Balotelli Bale Series Book #5: The Other Man Part 2

Chapter 12: Scandalous Mrs Sinclair

Nick's POV
I have been in an endless ballard with the bottle of whiskey in front of me. It started the night I attended the award ceremony. I came home, took this bottle out of my hiding place and stared at it. I hid it when Athena came home. Every morning after that since she sleeps in, I wake up and stare at it.

I badly need a drink.

"Nick no!" Athena rushed and took the bottle from the table. "Have you?"

She realized that the seal isn't even broken.

"I was thinking about it. I haven't done it." I assured her.

"Do you... what do you usually do when you have a hard time? Do you have a sponsor?"

"I have one but I don't like him."

"You can tell me... anything."

She took a seat on the other side of the table. She placed a newspaper and some tabloids on the table. My eyes didn't miss Keira on the front page.

"I have a strong craving..." That is how it started. It started with a craving to forget my problems. I was going through a rough marriage. But later on the craving wasn't to forget my problems. I was craving for Keira. I kept craving until I tamed the hunger. Now it's back. It's back after seeing her ...for Kei."

"Oh boy. I told you not to go to that award thing."

"Freya said it's part of my healing process. The only problem is that it has taken me back several steps. I'm fraying and I'm scared of what that means for my sobriety."

"Why do you listen to the shrink if it's making it worse?"

"She is helpful. She has helped me be a better person."

"That is not how your mom feels. You are not the Nick I remember. This is more of a personality change and it's troubling."

I have changed to the point ai surprise myself.

"My mom feels jealous. That's her problem. You know what she told me after I tolf her I'll break up with Kei? She said that one day I'll see her happy with another man and I'll see her smile and I won't be able to live with it. The day has come Athena. I can't live with it. She cannot be with another man. I just can't stomach it. I want her back."

Athena sighed rather loudly and held up the newspaper for me to see. The front page is of Keira carrying a little boy in her arms and Theo carrying a little girl. I can't see their faces. But it's dark and the place is crawling with security.

"Late last night, Marseilles was ruffled awake when police and Monsieur Sinclair's personal security turned everything upside down looking for Keira Sinclair. Sources tell us that she was seen crawling out of the live hedge fence of the Sinclair estate and she made a run for it,being chased down by bodyguards. It seems that she did not return and it drove Monsieur Sinclair to the brink of madness."

Athena set down the paper. I reached for it. She looks tragic. "Isn't this Helena's hotel? Where she's staying that is."

"It is. Why?" She's looking through the other tabloids

"Why was Keira there?"

"Uh... because it's a big hotel in Marseilles? Listen to this: Is the perfect marriage on the rocks? Mr and Mrs Sinclair have always sold a fairytale that many of us have bought since the biggest wedding money can buy. For anyone dreaming to be a princess, Keira Sinclair made that possible. She is not just the epitome of fashion and class but she is married to the wealthiest man alive. But once the layer of luxurious perfection is peeled off, there is only one thing left, a lie. Keira Sinclair is rumoured to have escaped the Sinclair Estate with her children. The puzzling events of the day culminated to a rough night for Marseilles as police and Mr Sinclair's personal security turned Marseilles upside down looking for her and the children. Is this a looming cloud of trouble in paradise?"