Page 39 of Quasim III: King Inferno

My vision clouded as everything faded to black.

He won. He had always won.

Lucia

I satacross from Rich as he checked his phone – again.

He was always glued to that phone, busy with whatever was happening in the city. Working as the district attorney was the upgrade we prayed for when it came to his career. All the grunt work had finally paid off, and he was in control. However, the days were long and answering to everyone was longer. I thought with us finally being in the same city, that he would spend more time with me. Working as the assistant district attorney, and me being a detective in New York was tough on our relationship. We made it work at times, and I spent any vacation days with him.

With him being the district attorney in New York, some nights, he didn’t come home until after midnight. Our time together was limited because I had my own career, too. Even when we were together, like tonight, the calls kept coming and his focus was always elsewhere.

He would end up on the phone as he came through the door. Well, on the nights that I was there. Sometimes, I thought living long distance was the best for us. It was hard at times, but seeing his face when he hadn’t seen me after a long week was the best reward. Now, he gave me this long look before hekicked his dress shoes off and called over his shoulder he was going to grab a quick shower. Now, I was subjected to watch him as he handled business during the one date night that we could manage to plan between our schedules.

Rich was younger than me, and though I hated to date younger men, he was different. There was something very different about him, and I needed him. I could tell there was someone else, because his attention was usually on me. We’ve been married for years, and the way he had been moving had been different.

The so-called trips out the country that Morgan couldn’t confirm that he attended, and the way he kept his phone glued to his hands told me that he was involved with someone else, and I was tired of pretending.

“Can I have one damn night without you on the phone? I thought we would spend more time reconnecting and look at you on the phone… at least talk about work with me like you used to.” I groaned, tossing back the last bit of wine in my glass.

He used to talk to me about his day and how frustrated that he was with whoever pissed him off. Now, I barely got a few words, or a simple ‘cool’. I missed the days when we would talk shit about our jobs, and he would tell me everything that was going on. These days, I got my information from Morgan instead of my own damn husband.

He looked up from his phone and I saw him shake off the quick look of disgust before he decided to oblige me with a conversation. “I had a meeting with my ADA today… quick lunch with Morgan… just debriefing with him.”

Biting the inside of my cheek, I looked at him. “Oh, is he nice?”

He snickered. “She.”

“Oh, well, is she nice?”

It was the way he flexed his eyebrows that let me know that he thought she was beyond nice. I had been with Rich long enough to know when he was attracted to a woman, and I didn’t even have to see what she looked like. His attention was on discussing her, and no longer his phone.

“Very nice… beautiful too, and she’s smart, which is nice.”

I wanted to slam the bottle of wine over his head. Ever since Cherie, he held his hate over me, almost like he resented me, and he never hesitated to let me know there would be others. That I would always have to compete, if I wanted him to stay in this marriage.

Blackmail did nothing for him anymore. He knew we were both in this too deep to turn on the other. I’ve done some things, and he had too, and at this point, we needed each other.

At least, that was what I thought.

Rich moved like he didn’t need me, and I was more of a burden than anything. “Don’t fuck her, Rich.”

He laughed and took back his drink while staring across the table at me. “Or what… you gonna kill her, Lucia? Think killing the ADA might prove to be harder, no?”

I bit the inside of my cheek harder and tasted blood as I stared at him. Rich never seemed to realize that I would give him the entire world, and I would protect him with everything inside of me. All that I’ve done was to protect him, and he acted like I had ruined his life.

“You have a thing for fucking bitches that always need to be saved… reason you decided to fuck and fall in love with Thea’s weak ass and now you have a son that you refuse to acknowledge. Who has to step in and fix things? Me.”

“Oh? Like Mercer… he fixes everything for you, right? Got his dick so far down your throat that you probably got pubes wrapped around your tonsils.” He spat, looking at me in puredisgust. “You’ve been Mercer’s little fucking puppy and got the nerve to question me on what the fuck I do.”

I ignored him and looked around for that bitch so she could refill my wine. “Don’t fuck her, Rich… I can handle the quiet affairs that you continue to have behind my back, but your co-worker… someone like her… it would break me.”

It was no secret that Rich wasn’t faithful and would never be faithful. The minute he discovered that I killed Cherie, and he had to pretend to the Inferno Gods that he was responsible and had called the hit, our marriage went even further into shit than it already was. He started becoming even more disrespectful, not caring about my feelings. Getting rid of Cherie was supposed to bring us closer, and it did the opposite. The more he climbed up the judicial ladder, the more he possessed this arrogance that I hated.

Like his last trip that he had taken out the country. I could bet on my life that he was with another woman and had taken her out the country to trick on her, while he had a wife at home. Whenever I called him at work, he was short and often rushed me off the phone, reminding me that he had a big case he was working on.

“Cause she’s in a higher position than you, Lucia? You can’t play top dog when the other woman is actually the top dog, right? Shit, when anyone is the actual top dog, you dislike it… remember when you had me by the balls when I was just a bullshit lawyer working in the DA’s office in Baltimore? How times have changed,” He chuckled while enjoying the rest of his scotch.

I rolled my eyes and signaled for them to bring the wine back over. “It’s always about work and never about us… I just want an inkling of your attention, Rich. All I’m asking for when it comes to you.”

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