Chapter 2 Alike

Alex Point of View I didn’t expect to see Chloe walk into my office after being gone for weeks. She looked as beautiful as ever. Safe and I had been together before I met her sister, or rather-half-sister Reyna. I had just been surprised to see someone who looked like Chloe. We ended up having a passionate night. Blinded by how much she looked like Chloe, I had even proposed and married her. “Can I help you?” I said sort of coldly and Chloe sighed. She sat at the desk facing me. “Alex, you can’t say that” she said and I scowled. Did she really mean that? She had disappeared for years and now she was back. What did she want anyway? “What do you want?” I snapped and suddenly she looked teary-eyed. “What do I want? I want you Alex. I came back for you” she said, and I laughed humorlessly. “Quit lying to me” I said, and shook my head. “You left for a week. No calls, no text, nothing. Now you expect me to believe you?” I asked, and she lowered her head down for a second, looking guilty, then she scowled. “It was Reyna,” Chloe said, and I frowned. What did Reyna have to do with all this? “What about Reyna?” I asked, and she broke down in a sob. Much as I wanted to be angry at her, I couldn’t bear to see her cry. “Shhh” I crooned softly, standing up to pull her into my arms. She sniffed and wrapped herself around my back. I pulled away and wiped the tears from her eyes. “Reyna threatened me. She asked me to leave, or she'd do horrible things to me.” She said and I scowled. “She did that?” I asked. I am so angry right now. So she had really made Chloe leave the country just because she didn’t want Chloe to be with me. “Am sorry I blamed you earlier” I said and she shook her head. “It isn’t your fault Alex, you didn’t know. My friend is very tricky and manipulative. She is also very jealous”, Chloe said, and I slammed my fist on the table. This needs to be stopped. I was done with Reyna's problems. I should just go ahead and grant her divorce and be done with it. But I still hesitated. I don’t know why, but anytime I thought of letting Reyna go. I just couldn’t. “Is she with you?” Chloe asked and I shook my head. “She left” I said, and Chloe frowned. “You gave her a divorce?” Sha asked and I shook my head. “No, she asked me to” I answered, and Chloe stared at me in surprise. I was pretty much surprised when she asked me to grant her the divorce. “Why?” Chloe asked and I shrugged. I grabbed a bottle of beer from a shelf and poured it into a glass and drank. “She found out about us. She had known the entire time” I said, and Chloe raised a brow, smiling, uncertain. “This is what we’ve wanted. Why didn’t you grant her a divorce” she asked, and I shook my head. “I can’t” I insisted and took another gulp of the beer, sighing as it burned down my throat. “Alex, what’s wrong? We are supposed to be married. Me and you, not her”, she said. He shook his head. “I can’t just bring myself to sign it, much as I want to,” I said bitterly, and poured another drink. “Alex, I have something to tell you” she said, and I stared at her. She looked deadly serious. “What is it?” I asked and she sighed. She wrung her fingers nervously. “You might not like it” she said, and I shook my head. “Just tell me Chloe,” I said, and she nodded. She ran her hand down my chest. “Reyna wasn’t always faithful. She was dating several men.” she said, and I stared at her in surprise. What did she mean but that? Much as I resented Reyna, I very much knew she didn’t have the heart for that. “That’s not true” I said, and Chloe looked at me with disapproval. “Then I am lying?” She asked. Her voice was a little bit sad and I sighed. I brushed her hair away from her forehead and she closed her eyes. She wrapped her hands around my neck and I kissed her softly on the lips. “I didn't mean it that way, love. I just never thought that Reyna of all people could do this” I said and frowned. Why was I even holding back? All I had to do was sign the damn divorce papers, but I just couldn’t. It was like an unseen force was pressing me back. Chloe pulled away and smiled at me, she looked so beautiful and stunning that I just stared, but that was not what made me stare. It was the fact that I could see Reyna's face on her own. It was unnerving how two friends looked so much alike, and it made me annoyed. I could not get rid of thoughts of Reyna from my head. Why in seven hells could I not even sign the divorce papers? Maybe the best way to forget about her was to even get engaged to Chloe and there’s nothing I’ll love more. “I have something for you” I said, and she grinned at me. I went behind the desk and opened one of the drawers and took out a box. It was the wedding ring I had given to Reyna, which she had dropped when she left. I handed it to Chloe and she beamed. “Oh Alex. I am so happy. I love you” she said, and I captured her lips before pulling away. I stared at her bright gray eyes— eyes that seemed to pull me into their depths. “I love you too, Chloe. Will you do me the honor of being my wife?”