I saw that you were perfect and so I loved you. Then I saw that you were not perfect and I loved you even more.
★

Detective Archer Finn sighed and switched off the TV. Watching the conference on Harleigh's case for the umpteenth time wasn't going to solve anything. In fact, it would only make him feel worse.

He stood up from the couch, pausing only when he heard his back crack. Damn. He was growing old very quickly. It was this case. This fucking case was making him age. Specifically, it was the lies. So many damn lies. Even the people he hadn't expected to lie to him had lied to him.

Thelma's parents, for example, had lied to him. They had lied about being Thelma's biological parents. Not that he had thought to ask the question directly. But when a police officer suspected that your daughter knew important information in an ongoing investigation, this was the kind of thing that you told the primary investigator. Right?

"Finally. Let's atleast do what we came home to do. Which is sleep. You can't keep watching that conference on repeat the whole night. Remember we have to be fresh for tomorrow." Emilia spoke up. She was lying on the couch with her eyes half closed.

Archer stifled a yawn with his hand. "Yeah sure. Let me first lock up."

Alea, Gabriel, Emilia and Callie waddled out of the living room like penguins. They had all dozed off through out the conference. Only Archer had stayed awake for the whole thing. He had been too stunned to sleep.

Archer locked the front door and entered the password for the security system. The system beeped along with every button he pressed and then double beeped to show that it had been engaged.

Next, was the rebellious back door located in the dining room. He usually closed that door last because it required a little more elbow grease. He fought with the door until he sweated. Fucking door.

"Can I help?" Emilia spoke up from the dining chair on which she was sitted, making him jump.

"Sure." Archer mumbled.

Emilia walked to the door and successfully closed it on the third try. She then looked at Archer and he felt the unexplainable urge to squirm under her burrowing gaze.

"I know it's a stupid question to ask but are you okay?"

No, he wasn't okay. He was on edge. His nerves were all over the place. He had seen his grandmother's dead body and he wanted a drink. He needed vodka. But he couldn't tell her this. "Is there more hot chocolate?"

"Yeah, I made extra just incase. Let me get you some."

"Thanks." Archer replied and Emilia smiled.

Emilia was pouring hot chocolate into a cup when she spoke again. "Thelma's parents —I mean foster parents— really fooled us."

Archer couldn't agree more.

Emilia put the cup infront of him and pulled one of the chairs so that they were seated side by side. "You think that guy who allegedly enrolled Thelma into foster care. What was his name again? Joe Warden? Yeah, that was the name. You think that is one of Matthias' aliases?"

"Yeah." Archer replied, taking a sip of the hot chocolate. He enjoyed the way it scalded his throat as it went down. It wasn't as good as vodka, though.

"What were Thelma's biological parents thinking when they made Matthias or Joe Warden or whoever the fuck he is the legal guardian of their daughter?" Emilia said.

"Maybe he wasn't as vile and disgusting back then. Or maybe they just didn't know who he really was." Archer didn't even know why he was defending Matthias.

They descended into a comfortable silence. The only sound being the muted thud of a cup being placed on the table.

"Do you think we shall find Thelma alive?" Emilia spoke, breaking the silence.

Archer speared her with his gaze. His usually brown eyes were dark abysses. Archer had never been more sure of anything in his life. "No."

★★★

Alea stepped out of the bathroom feeling refreshed. She smelled refreshed as well; courtesy of her Lavender body wash. There was nothing like a hot shower to ease the burdens of a stressful day. She closed the heavy oak door and instantaneously froze.

Gabriel was in her room. Their room actually. Archer had assigned them this room thinking that they were a couple. They were not. Atleast not yet.

Gabriel stood by the window with his back against the wall. He was talking on the phone. His blonde hair was tousled like he had run his hands through it countless times, his shirt was rumpled and his face was contorted in a scowl. The tension radiated off his body in waves.

Judging by his tone, Alea suspected that he was talking to his son. Or atleast he was trying to. From the look of things, his son had refused to speak to him.

"Elena please let me talk to him." He paused as he listened. "Okay, I understand. Atleast tell him goodnight for me. Can you do that?" He sighed, his body slumping. "I understand. Bye. Goodnight." He threw the phone on the bed.

Elena? Who the hell was Elena to him? Oh right, Gabriel was most probably married. Alea sure knew how to pick 'em. If she was to be totally honest with herself, there was a small part of her that was jealous. The biggest part was hurt because she had allowed herself to dream of a possible future with Gabriel. Well, atleast now she could throw those dreams out the window. They were nothing but silly, stupid, idiotic dreams.

Gabriel turned to face her and her heart shook in her chest. His usually blue eyes were like lasers dancing over her body. They started off with her hair which was still dripping water down her back, then to the green Boston Celtics jersey that caressed her thighs and ending with the black socks that stretched up to her knees.

He smiled.

Alea walked to the bedside table to pick her phone so that she could communicate. That's when she noticed the two tall glasses of milk on a tray. She frowned. She hadn't brought them in here. It was probably Archer still worrying about her health. He was cute in that way.

Alea typed, "Your son is adorable."

Gabriel squinted his eyes as he read Alea's screen and rubbed the nape of his neck awkwardly. He was clearly uncomfortable talking about his son. Alea thought he wasn't going to reply until he said.

"My son can be adorable but apparently not around me." Gabriel stared at the floor.

Alea felt the unexplainable need to do something. Anything to alleviate the pain that was clearly etched on his beautiful  face. She walked up to him and put her arms around his trim waist and lay her head on his chest. It was her version of a hug. Not too intimate and not too distant. Alea had never liked hugs. It involved a lot of touching. But hugging Gabriel was nice. He was nice. Mostly, because he smelled like Old Spice.

Gabriel was the first to step away. He didn't want Alea to notice that he was excited. Very much so. Infact, he was so excited that walking was proving to be difficult.

"Uhm, I brought us milk." Gabriel said. He was rubbing the nape of his neck again.

Alea cocked her head to the side, her dark hair falling over one eye.

"I brought the milk because we need to talk. And well, I couldn't bring alcohol because of what happened the other night." Gabriel shrugged.

Alea had stopped understanding at "we need to talk". She was hearing but she was not listening. What did they need to talk about? Was he finally going to tell her that he was married? If that was the case, Alea had rather not know.

Gabriel walked to the bed and sat on it. He took the tray from the bedside table and placed it gently on the bed.

"Come sit." Gabriel patted the bed.

Alea sat.

"Ever heard of quid pro quo?

Of course Alea had heard of quid pro quo. She nodded her head.

"Right. I thought that it was unfair that I know almost everything about you, while you know nothing about me. I want you to ask me whatever you need to know. But first, I want to say something. Is that okay?"

Alea gulped then nodded. This was it. He was finally gonna tell her that he was married.

"I was at that bar the other night because I was working a case." Gabriel sensed her confusion and added. "I am a Private Investigator. Remember that guy that you danced with to spite me? The guy that almost killed you at the bar?"

Gabriel waited for Alea to nod again before he spoke. "A client of mine was raped by him. She reported it to the police, but they didn't believe her because she had already washed off the evidence. She told me to gather evidence on the guy so that the police could put him away. And that's what I was doing. I wanted to thank you for unintentionally helping me gather evidence against him. If all goes well, he will be behind bars for a very long time."

Alea blushed. She had willingly seduced a rapist so that she could make a man jealous. She could have been raped. And all for what, love? Alea almost laughed. Almost.

"Earth to Alea." Gabriel waved his hands infront of her face, drawing her attention. "I was asking whether you had any questions to ask."

Alea knew what her first question was going to be even before she typed it on her phone. "Who is Elena?"

Gabriel smiled, the skin around his eyes crinkling. "Elena was Ryan's guardian before I came into the picture. She was Ryan's mom's best friend. She basically took care of Ryan since birth."

So he wasn't married. Alea was so close to doing a happy dance. She typed her next question. "Why weren't you in the picture when Nicky was born?"

Gabriel inhaled all the air in the room before speaking.

"It was mostly my parent's fault but in part, I was to blame because I didn't stand up to them. You see, my dad owned a high school. And he wanted me to become a teacher so that I would take over his school. To please him, I became a teacher. I taught English Literature. Evelyn, Ryan's mom, was one of my students. She wasn't exactly an A+ student but she wasn't failing either. Evelyn's mother wanted her to go to a nice college so she suggested that I tutor her. I accepted. To cut the long story short, Evelyn developed romantic feelings for me. And on one fine day, she seduced me. And we had sex. It was totally my fault for being weak. I was riddled with guilt and I stopped tutoring her after that."

Gabriel gulped down the entire glass of milk before continuing. "About a month later, she told me that she was pregnant. I was surprised but when she showed me the test results, I told her that I was willing to take care of the baby. My parents found out about the kid. All they were thinking about at the time, was the scandal the school would be in. They told me that if I didn't abandon Evelyn and the baby that they would have her deported. So I made up an excuse and left. I did what I had to do to save Evelyn. Next question?"

Alea was stunned. She didn't know how to react. She looked around for her phone and typed her last question "Why are you here?"

Gabriel took her hand and put it on his chest. Over his heart. Alea could feel the rapid thumps of his heart. Gabriel then kissed her hand. "Because I like you."

Alea withdrew her hand so that she could type, "Why? I am a mess. I can't talk. I can't walk long distances because of my spine. I was raped by my own father. I can't have kids. I am a functional alcoholic like my mother. What is there to like?"

Gabriel pushed the tray aside and leaned in to kiss her forehead. "I'm a mess as well. So let's be one huge mess. Together."

★★★

Emilia knocked on the door of Callie's room and entered only when she heard a muffled " Come in" from inside.

Callie lay on the bed with her arms folded over her stomach, staring at the ceiling. She sat up when Emilia walked in.

"Umm I brought you bedsheets and some clothes. I don't know if they fit but it's the best we've got. Hope you have a good night." Emilia put the clothes and bedsheets on the bed.

Emilia walked out but stopped at the door when Callie spoke. "Nice ring."

Emilia panicked. "You weren't supposed to find out this way. We planned to tell you before but it was just a really long day."

Callie stood up. "I understand and I am not against your marriage. Who am I to judge you anyway? I'm not even related to Archer. I'm just a maid."

"That's not true. Archer loves you like a mother. If not more."

Callie smiled. It was a sad one. Almost wistful. "Archer is a dreamer. Always has been. He is also an optimist even though he doesn't know it. He likes to hope that things will go right, even though things have not gone right for a long time. I trust his decision and I am genuinely happy for the both of you." She picked up one of the clothes. It was a huge shirt with the words 'Go Team' written in cursive. "Atleast you are not Rosalia." She joked and Emilia laughed.

Emilia walked to the door and Callie escorted her out. Emilia was outside the room when Callie spoke again.

"You need to be with him through thick and thin. Well, mostly through the thick. Because when the whole truth comes out, Archer may have no one else to rely on. Have a good night Emilia."

Emilia wanted to ask what she meant but the door slammed shut in her face.

She mulled over her conversation with Callie as she walked back to Archer's room. Their room. And she reached one conclusion: Whatever Callie said didn't make any sense.

Emilia entered Archer's room and stopped in her tracks.

Archer's room looked like a hurricane had just passed through it. Clothes were strewn all over, drawers were partially open, the bed was unlaid and the curtains were drawn, shrouding the room in darkness.

"Archer?" Emilia called.

No answer

"Archer?" Emilia called out again.

Still no answer.

All kinds of thoughts were running through her mind. What if the killer was in the house? What if the killer had taken Archer? Oh no!

Emilia heard a rustling sound from the bathroom. "Archer?"

She walked to the bathroom and froze at the entrance, unsure of whether to continue inside or flee. Emilia decided on doing the former.

Emilia knelt infront of Archer, who was sitted on the bathroom floor in only pyjama bottoms. He was surrounded by two bottles of vodka. They weren't open. Thank God.

"Look at me." Emilia said, taking his head into her hands.

Archer looked at her. His eyes were red rimmed and he was sweating profusely. He whispered. "I am sorry. I tried to stop but I was too weak. I'll understand if you leave. I would leave me too."

Emilia removed his hair from his face. "Oh honey, is that what you think love is? You proposed to me and I accepted. That means I am ready to be with you, Archer. Flaws and all. I will be your wife —your partner— in the future. That means you don't have to work through this on your own anymore. You are no longer alone, okay? You've got me. And I am in this for the long run."

Archer hugged Emilia so tight she thought she would burst open, "I love you Emilia Gardiner."

"Not Emilia Gardiner. Emilia Gardiner Finn."

They both chuckled. And then they made love. First, on the bathroom floor and then on the bed.

Emilia waited for Archer's breathing to even out before she went into the bathroom to pour out all the vodka. She went around the entire house and poured out every thing that had alcohol in it.

When she was done, she returned to bed and slept. Though not for long. She bolted upright an hour later.

"Archer?"

"Hmmm? What is it?"

"Wake up. I think Rosalia is in danger."

Archer sat up in bed. "How?"

"You see, if I wanted revenge on a person whose father stole my father's wife. I would do it by stealing his wife as payback. So I am thinking if Matthias wanted to get back at you, he would steal your wife as well."

"Rosalia and I are not even together. We shall be divorced within a month."

"Yes, I know that. But he probably doesn't."

"Ah crap!" Archer reached for his phone and dialled Rosalia's number.

No answer.

★

Thank you for 1.45k reads I'm truly grateful for all your reads, votes and comments.
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