SHE'S MY WIFE

Chapter 31: Confrontations

Max ran his hand along her jaw, wanting her to wake up but afraid of what she was going to say. Once the shock wore off, she was going to be pissed that he didn't tell her about Zander. In his defense, he was about to tell her but then Lisandra's issue came up. That was a lame excuse considering he'd known Zander was alive for three weeks. He had been afraid to tell her because he knew she would hate his mother more than she already did.

Not that he'd been okay with what his mother had done. Hiding their son and having them believe he was dead for two years wasn't right. For a moment there he'd hated her, especially when he thought she had something to do with his death. But in his books, she was still his mother. He couldn't completely resent her and Zander being alive was more important than dwelling on the whys. Whatever she had done didn't matter. His son was alive and well and healthy. Hadn't he spent day and night praying for that?

He only wished Emilia would focus on that. On the fact that Zander was alive. But knowing his wife, he knew he wouldn't be able to escape from her wrath. She was going to tear into him. Her feelings might not be the same. As she stirred, he braced himself "Hey you" he said helping her sit up.

"Max, you're back. How long was I asleep for? God, I had the weirdest dream"

"Honey, if it was about Zander then it wasn't a dream"

"What?" she ran her hand through her hair just as Zander walked out of the kitchen.

"Mom?"

"Oh my God" she covered her mouth with her hand, tears welling up in her eyes "Za... Zand... Zander? H... You.." Zander launched himself on her, wrapping his hands around her neck "He's... Max?"

"I know, I know" he told her rubbing her back.

"I missed you so much mom"

"You're here, you're alive" she cried pulling back to look at him and touching him everywhere as if to make sure he wasn't an apparition. Then she was hugging him again, so tightly that Max wondered if he was able to breathe "You're okay, you're okay, you're fine baby, you're fine" Emilia chanted, pulling him onto her lap and rocking back and forth. Zander looked comfortable where he was so he didn't bother them.

He'd had the same reaction when he saw him at the hospital. That moment had seemed so surreal that he found himself calling them everyday to make sure he wasn't dreaming. Apparently his mother had faked their son's death in order to put Lisandra in prison. He had a feeling that wasn't all there was to that explanation. Max had asked who the child they'd buried beside his father was. The DNA test had come out positive. If that wasn't Zander then who was it? His mother's answer was that they didn't know. Their plan had been simple.

Get Lisandra to trust Mark so they'd know her plans and be one step ahead. He had been shocked to find out that even during the kidnapping, Zander hadn't really been in any danger. He would have liked to know that and he'd told his mother exactly how he felt about their plans. They'd found the body at a lab, it probably belonged to a street kid because no one had claimed it for over three months. Then they had paid the medical examiner to lie about the test. If he didn't know his mother, Max would have thought she worked for a clandestine agency. He'd asked her how she was able to concoct such a plan and she had said everything was possible with the help of Mark.

Where had they been for the last two years? England. He imagined the amount of pain he would have spared himself if he'd only gone to visit her once. If he hadn't been wallowing, he would have gone to see her earlier to make sure she was okay and he would have been reunited with his son sooner. He had also asked why she kept Zander for so long. Lisandra's trial had been over six months after the kidnapping. She could have brought him back then but she didn't. Why? His mother had just shrugged because she didn't have an answer to that. He'd left it at that since he didn't want to fight with her.