You should have trusted me

Phillipe counted in his head to three. He always did that when he struggled for composure. Then he took off his gray jacket and hung it over the baroque chair next to him. With wiry fingers, he then loosened his navy blue tie, which he also hung over the back of the chair.

He made sure the door was really closed before he opened the bottle of cognac and generously poured the golden liquid into his glass.

"A son?" Tired, he sat down on one of the royal blue chairs in Baroque style. His eyes were iron. "How old is he? How long does this been going on between you? She must have been a child?"

"He's two." Alexandre lied calmly. Although Adrien was three, he was small and petite. Alexandre could spend him well as a two-year-old. He knew his friend was a true moral apostle. Gentleman through and through. Such men were rarely encountered. He was honest and righteous. "She was five months pregnant before I abducted her. She is very petite, so that the belly was really visible only at the end of the sixth month." He poured oil into the fire. He heard Phillipe gasp. "She was only seventeen!"

"And incredibly beautiful."

"If that had come out. She would be ruined!" He laughed hard.

"She is not ruined. I married her." Alexandre took a long sip. The alcohol burned down his throat.

"He really is your son?"

"Yes! Do you want a DNA test?" He lied in a rough voice. He did not like it. He did not like to lie in front of his friends and family. But now it was his best choice. He had faked documents. Alexandre would do anything to use his lie skillfully. He would do anything to pay this old bastard back.

"And Danielle?" That name, it was so sweet and yet so painful. Although he did not try to relive the horror of those days, there were days when the terror overtook him. It devoured him. He would not forget. Her face was still buzzing in his mind's eye. Her smile. But he knew he would never be able to touch her again. Now she was cold.

"It's been five years, Phillipe."

"You loved her."

"I cann't grieve for her my whole life. She is death." Lies about lies. Did he even say the truth, he wondered. Lying somehow became a habit. A lie was so easy on his lips. As if they were flying out of his mouth.

"Did you seduce her because she will inherit?"

Alexandre hesitated. He no longer dared to look into his friend's face and looked out into the darkness. Was the evening always so dark in autumn? "That was one of the reasons." And because she was Adrien's guardian, he added in his mind.

Phillipe sighed. "Promise me you'll be good to her."

He was not proud that he would use her. But he needed her or rather what she owned. He needed her power to get his revenge. And he wanted revenge. He could not forget and certainly would not forgive. He had taken Danielle away from him. This man had snatched his light from him. His grief almost killed him. And revenge burned him, ate him up from within. "I will fulfill her every wish."

Phillipe got up. "I hope so." His tone was gentler. He hoped so much that Alec would let go. "Why did you hide her for so long?"

"She was promised to another man and she was pregnant ..." Alexandre raised his head and looked at his friend. "... with my child." A tense silence was in the air.

"But you could have introduced her as your wife a year ago or even earlier?" Phillipe asked after agonizingly long minutes. Alexandre frowned annoyed. Sometimes Phillipe was worse than his mother. Every detail had to be analyzed by him. Yes he was a good listener and an even better friend. A loyal friend. Sometimes too good-natured for his own good. But he was Alexandre's friend. He told him a thousand lies. A thousand lies Phillipe believed. With each question Phillipe posed, Alexandre became entangled even more in his network of lies. And he hated that. He hated lying to him. But he had to. He had to lie. He would even lie to heaven if it meant coming closer to his revenge.

"She was afraid. She was engaged before that. A man her grandfather had chosen. They were childhood friends and had known each other for almost their entire lives. Her family had a lot of expectations in her and she was just afraid to disappoint her grandfather. You have to understand she has a close bond with her grandparents. It was understandable that she needed time until grass had grown over it. "

"You should have told me about it. I would have helped you. You should have trusted me. "Disappointment overshadowed his face. Alexandre approached him, placing his hand on Phillipe's shoulder. "I'll do that now. Santé! My friend." And nudged his glass to that of his friend.