He
had Carly's total attention now. "I suppose I should be grateful.
At least this jealous act tore you away from thoughts of Alcazar
for a second."
"No, no," he told her as she tried to interrupt him with
denials. "Don't bother, baby. I can tell that since the shooting
you haven't had your mind on these beautiful kids or me. Something...or
someone else...has your attention. You're absent from me even when
you're with me, Carly. Now my advice to you is to stop shopping
for five minutes, look deep inside yourself, and figure out what
the hell you want before I make the decision for you."
Carly was trembling now, her eyes full of angry tears. He didn’t
like making her cry, making any woman cry. But he’d had enough.
"I'm only waiting for you to get your act together because
we have history...and two children who we both love very much,"
he remarked more quietly now. "But don't think I'll wait forever."
"Oh, don't act like you've been perfect in all of this, Sonny!"
"I'm aware I played a big part in this mess," he admitted.
"But I made up my mind to work on repairing things. Can you
honestly say the same?"
"Sonny, I-I-"
"We're off topic," he interrupted her again, raising a
warning finger in front of her face. "The point is that that
scene you just staged...that was the last time I let you upset Alexis
in front of me. So enjoy the moment."
"Now you're threatening me?"
"Nope. Just tellin' you how it is. Don't go after her."
"So I'm supposed to just sit by and accept the fact that you
wanna be close to your lover again?"
"She's my former lover. Isn't Jason your former lover?
I don't have a problem with you still being friends with him."
"That's different. Jace is your best friend. You trust him.
I don't trust Alexis."
"Well, you know, you don't have to," he said derisively.
"She was my friend, not yours. And I let you insult
her after you came back from the accident because I-I was an idiot.
It was guilt that caused me to make that mistake before. Though
why I was guilty for making love with her when you and I were divorced
at the time, I have no clue. I'm cured of that now, so you will
not be insulting Alexis Davis anymore. You got that?"
His wife was heaving air into her lungs in an effort to calm herself.
"Yeah, I got that."
And with that he swung away from her and went to have breakfast
with his children. Carly stood there for a long moment not quite
knowing what to do...before she slunk to the table and sat--for
once--in silence.
Helena stood at the bar in the salon of her vessel with a huge smile
on her elegant face. She was almost giddy, and it wasn't because
of the young muscular boy toy presently handing her a drink. It
was the prospect of destroying her enemy. It brought a flush of
heady joy to her, enlivened her spirit.
Life in hiding from international authorities had been relatively
uneventful for too long. She needed this new challenge, relished
it in fact.
Moving to the sofa, she assembled a small sheaf of papers in her
lap and scanned them methodically. She'd activated her people in
Port Charles, including the few on the Cassadine estate who remained
loyal to her. There were several watching Alexis' movements, establishing
a routine, faxing her almost hourly reports of the attorney's activities
since last evening.
They'd also sent along a dossier on her current statistics. She
was staying with her daughter at Wyndemere, where she, Nikolas,
and Emily headed the major part of the charity work. Alexis had
gained full custody of her daughter some time ago when Ned Ashton
had signed away his rights to the child.
Curious, Helena mused. She'd never known a Quartermaine to be selfless.
That family was remarkably similar to her own. Oh, certainly not
as willing to do all that was needed to disintegrate the enemy,
she noted, but ruthless nonetheless. The man had had Alexis on trial
for fraud. Why would Ashton simply give up his child?
Presently, the fax machine clicked on and another sheet slid through
its feeder. The young bartender hastened over to give it to her.
With hawk-like precision, Helena's gaze locked on one piece of the
report. Alexis had spent the morning in Kelly's Diner. She'd spoken
to Sonny Corinthos for some time. Helena had thought that Alexis
had left the dashing Mr. Corinthos' employ under very vitriolic
circumstances. What was she doing with him once again?
That situation needed watching. There was something there. Helena
could feel it. Just outside of her reach. This piece of the puzzle
didn't fit with the others quite yet, but it would.
Alexis was not one to drink alcohol, certainly not early in the
day, but she made an exception once she'd gotten back to her private
apartment at Wyndemere and had put Kristina down for a nap. Now
she lay on her sofa in the dimness of her sitting room, staring
into the flames of the fireplace. What an incredibly emotional day.
First her daughter had had a lovely tantrum that brought--of all
people--her father to her rescue, and then her father's harpy of
a wife happened upon the scene.
Alexis mind replayed the events as she sipped from her glass of
vodka. God, she had so not missed these episodes of "As the
World Revolves Around Carly". Today had been like an instant
replay of times past. But, in his defense, this time Sonny had definitely
defended Alexis. She hated to admit it, but his words had made her
heart soar and her stomach do that "only for Sonny Corinthos"
shudder. She'd forgotten how good it felt not to have to be strong
all on her own, for just one moment to let her shield down and have
Sonny take up battle for her. She'd missed it. She'd missed
him.
A knock on her door interrupted her reverie.
"Who is it?"
"Mrs. Lansbury, Ms. Davis. A letter just arrived by messenger
for you."
Sighing, Alexis padded to the door and took the letter from Mrs.
Lansbury. Her brow furrowed instantly. The scrawl on the front was
familiar to her. This was from Sonny.
She ripped it open, her hands shaking. Why would he write to her?
Inside she found a check, blank except for his signature, Michael
J. Corinthos, Jr. on the bottom line. The check was embossed with
the name, Paradise Palms Casino and Resort. Behind the check was
a note also written in Sonny's familiar hand. She read it slowly
as if savoring every word:
Lex, (Alexis' heart thumped as she read the endearing nickname)
I heard you today. I really did. So this donation is from a completely
legitimate holding of mine. Please accept it and add it to your
funds anonymously. I just want to help. (Her heart squeezed at his
tender words)
PS Stop standing there with your mouth open! (She laughed and did
as he'd written)
PPS Write in an amount that is exactly $10,000.00 more than Candy
Boy donates. I'm serious. (She laughed again, and a tear welled
in her eye)
PPPS It was good to see you today. Really good. Can we do it again?
(She stopped breathing altogether!)
