Accidentally in Love

12: The Feeling of Betrayal

"What do you want?" Alice barks coldly, upset at her ex's unannounced visit. 

Hal looks surprised at her tone, though he really shouldn't be, "These are for you."

Alice slowly takes the flowers from him, "So, you came over just to give me flowers...?"

He shakes his head, "I also came to check on you. You don't think I've heard the news? I should be telling you congratulations."

She rolls her eyes, "Gee, thanks--and I'm fine by the way. I don't need you to come 'check-in' on me."

Hal tries to reach out for her, but she moves away quickly. 

"Alice, I'm just going to cut to the chase--I miss you, honey. I want to come back home."

She doesn't think she heard him right, "Excuse me?"

"I made a mistake. Since we separated, there hasn't been a day that I haven't thought about you--about how badly I screwed up. We can be the couple we always wanted to be, Alice. I still love you."

Was he really saying that to her? Alice couldn't figure out if it was real life or if she was in a horrible dream. But, her life had been a horrible dream lately, so why should she be surprised about Hal's return? 

"I really don't know what to say..."

"You don't have to make a decision right this second. I'll wait," he strokes her hair gently, pressing a kiss to her forehead, every touch feeling incredibly foreign to Alice. 

"Thank you for the flowers. I'll--I'll think about it. I'm sorry, but I have somewhere I need to be."

*

FP went into his penthouse in a fury of rage. "Gladys!"

His soon to be ex wife wanders out of the bedroom, "What's going on?"

"You submitted the story about Alice to the press, didn't you?" he yells at her, backing her into a corner. 

"Babe, I don't know what you're talking about," she says flakily, her voice a similar tone to how it sounds when she's been drinking heavily.

He sniffs her breath, "Good god--are you drunk?"

She gives him a shove, getting away from him, "Since when do you care what I do in my free time?"

FP sighs angrily, "Our 8-year-old daughter is in the house with you right now. What the hell is your problem?!"

Gladys smiles, leaning back and perching on the couch, "Oh--Forsythia doesn't understand--"

"What don't I understand?" the little girl says, coming into view.

"It's okay, honey. Mommy and I are just having a little talk."

Jellybean walks all the way into the living room, "A pretty loud one."

FP squats down, kissing her forehead, "I'm sorry, kiddo. Why don't you go play in your room for a little while longer. Then we can go to the pool later."

That seems to appease the child as she nods and scoots out of the room quickly. 

"You think you're such a good dad, don't you?" Gladys says cynically. "You've always tried to act like the superior parent--but you don't really care about them? No, you just care about yourself--and your money--"

"Don't you ever say I don't care about my kids! I love them more than anything. It's you I could care less about," he says, enraged.

She just rolls her eyes, "We'll see about that."

*

Alice storms into the hotel, absolutely furious. She is going to let FP have it. He's in his office, filling out some forms, "Hey, Alice! What's going on?" he asks, changing his tone after realizing she doesn't look happy.

"Here's what's going on, buddy--I thought I could trust you, but I guess your wife is right. All you care about is yourself and making a goddamn buck."

FP stands up, genuinely confused by her accusation, "What the hell are you talking about?!"

Alice takes a step closer to him, as they are only separated by his desk, "Don't play dumb, FP--you know exactly what I'm talking about! You were the one who submitted my story to the news."

He looks at her, mouth gaping open, "Alice--what the?  No--I didn't do that! Why would I do that to you? To us?  Where did you even get that from?!" 

"I called R-I-V-W you ass! I asked who submitted the story and they told me it was Forsythe Jones. Now unless there is another Forsythe Jones hanging out around town I have every right to be incredibly furious at you!"

FP sits back down, head in his hands, "Jesus, Alice. I can't even believe you'd think I'd do that? Clearly someone else submitted that under my name. My father is in town, Forsythe Senior, but he doesn't even know about this...dammit, Gladys did do this to me--"

"Oh, save it!" she yells, turning to exit the office. He immediately stands up going after her, "Alice! Wait! Please--"

"Don't touch me!" she barks, snapping her arm out of his grasp. He lets go of her immediately, not knowing what to do or say to make her listen. 

"Alice--I care about you so much. Please. I'd never do this to you!" 

She continues walking away and he feels his heart break into a million pieces. Whoever set him up was going to pay--and he had a pretty clear idea of who it was.

What he doesn't know is that Alice walked away with tears streaming down her face. She wanted to believe him--a part of her even knew he wasn't the one who had screwed her over. But Hermione was right--pushing him away was far easier for her than letting him get too close. 

Because she knew, deep down, she was falling for FP.