| After Effects - Part Four �Maria, what I�m about to tell you, you might not want to hear,� Michael said, trying to put off the conversation as much as possible. �Just tell me Michael,� Maria said, placing a hand on his arm. �Maria, I love you. I know I have Isabel and new beautiful baby girl but I�ve always loved you. I may have made love to Isabel but it wasn�t her face that I saw every time I went to sleep or woke up in the morning. It was yours, Maria. I was stupid not to see that I loved you before now,� Michael said, not looking at her. Maria was stunned by his sudden confession. She may have Alex know but she still loved Michael. She was about to say something when Michael continued. �I know you have Alex know and he treats you better than I ever could. You are a queen Maria and you deserve to be treated like one. Alex does that for you. Alex makes you happy and can put a smile on your face. When we were together, all I could ever do was make you angry or sad. You deserve a great guy like Alex,� Michael said. �Is that what you really think?� Maria asked. �It�s the truth,� he said, now turning to look at her. �That�s not true Michael. You think that all you did was ever cause me pain? I�ll admit you did that a lot but not all the time. You say I deserve to be treated like a queen. You treated me like a queen Michael. You may not have ever bought me anything or taken me out on real dates but you did treat me like a queen. I saw the way you would look at me and it made my inside turn to mush in less than a second. You did that to me Michael. You may have been a callous bastard but I knew that deep down, you loved me. And I loved you Michael. I do love Alex, Michael. And every night, I would dream about you and what it would be like if you ever came back into my life. But, now that look has gone to Isabel, Michael. You may not realize it but you look at Isabel with as much love as you once did for me. And now I get that look from Alex. I�m happy Michael. You said yourself that you have a beautiful daughter and a wonderful wife, be glad that you have that Michael. After all the crap you�ve had to deal with throughout your life, you deserve that happiness,� Maria said. �You don�t understand Maria!� Michael said, his resolve breaking. �Even when I wasn�t dating you, I couldn�t stand for any guy to look at you, much less touch you! Seeing Alex put his hands on you and kiss you still gets me as mad and jealous as it did when we were in high school!� he admitted. �Well, Michael Guerin, I�m a human being and we move on! That�s what I�ve done Michael. I�ve moved on and so have you. You may have dreamed about me and I may have dreamed about you but that doesn�t change the present! You are married to Isabel and I have Alex! So you�re just going to have do deal with it!� Maria said, getting in his face. �So what are you trying to say?� Michael asked, not backing down. �I�m saying move on. You may act like it but you haven�t. Not in your mind. We�ve dealt with the after effects of leaving each other and that was in the past. Let�s live in the present,� Maria said, her temper calming down. �Live in the present huh?� Michael said. When Maria nodded, Michael took her head in his hands and kissed her on the cheek. �Thank you Maria. For everything.� �What do you mean Michael?� she asked. �For telling me what you wanted. Everybody is always giving me the sugarcoated version instead of telling me the truth. Thank you for that,� Michael said, giving her a small smile. �Your welcome,� Maria said, smiling back at him. �But you have something more important to do.� �What�s that?� he asked. �You have a beautiful baby girl to go see and an even more beautiful wife to kiss,� Maria said, kissing him on the cheek. Michael smiled and walked back inside to his wife�s waiting smile. Maria smiled and turned back around to look at the ocean. �Maria?� Alex said, coming through the door. �Yeah?� she answered, wrapping her arms around him. �You okay?� �I�m better than okay,� Maria smiled, looking over Alex�s shoulder and saw Michael and Isabel kissing. �You sure?� Alex persisted. �Since when do you talk back to me?� Maria asked, putting her hands on her hips. �Yep, you�re better then fine!� Alex smiled and brought her in for a kiss. ***Meanwhile*** Max and Liz kissed each other when Liz saw Alex and Maria kissing outside. �See, I told you everything was going to be fine,� Liz said quietly in Max�s ear. �I know, I know. I should have listened to you in the first place,� Max said, kissing Liz�s cheek. �See, I�m always right,� Liz smiled, looking at all of her friends. She smiled as the all lovers� lips broke apart. �Everything�s going to be just fine now.� The End! |