he says.
“I was desperate, Ray, and it’s not like I was selling my body to Stone,” I explain. I always thought it was a better thing than selling sex.
“And what happened next?”
“It’s a finished deal. Angel Grant is dead,” I answer.
“How did Stone magically erase Angel Grant from the face of the planet, then?”
Hunter did manage to make her disappear, and because of that, I gained the fury of the entire Etheridge clan. When Stone spilled the news to the mayor that night after the party, he was enraged, as Paul claimed. Stone was so devastated that he flew out of the state and went somewhere in the Caribbean. Since then, the Mayor was in and out of the hospital.
I have no idea what Stone told them about the breakup, but he must’ve painted me as the villain. Even the first lady got Angel Grant investigated, and the news of the break-up became an overnight sensation.
But why is it such a big deal to the Etheridges? It just doesn’t make sense.
For weeks, my face was in the headlines, and I had a difficult time telling Mom and Dad the truth. They never asked me why I did that because they knew why I would do something like that for them. They kept silent as though nothing happened, as though Angel Grant was just fiction, as though she wasn’t the daughter they raised… as though I was immaculate.
“So Angel Grant is really gone now?” Ray clarifies.
“She’s good as dead.”
“And what did Mr. Etheridge find out from the investigation?”
I shrug my shoulders. “I have no idea. Stone must have done something to protect my identity.” He should have because if the first lady finds out who I really am, I can’t imagine the scandal that would arise. She is a powerful woman, and with just one flick of her fingers, I’ll vanish from the US map. I will literally evaporate into thin air.
“And that’s pretty much it,” I add. “The tale of the disappearing Cinderella—my story.”
“Allow me to give you a warm hug, sweetie.” Ray’s words fill me with warmth and security. “I feel sorry that I left you. It’s so immature of me!” Little by little, his eyes turn red. I can tell he is about to cry.
“I can’t blame you, Ray. I lied to you. I lied to a lot of people.”
“You didn’t lie, Angel. You just kept things from me. I should’ve tried to understand you more.”
“I’m really sorry.” I hold his hands tight and squeeze them to let him feel I mean what I said.
“No. I should be sorry.” He shakes his head. “I can’t imagine how you handled all those alone. Your mom and dad, I suppose, can’t do anything but pray for you and make sure you still eat thrice a day. Then, you had Hunter Stone who’s gone missing in action, leaving you vulnerable to Cruella de Vil.”
I smirk. “Who’s Cruella de Vil?”
“The first lady, of course!”
“You’re impossible!”
“But seriously, that woman could have done you harm had she found the truth!”
I know.
“And with the Mayor not feeling well because of Stone and Angel Grant, I am sure the media will not let you off the hook right away. They might be looking for you in the four corners of the world.”
Speaking of that, I have been extra careful when I go to public places. I would either wear dark glasses or a shawl to cover my face or go in complete disguise with a pixie-cut wig, but today is an exception. I have to be me, Angel Mohr. It is a special day because of Ray.
“I am careful,” I reply.
“You better be. The media can make or break you.” He stands up and saunters toward the kitchen. “Want some nuts?” He shows me a bowl of pistachio.
“No, thank you.”
“It’s salmonella-free,” he says while
gnawing some nuts.
“My stomach is a little sensitive to nuts these days.”
“Okay.” Ray sits back on the couch and sets the bowl on the glass table beside us. “So did you get the job in McGarry Publishing?”
A slight curve on my lips appears. Finally, we’re veering away from the difficult topics. “Still in probationary, but the compensation is really good.”
“That’s wonderful! I told you, your genius can go places!”
“I’m just so happy that money is no longer an issue now. Loans are easier to acquire because I have a decent job to back me up.”
“And what about your dad? How is he?”
I straighten my back and let it rest on the back of the couch.
Ray reaches for the remote control and turns the television on. I like it how our conversation had become spontaneous and natural when he only forgave me about an hour ago.
“Still the same. He’s on continuous dialysis… regular laboratory works.” The good news is he is out of the hospital for six months already, and I know he isn’t missing any of his stay there. “But all is well. We're just waiting for the new kidney. Dr. Martin said we’re near the list.”
“The hottie doctor?” His voice heightens at the mention of Eric. What a typical Ray thing!
Meanwhile, Andrew Fischer, the reporter from the local TV news, appears on the television in his gray suit and yellow tie. He begins the show with his usual repertoire of jokes about the politicians and the rising prices of commodities in Walmart stores.
“Martin’s married, Ray.” My eyes are on the television, waiting for some real news.
“Married?” The glow on his face suddenly turns dark and bitter. “Married at such a young age?”
“He’s in his thirties. Give the man a chance to be happy.” I think he wants me to say that Eric Martin would have been happier had he been with Ray than some other woman.
“This is such a letdown!” he murmurs to himself. “If only Charles could marry me.”
“Time will come, sweetie. His parents will approve of you, eventually.”
“Damn tradition!”
Suddenly, we fall into silence when Andrew Fischer disappears and a picture of a young man being arrested by the local cops flashes on the screen.
It hits me deep into my bones.
The headline on the screen says, “Damien Etheridge hits the Metro with coke.”
If you enjoyed this sample then look for
Shouldn’t Have Dealt.
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Acknowledgements
Many thanks to my loyal readers who stick to this series till the end. I hope you have enjoyed Angel, Damien and Hunter’s journey. I have enjoyed reading all your reactions on Wattpad, and I am still looking forward to reading some more. You have been my driving force to continue writing despite my busy life.
I also want to thank my family, my mom and dad, most specially for being my inspiration. I cannot wait to see you soon. To my sister, Marianne, I am looking forward to hearing your opinion about this series. I would also like to take this opportunity to greet my youngest sister, Melissa, congratulations for finishing her college degree with excellence. Job well done, sis! To my brother, continue being the sweet and loving brother you are.
To Marah and Rey, who are like sisters to me now, thank you for always listening to my stories and for never getting tired of understanding me.
To the people who have made my life wonderful in the past year, thank you for coming to my life and for accepting me for who I am. I appreciate your friendship.
Lastly, to my publisher, I owe you everything for giving me this opportunity to have my books published. You and your team are blessing to me from God. It’s an honor to be working with you again. And to my editor, thank you a million times.
Author’s Note
Hey there!
Thank you so much for reading Shouldn’t Have Dealt! I can’t express how grateful I am for reading something that was once just a thought inside my head.
I’d love to hear from you! Please feel free to email me at
[email protected] and sign up at
maralynne.awesomeauthors.org for freebies!
One last thing: I’d love to hear your thoughts on the book. Please leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads because I just love reading your comments and getting to know YOU!
Whether that review is good or bad, I’d still love to hear it!
Can’t wait to hear from you!
Mara Lynne
About the Author
Other than reading and writing stories, Mara Lynne loves to daydream . Sometimes she would have a hard time falling asleep because of the many stories going on around her head. Unusual characters and twisted plots keep her company each night, and would only leave her once she had breathe life to them. She discovered the passion for writing when she was eleven years old–the time when she met the well-loved red-haired Anne Shirley. She fell in love with the kindred spirit Anne because she sees herself in her. There was a time when she even thought she was Anne of Green Gables! Seriously! It was like a mild case of identification, a defense mechanism for wanting to be somebody you adore or worship but whom you can never be. After Anne Shirley, she fell in love with all of Jane Austen heroines, with Anne Elliot as her most loved. She just loved everyone whose name is Anne!! When she is not writing, Mara Lynne works as a full time registered nurse in England. She hailed from a city in the southern part of the Philippines.
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