Love and Weakness (Third Part of "Love In The Spotlight") MJ Fantasy

Chapter 35: Monica

Houston, TX

Zoe's POV

If you don't remember what happened between Michael, Monica, and Zoe, read Chapter 34 of Love In The Spotlight.

I wiped some dust off of the collar of Michael's shirt as we stood in front of the small bungalow. Michael lifted his and knocked for the third time. We both looked at each other sadly when there was still no response.

"Maybe she changed her mind?" I wondered aloud.

Michael shrugged. "Should we come back later?"

I parted my lips to respond but the door opening suddenly cut me off. Michael and I both turned to the door and offered nervous smiles to the woman standing before us.

"Monica, it's so nice to see you again." Michael greeted her, extending his hand.

She smiled nervously and shook his hand. "Nice to see you as well, Michael." She responded.

"How are you?" I asked politely.

Her smile faded as she cast her gaze over to me. "Fine, thanks." She replied shortly. I nodded awkwardly and looked at the ground. "Well come on in, make yourselves at home." She offered, stepping aside so that we could enter the house.

Instinctively, I clutched onto Michael's hand and allowed him to lead the way. He guided me into the house and stopped in a small foyer, waiting for Monica's direction. The house was pretty small but the open floor plan made it seem spacious. The wooden decor made it seem like a cottage or cabin. If I remember correctly, Monica is pretty high maintenance and flashy. This place doesn't fit her at all.

Monica led us to her living room, where we all sat on a couch, Michael in between Monica and I. Not even a whole 2 minutes into the visit I began to have a strange feeling. I'm having a hard time believing that this will turn out the way it's supposed to.

"Would you like anything to eat? Or a drink?" Monica asked.

"Oh no, thank you." Michael answered for both of us.

She smiled. "I would offer a glass of wine but I know that you've had issues with alcohol in the past, so..." She remarked, nodding in my direction.

I scrunched my eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

Michael cleared his throat. "So what are you up to these days? Are you still a personal assistant?" He asked, changing the subject.

She smirked. "Unfortunately it's hard to get a job when your resume shows you were fired by Michael Jackson..."

His eyes widened. "How did that show up on your resume?"

She rolled her eyes. "Ask Frank, if he's still your manager."

He sighed. "I told him to keep the whole thing quiet..."

"Well he didn't, and I'm barely making ends meet because of it."

I gave Michael a weary look and he took a deep breath. "Monica, we're here to speak to you about some of the things that happened on tour. There were a lot of issues between us that we want to clear up..."

She snorted. "You really think you can clear everything up in a few hours?"

"Well hopefully we can get a good start..." I suggested.

"How's this for a good start... I have a permanent scar on the back of neck from where you attacked me..."

My jaw dropped. "I'm-... I..."

"See? There's no such thing as a good start..."

"We understand that you're upset with us," Michael chimed in. "And you have every right to be. But you did things to upset us as well..."

"Like what? Accidentally catch feelings for Michael Jackson? Just like millions of other girls in the world? Are you going to try to draw an apology out of all of them?" She scoffed.

"It's not about you having feelings for him." I stated. "You knew that he was in a relationship so by pursuing him you disrespected us both."

"You disrespected him yourself by keeping all of those secrets. And I never pursued him. He came to me crying on my shoulder about you."

"You tried to break us up, Monica." I challenged.

"You were already broken." She shot back.

"And if you were really his friend you would've tried to help us instead of ruin us."

She raised an eyebrow. "I was there for Michael the entire time after you broke his heart. My plan was never to ruin your relationship. I just wanted to be a good friend."

"By taking off your clothes in front of him?"

Michael leaned forward, blocking Monica from my view. "Zoe-"

"No. By listening to his problems, wiping his tears, keeping him company, and taking care of anything else he needed."

"But those things were my responsibilities, not yours." I argued.

"So it was your responsibility to hire strippers and send them to his room?" She questioned.

My mouth fell open as the room became dead silent. Michael's face was laced with guilt and shame as he ran his hands over his head. Monica offered a menacing smirk as the tension became more prevalent. My heart beat tripled as I turned to look at Michael. "Is she lying?" I asked in a soft whisper.

Monica giggled. "No, I'm not lying. Michael had me sending pretty girls to his room MONTHS before I 'ruined' your relationship. Seems to me like you guys were the ones ruining it. I was just caught in the middle."

I swallowed a lump in my throat and continued to stare at Michael. He remained silent. Which pretty much tells me that she's telling the truth.

I took a deep breath and looked over at Monica. "Monica, I'm sorry for physically attacking you all of those years ago. That was extremely immature of me. No matter what you did, you did not deserve that. I only hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me. If not now, then one day." I said. Her expression softened, just a little, and she nodded slowly without saying a word. I smiled and stood from the couch. "I'll let you and Michael speak in private for a while. I'll be in the car. I'm glad I had the chance to apologize to you."

She smiled weakly. "Take care, Zoe."

"You too, Monica."

I shook her hand awkwardly before turning to leave the room. Michael watched me leave with fear in his eyes. He probably thinks I'm going to kick his ass as soon as I get the chance. I'm not going to, though. I would be a fool to get that upset of something that happened so many years ago. Besides, I think we've been through things much worse than that. Not only did I cheat once, Michael cheated twice and was caught both times. And still, I love him dearly. I know for a fact that no woman, especially some stripper, can measure up to what Michael and I have spent 10 years building. Does it piss me off that Michael was apparently seeing strippers? Yes it does. Do I want to know what the hell he was thinking and why he did it? Yes I do. But am I going to scream and raise hell and threaten to leave him? No I'm not. At this stage in my life I am beyond that. It's not worth my breath, especially considering that I only have a few breaths left.

Before I exited the house I stopped in the foyer. I dug down in my purse and pulled out a pen and my check book. I scribbled out a check for $20,000. On another slip of paper I wrote down the name of a good friend of mine who could use a personal assistant. I wonder if Monica likes The Supremes? I left the check and the paper on a bookshelf in the corner and slipped out of the house.

Bill smiled as I walked toward the car and opened the door for me to hop in. He shut the door behind me and I took a deep breath as I got comfortable. I don't know how I feel about this. Was it a success? Was it a failure? Does Monica still hate me? One thing is for sure, I don't hate her and I can honestly say that I've forgiven her. And if anything, at least I've addressed another issue that's been a burden on my heart for many years.

Two down, a lot to go.