Love Is A Battle Field (Fourth Part of "Love In The Spotlight") MJ Fantasy

Chapter 6: Who Do You Love?

Michael's POV

Zoe stormed out of the room, cursing the entire time. Irritated, I sighed and ran after her.

"Wait a second!" I called.

"Fuck you!" She spat, never turning around.

I ran a little faster and caught up to her, grabbing her arm to stop her. "Just listen, please?"

She snatched her arm away. "I don't want to listen, Michael!"

"Dammit, will you work with me for once?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Work with you?" She questioned. "I worked with you way more than once. I vowed my life to 'working' with you. You ruined that, and I now don't have to work with you anymore..." She said with anger.

I took a deep breath. "This isn't about us... We have to work together for the kids... I don't care how you feel about me. But Junior-"

"Junior is FINE."

"He's not fine! He's not himself! You can't look me in my eye and tell me that that there is nothing wrong with that boy.... I know you don't believe that."

She looked down at the ground and shook her head. "I just-.... I don't know, Michael. I don't know what to do, okay? I just don't understand him anymore..."

I took a step toward her. "It's Brandon, Zoe."

She cut her eyes at me. "Why do you keep bringing his name into it?"

"The kids told me... They brought his name into it, not me."

"Or did you tell them to blame it on him?"

My jaw tightened. "You really need to stop treating me like a liar. You know that I would NEVER do that. Don't act like you don't know me, Zoe... You know me better than anyone..."

I could see her letting her guard down as she became visibly saddened. "Maybe you just misunderstood something... There's no way Brandon would purposely hurt Junior.... I know he wouldn't..."

Annoyed that she was still being so stubborn, I sighed. "I didn't misunderstand anything. Junior told me word for word what Brandon says to him.... And guess what? It reminded me a lot of Joseph. You know the kind of things Joseph used to say to me. You know how horrible I felt for years because of his words. I promised myself that I would never make my son feel that way, and I'll be damned if I let another man do it...."

She nodded slowly in understanding. "But why wouldn't Junior just come and tell me himself?"

I shrugged. "I don't know... Maybe because he knew you would defend Brandon..."

Her eyes widened. "I would never defend someone over my son-"

"But that's what you just did. Right in front of him. I told you the truth and you didn't believe me. How do you think that made him feel?"

She sighed heavily, tears appearing in her eyes. "I'll talk to him, alright? And I'll talk to Brandon...."

A thousand tons were lifted from my shoulders. "Thank God...." I sighed.

"Im sure there's a perfect explanation. Brandon really loves the kids. And Junior is at a really sensitive age, so he might've taken something Brandon said the wrong way..."

"So you think Junior took 'you'll never be anything but dumb' the wrong way? 'Cause I don't think so. Just when I thought I got through to you you start making excuses for him again..."

"I'm not making excuses-"

"Then why aren't you angry? You should be enraged! You're in a relationship with someone who is mistreating your child! But I guess there's a perfect explanation for that, too, right? There's a perfect explanation for everything. Like why you left me for some overbearing asshole who yells at kids. Is there a perfect explanation for that?"

"That overbearing asshole is the only person who loved me when you couldn't. Now, there's your explanation."

"Oh great, so he can tear down my son's confidence all he wants, as long as he 'loves' you..."

"Like I said, I will talk to both of them and get to the bottom of all of this. The reason I'm so skeptical is because I know Brandon. I know the kind of person he is and he's not one to hurt people..."

"You know him better than Junior? You know him better than me? You know him so well that everyone else must be lying because he could no wrong, right? That's bullshit..."

"You just don't understand..."

"You're right I don't! What does he have to offer? He's rude, heartless, and egotistical. What makes him so perfect in your eyes? What makes you love him so much that you put him before your kids, huh? What makes him so great that you left me, someone you've known for 19 years, for him?"

"What's great about him is that I can trust him, unlike you. And I do not put him or anyone else before my kids... As far as leaving you for him goes, you basically pushed me into his arms, I never left you for him...."

I gasped. "You're really going to lie like that? I pushed you into his arms, Zoe? No. I begged on my hands and knees for you to stay. That's what I did. Don't change the story and try to paint yourself as the victim..."

"So you're the victim? You try to make it seem like I just randomly picked up my things and left one day. You know that you played a role in this. You broke my trust-"

"And you gave up on me."

She threw her hands in the air. "I couldn't take it anymore! I gave you so many chances, Michael. So many... I just couldn't deal with it anymore..."

"So you gave up, like I said. And now you're unhappy, because he can never love you half as much as I can and you'll never love him the way that you STILL love me."

"He doesn't measure up to you in every way but he has some qualities that surpass you. And I am happy with him. Happier than I've been with you in years..."

I rolled my eyes. "I don't believe that... What were we doing just 3 nights before you left? Do you remember?"

She nodded. "Yes, I remember."

"Well you seemed pretty happy, then. Laying in bed, talking and laughing the entire night. I bet you've never done that with him, yet he's the one that makes you happy..."

"Not getting my heart broken makes me pretty happy. So maybe he's not you. Maybe my chemistry with him isn't as strong as ours. Maybe he doesn't make me feel all of the things that you did. But he doesn't hurt me. He doesn't lie to me."

"Every relationship has issues. We've both lied to each other in the past. Countless times. And every single time we came back together stronger than ever. Why give up this time? You know that you belong with me. You know that your heart is mine. Forever. So why give up and be with a guy who isn't even half of me?"

She looked down at the ground, trying to find the answer. But there is no answer. Zoe knows that the only man for her is me.

I rested a finger under her chin and guided her head to my eyes. I just stared at her for a while, waiting for any sign of discomfort or hesitance. But there was none. All I saw was the pure love that I knew she still had for me.

"Even though you've given up on me..." I whispered. "I haven't given up on you. I know you'll come home one day... And I'll be waiting..."

She gulped, but didn't say anything back. Because she knows it's true. She can praise Brandon all she wants but it's all a front. Deep down inside she knows she wants me back.

With that thought in mind, I stepped just a little bit closer to her, my finger still under her chin. She didn't budge. I took that as a signal and stepped even closer. She still didn't pull away. I removed just a little bit more of the space between us so that our bodies were touching. Much to my surprise, she lifted her hands and placed them on my back. For some reason, my heart began to thump in my chest when I noticed she was leaning her face in towards mine. I bit my bottom lip, fully prepared to feel the sparks that I've been missing for so long. Closer and closer, almost there...

All of a sudden she stood upright, pulling away. "I have to go..." She muttered awkwardly. And before I could say anything back, she turned on her heel and vanished around the corner.