Love Dies

"How are you feeling, Mr. Johnstone?" he asked.

"Like I've been drugged, tied up, pissed on, then tossed in a pool to drown," I joked half-heartedly. "Other than that, I'm just fine." The detective chuckled at that.

"At least you still have your sense of humor. That's a good thing," he said.

"What's going to happen to them?" Dad asked.

"If I have my way, all of them will be held without bail, especially considering that Jackson lives next door to your son," the detective replied. "That's up to the judge, though. I'm putting together a list of charges that should hopefully keep them all behind bars for a very long time. Right now, I'm waiting for the results of Stu's blood work."

The test results came back an hour later, and I was told the compound they used could have killed me all by itself had they injected just a tiny bit more than they did. Dad looked at Detective Stanford with thunder in his eyes.

"Burn those no-good cunts, Detective," Dad growled. "All of them."

"I'll do my best, Mr. Johnstone," the detective said before leaving. The hospital kept me overnight to ensure all the compounds had worked their way out of my system. I got home the following day and crashed in the guest bedroom, physically and emotionally drained. My manager gave me the rest of the week off to rest, which I accepted graciously.

Two days later, I met Lisa at the jail. She was there to deliver the divorce paperwork, and I wanted to deliver a check for $253.18. I also wanted to talk to Niki. Lisa handed the papers to the sergeant behind the desk, who said she would ensure Niki got them.

Niki was brought out in an orange jumpsuit and chains. She sat down across from me, a thick Plexiglas partition between us. The partition had holes that allowed visitors to talk to inmates while preventing physical contact.

"You wanna tell me what the fuck happened?" I asked.

"I'm sorry. It was supposed to be a practical joke," Niki replied.

"A practical joke? Are you fucking kidding me? You and your lovers damn near killed me. Twice." Niki looked at me, shocked. "The first time was when they injected me with that drug. The second time was when you had them throw me in the pool tied up. I could've drowned. That's not a practical joke. That's attempted murder. And I believe that's what you intended. It was, wasn't it?"

"No..."

"I don't fucking believe you. You knew I would never tolerate what you and Ben demanded. So you staged that little 'party' hoping something would happen and I would end up dead." Niki tried to look contrite but couldn't pull it off. Her face changed, and what looked at me was nothing short of evil.

"All right, dammit. Do you want the truth? Here it is. I wanted your inheritance, and I also wanted to fuck Ben Jackson. You have no idea what it's like being fucked by someone with such a huge dick. He hit places you never could. So we - that is, Ben and I - decided to make your life impossible.

"At first, I was content with just divorcing you. Ben said I would get half of your inheritance, and we would split that between us. He was desperate for money. But we didn't expect you to react the way you did. So we came up with another plan. I had hoped you would've died in the pool, and we could say you slipped and fell in by accident.

"That way, we not only have gotten your inheritance, we would have gotten everything. Your house, your insurance - everything. And we would have been set for life. But no, you had to fuck that up by surviving and calling the cops."

"You know, there was a time when I loved you more than life itself," I told her. "But that love is dead. Right now, I hate you with every fiber of my being. And you wanna know what's worse? I don't think I'll ever be able to trust or love another woman again. I'm going to do everything in my power to help them bury you so deep they'll have to pipe sunlight in to you."

"And what proof do you have?" Niki snorted with a contemptuous smirk. I smiled and pulled out an audio recorder. Pressing a button, I let her listen to her own words. Her face turned white as she heard herself confess her plot to kill me while making it look like an accident.

"Not only that, there's a camera right over there, pointed right at you. And I happen to know they record every conversation in here," I said. "Sign the divorce papers, take your check and fuck off. Enjoy the rest of your miserable fucking life, bitch." I turned and walked away.

Niki, Ben, and the others were ordered held without bail. I testified at the trial, but the video evidence captured by my surveillance, plus the video of the "wedding," sealed the deal. All of the conspirators were found guilty of all the charges against them.

The judge was so incensed with the nature of their crimes that he issued the maximum allowed by law. Niki and Ben got the worst of it, however. The judge ordered their sentences to be served consecutively, meaning they would both be in prison for nearly 50 years - without parole.

My divorce flew through the system without a hitch, but the lawsuit against Ben didn't go as I had hoped. For starters, he didn't have anything to attach. He sold his house and belongings, but most of that went for his legal defense. By the time it was all said and done, he was bankrupt.

I threw myself into my work, completely renovating the house to eradicate any trace of Niki's existence. I dated a few times over the next two years and even got laid. But I couldn't trust or love another woman after what Niki had done. I even sought help from a counselor, but that was to no avail.

One day, Dad called and asked me to come by his office, and I was curious to know why since he didn't give a reason. When I arrived, he introduced me to his new paralegal, Marie Gagnon. She was a lovely brunette, and I was instantly taken with her. I checked myself, though, as I recalled being instantly taken with Niki.

Dad explained that Niki had just moved here from Montreal, and he "wondered" if I wouldn't mind showing her around, maybe taking her to dinner. I knew what he was up to, and I smiled to myself. Of course, I would be happy to escort Ms. Gagnon, I told him.

"No need to be so formal, son," Dad said with a smile. "I just figured she'd like to spend time with someone closer to her age. You know, someone... not attached."

"Got it, Dad," I said. "Thanks."

"Just bring her back in one piece, okay?"

That night was the first of many I spent with Marie. It turned out that she, too, had been married and divorced her husband after catching him in their marital bed with another woman. We both had quite a lot in common - we both liked a lot of the same type of music, and we both enjoyed the arts.

"You know, Stu, we're not all like Niki," Marie said after I told her my sad tale of woe.

"I know. And not all men are like your ex. What was his name again? Pierre?"

"I think of him as 'Asshole,' but yeah, that was his given name," Marie said, causing me to laugh. Then it hit me. That was the first real laugh I had experienced in two years. "You find that funny?"

"No, it's just... that's the first time someone has actually made me laugh in two years. And it felt good. Thank you."

"You are most welcome, Stu," Marie said with a smile that drew me in. I finally screwed up enough courage to ask her to marry me, and she eagerly accepted. Then she surprised me by insisting on signing a prenuptial agreement.

"I will never do to you what Niki did, but I want to show that I can be trusted. I love you with all my heart, and I will do anything to show you," she said. Elated, Dad put the agreement together, precisely like the agreement I had with Niki.

The wedding was lovely, and we had a great time in Paris, where we went for our honeymoon. Fortunately, Marie spoke French fluently, but I recalled some of the French I learned in high school and could engage some locals on a limited basis by the time we left.

We ended our trip to France with a visit to Normandy, where we looked out over the beaches where Allied troops fought and died to save the world from the Nazis. Granted, my love for Niki was as dead as the soldiers killed here, but my love for Marie was as fresh and bright as the morning sun. And I could tell she felt the same towards me.

As my Dad once said, Niki sowed to the wind, and she reaped the whirlwind. I kissed my lovely bride, and we walked off that beach hand-in-hand.

...

Fade to black...

Note: To the perfectionists out there (and you know who you are), I exercised a bit of artistic license with the sentences handed out to Niki and her co-conspirators. This is, as I stated in the beginning, fiction, which means, it's NOT real. Relax...