Chapter 19
"Oh, it looks like your sister and her new boyfriend have arrived."
Marcus looked at his father, who was gazing at something behind them. Sure enough, Tish was walking in with an indecently short purple dress on and a tall man at her side.
He grimaced. "So they have."
Marcus looked over at the bar, where his mother and Morgan were still chatting with each other. "I think I'll go and grab Morgan before talking to them. I'll be able to keep myself in check if she's with me."
Haru chuckled. "I understand. Good luck, son."
Marcus made his way over to Morgan and his mother at the bar. Morgan seemed to have noticed Tish walk in too since she was staring over at her.
"Hey," Marcus smiled as he approached them. He took Morgan by the hand. "'Scuse us, Mom. Morgan and I are just going to say hi to Tish and her new boyfriend."
"Of course, go ahead darling," Jun smiled, taking a sip of her drink. "I'll go say hi to them in a minute."
"Marcus," Morgan said, her voice sounding stiff.
"Come on, it'll only take a moment," Marcus said, tugging her along as they walked toward Tish. "We'll get the introductions over with, and then we can enjoy the rest of our evening."
"Marcus," Morgan repeated, sounding a bit more urgent. "I need to tell you something."
They stopped, and Marcus turned to look at her with a frown on his face. "What is it? Did my mom say something to you?"
"No, it's actually -"
"Hey guys," Tish suddenly approached them, interrupting. She smiled widely while clutching the arm of the man walking beside her. "Sorry we're late. Everything looks so great here!"
"No worries, Tish," Marcus said, his eyes moving over to the man beside her. He was tall and had light reddish blonde hair combed back nicely. He was relatively good-looking, but what struck Marcus as odd was the stunned look on his face as he stared at Morgan.
Marcus glanced at Morgan, and was shocked to see simmering rage in her expression as she glared back at the guy. "Uh... Morgan?" he asked tentatively.
What the hell was going on? Did Morgan know this guy?
"Sweetie, is everything alright?" Tish asked her date worriedly, placing a hand on his arm. "You look awfully pale."
Morgan seemed to flinch when Tish said that, but the guy ignored her as he cleared his throat, looking nervous. "Um, hi Morgan," he said stiffly, giving her a tremulous smile full of bravado. "What a coincidence. I didn't know you knew Tish's family."
"What the hell are you doing here?" Morgan asked in a low, dangerously quiet voice. Marcus had never heard her sound so pissed.
"Wait - Morgan, who is this guy?" Marcus asked, glancing between the two of them. "Do you know him or something?"
"It's really not important -" the guy said quickly.
"Leon," Morgan interrupted, her teeth gritted as she said his name.
Leon... Marcus had heard that name before, but he couldn't remember where. But after a moment, he suddenly remembered:
"Wait, Stephanie's boyfriend? That Leon?" Marcus asked, looking at Morgan in disbelief. She nodded, her jaw set as she continued to glare at the guy.
"Boyfriend?" Tish asked, taking a step away from Leon as she stared at him, eyes wide with disbelief. "What the hell are they talking about, Leon?"
"Tish, seriously. It's not what you think," Leon said quickly, holding his hand out as if trying to calm her. He glanced over at Morgan. "Stephanie knows I'm here, Morgan."
"Really?" Morgan gave him a commiserating look full of disdain, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "So when she called me earlier today and mentioned you were on a business trip, she actually meant you were going away for the weekend with another woman?"
Leon's face went, if possible, even paler, and sweat began to bead on his forehead. He swallowed, clearly unsure of how to dig himself out of this situation. "Look - I... y-you don't understand..."
"Do you have a girlfriend, Leon?" Tish asked, her voice quivering as tears threatened to spill out of her eyes. When he didn't answer she shoved him in the chest, causing him to stumble back slightly. "Tell me, goddammit!"
"Tish," Leon said, his voice a mix of pleading and exasperated.
People around them began to look over at the commotion, whispering amongst each other as they stared. Marcus glanced around, gauging how many people were in the vicinity, and was slightly relieved to see his parents and Sasha far enough away to not notice what was going on. He quickly reached over and grasped Leon by the arm, digging his fingers roughly into his flesh. "Let's take this outside, shall we? We don't want to cause a scene."
"Dude, look. You don't need to do that - " Leon began, trying to pull his arm away while looking nervous.
"Shut the fuck up," Marcus yanked him closer so he couldn't escape. "You mess with my sister, you mess with me. That's all I need to understand. Come on."
With another yank, Marcus began to pull Leon toward the entrance of the dining room toward the foyer, Tish and Morgan following in his wake.
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Morgan was not okay. She followed Marcus, Tish, and The Bastard out of the dining room in a daze, and she was thankful Marcus had the presence of mind to lead them away from prying eyes since she certainly didn't have the capacity to at the moment. The sheer rage she had felt the moment she caught her best friend's boyfriend cheating on her with Marcus's sister had by no means dissipated at this point. A part of her wished this was all just a terrible dream, one that she would wake up from at any moment, but she knew beyond a doubt this was the disturbing reality she now had to deal with.
And it was a reality Stephanie had to deal with too. Morgan had to tell her as soon as possible.
This sick, sinking feeling in the pit of Morgan's stomach was grossly familiar, and one she had hoped to never experience again. The last time she had felt this sort of betrayal was when she found out Justin was cheating on her, and although Leon wasn't her boyfriend, she had always seen him as like a brother to her since Stephanie was like her sister.
The pain was too real.
"Out here," Marcus led them out the front doors, where thankfully no one was milling around. There was a wide porch that spanned the entire north face of the house, as well as several wicker benches and chairs strewn about. Marcus pulled Leon over to the nearest bench and shoved him onto it.
"Ow - hey!" Leon stumbled and fell back on the bench, his suit jacket practically ripped off his arm as it slid off his shoulders. "Watch the suit!"
"Zip it, asshole!" Morgan snapped angrily, marching toward him and jabbing a finger at him. Her heart pounded with adrenaline and rage. "You don't get to say anything. Do you have any idea what you've done?!"
Leon narrowed his eyes at her. "You're not my mother, Morgan. You don't have to tell me what to do. I haven't done anything wrong!"
Morgan shook her head, her eyes filling with tears as her chest constricted. This man in front of her was a far cry from the lovable happy guy she had come to know over the years.
"Stephanie loves you," she choked out, her voice breaking as a couple tears slid down her cheeks. "You guys have been together for years. The two of you live together, and she talks about marrying you someday... how could you do this to her?"
Leon didn't answer, and finally Morgan saw the flicker of guilt and sadness in his expression, though still masked by stubborn defiance. Tish's silent tears had now turned into sobs, and she turned away from the others as she pressed a hand to her mouth, her shoulders shaking as she cried. Morgan's heart broke for her.
"Tish, I..." Leon tried to get up and move toward her, but Marcus blocked him immediately, shoving him back down onto the bench.
"Don't fucking talk to my sister," he snarled, grasping Leon by the lapels. "Don't you think you've done enough, asshole?"
"Don't touch me," Leon snapped, shoving his hands off.
Morgan quickly turned around and took a few steps away from the others, pulling her phone out of her purse. Unfortunately, Leon noticed.
"What are you doing?" he asked urgently, clearly knowing exactly what she was doing. "Morgan, please -"
"I'm calling her, Leon!" Morgan snapped, turning and glaring at him with her phone clutched in her hand. "Either you're going to tell her or I am. She's going to find out the truth tonight no matter what!"
"Please Morgan," Leon begged, the desperation and panic in his voice evident. He didn't dare stand up again with Marcus still hovering over her, but he still leaned forward urgently. "There has to be another way... I don't want to hurt her."
"No, you're just okay with hurting me," Tish snapped tearfully, glaring at Leon through red puffy eyes. "Haven't you lied enough?"
"It ends tonight," Morgan stated firmly, tightening her grip on her phone. "I'm calling her right now."
Leon tried to protest again, but Marcus snapped at him to shut the hell up, and he relented. The fearful, resigned expression on Leon's face made it very clear he knew exactly how screwed he was.
Tish, muttering something about 'being done with this shit', turned on her heel and stalked inside, clearly going to her room upstairs to cry. The others watched her leave rather helplessly, and Morgan looked down at the phone in her hand, readying herself to call Stephanie.
"...Marcus?" Jun appeared at the doorway, gazing around at the three of them in concern. "Is everything alright? I just saw Tish run past me crying!"
"Everything's fine, Ma," Marcus said reassuringly. "I think Tish wants to be left alone right now."
"What's going on out here? The four of you ran out here so suddenly, some people inside think something's going on..."
"Nothing's going on," Marcus stated firmly. "Please, don't worry about it. And don't tell Sasha either - I don't want her worrying the night before her wedding."
That seemed to get through to Jun, for she nodded. "Right. Of course, yes I'll make sure Sasha's focused on the party."
"Thank you," Marcus said gratefully, and Jun turned and headed back inside.
Morgan glanced over at Leon, who sat on the bench with his elbows on his knees and his head bowed, not saying a word. The lying bastard was resigned to his fate, and Morgan felt a vindictive pleasure in seeing him like that.
"Keep an eye on him," Morgan said to Marcus. "I'm going to call Steph."
Marcus nodded, and Morgan turned and walked further down the porch, readying herself to have this difficult conversation.
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A half an hour and a lot of tears later, Morgan's phone call with Stephanie was finished, and Stephanie was now on her way to Willowbrook to confront Leon. The emotional toll of having to tell her shocked best friend that her boyfriend was here with another woman made Morgan feel completely drained, and she now sat on the steps of the wide porch with her arms on her knees and her head resting on her forearms. Marcus, understanding Morgan wasn't in the mood to talk, moved to lean up against a nearby column, his arms crossed in front of him. Leon still hadn't moved from his position on the bench.
Minutes passed by in agonizing silence, and Morgan didn't know how much more she could take. The last thing she wanted to do was be anywhere near Leon at the moment, but she knew someone needed to stay with him until Stephanie arrived, just in case he tried to bolt. That likely wouldn't be for a couple hours, though, and Morgan didn't think she could spend that much more time in his company. The sun was starting to go down along the horizon, the red and orange dusk fading away as twilight approached. The automatic porch lights flickered on, and Morgan glanced up at them.
Suddenly wanting to move, she got to her feet. "I need a drink," she announced, looking over at Marcus and Leon, who looked back at her in some surprise. "Marcus, do you want anything?"
"Sure. I'll have a whiskey neat," he said gratefully. It sounded like he needed a drink just as much as Morgan did.
"I'll be right back," she promised, turning to head inside. She didn't even bother asking Leon if he wanted something.
The party inside the dining room was still commencing, and Morgan thought it almost looked more crowded in here than earlier. There were many people around the bar as Morgan made her way over, but she couldn't bring herself to be annoyed about it. Waiting for drinks in here was a far more preferable alternative than staying out there.
Morgan's heart still felt heavy, and a part of her wished she could be like Tish and run up to her room, lock herself away, and cry for the rest of the night. While most of the reason was because she felt heartbroken for her best friend, another more selfish part of her felt personally betrayed by Leon as well. Morgan had always believed there were good guys out in the world, and she clung to that belief even after her experience with Justin. Leon had always been one of the first people she thought of when imagining who a 'good guy' might be, but now that belief was completely shattered as Leon had proven himself to be yet another lying cheating scumbag.
Maybe there weren't any good guys out there in the world. Maybe all men were just lying pieces of shit.
The thought didn't sit well.
Morgan had to wait for nearly ten minutes to get her and Marcus's drinks, and when she finally got them, she wasn't eager to head back outside. She took a lap around the room, greeting Sasha and her fiancé (both of whom thankfully didn't seem to notice anything was amiss). Morgan made friendly small talk with them for a few minutes before finally deciding to head back outside.
She walked out into the foyer, which was empty and dimly lit by a few lamps in the corner. The sky outside had gotten much darker, and the porch lights glowed brightly through the window into the house. Morgan could see Marcus and Leon on the porch through the window, and it appeared as if Marcus was saying something:
"... the hell made you think you could get away with this?"
He sounded pissed, and Morgan stepped behind a nearby column so she could listen without being seen.
Leon didn't respond, so Marcus continued. "Was it worth it? Throwing away your entire relationship for a quick fuck with my sister? Do you feel like more of a man yet?"
"Will you shut up? I'm going to hear enough of it from Stephanie. Can you get off my back?" Leon grumbled peevishly. Morgan felt her hackles raise, and she had a sudden urge to run out there and punch Leon in the face.
"You don't get it, asshole. You broke my sister's heart," Marcus snapped. "And you hurt Morgan too. I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't come back out here... hell, I don't even want to be out here with you."
"Then leave. Nothing's stopping you," Leon muttered angrily.
"You're a coward," Marcus stated, ignoring his comment. "If you don't love Stephanie anymore or if you want to sleep around with other women, then fine, but you should have had the balls to break up with her first. But instead you snuck around behind her back and shattered her trust in you. A real man would never do that to a woman he supposedly cares about."
"Easy for you to say," Leon snapped. "You and Morgan have only been dating for a few weeks. Steph and I have been together for years - you have no idea the amount of work that goes into a relationship like that. That level of commitment becomes too much after awhile."
"You don't think I know what it's like to be in a committed relationship?" Marcus asked incredulously. "Trust me, I know what it's like to be in love, and I know what it's like to be burned by the person who's supposed to love you back. If there's one thing that I've learned from that experience, it's this: it doesn't matter if you're with someone for a few weeks or for your entire life, the love and trust you build with your partner is worth far more than any sort of pleasure you might find outside your relationship. The lies you tell will always come back to bite you... just like tonight has for you."
Leon didn't say anything, and Morgan could only stand there as tears streamed down her face. She had trouble containing the plethora of emotions raging around inside her heart, but she knew she needed to pull herself together if she was going to head back outside.
After taking a few deep breaths and wiping the tears off her face with the back of her wrist, Morgan made her way back outside with the drinks in hand.
A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this drama-filled chapter! Next chapter, Stephanie arrives.
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