Chapter 117 - Cheers to Comeuppance

Chapter 58

Third Person

“He what?” Kenzie asked incredulously. After Hunter had returned home from Annika’s, Kenzie immediately saw that his face was crestfallen. She got him to open up, and he explained what happened to Jeffrey. She couldn’t believe it, just like everyone else. “He couldn’t have,” she continued in her dismay.

“He did. On the way home, I called around to see if it was some elaborate ploy of his or if he could have even been killed, you know, with him having been the D.A. for a few years. But it wasn’t either. Jeffrey really did kill himself.”

“That … That’s insane, Hunt. Why would he do that?”

“Panic? I’m going to assume safely. Jeffrey would have been imprisoned for over two decades for fraud and evidence tampering. Reagan was going to make an example out of him. His image was already destroyed by the news of him being a cheater and getting his mistress pregnant. Add on all those charges and then the blow of him being an illegitimate son and unknowingly committing bigamy. I guess he couldn’t handle it.”

“Well, if you ask me, he got what he deserved after everything he had done to Anni,” Kenzie snorted while crossing her arms.

“Kenz, how could you say that?”

“Why wouldn’t I? Do you not remember all of the horrible things he did to Annika? He broke her heart, humiliated her, and even assaulted her. Let’s not forget that he was planning on stealing everything from her by trying to frame her as a cheater. Sorry, not sorry, my dear husband, but Jeffrey Hollands deserved whatever was coming his way. It’s his own fault for everything that happened to him.”

“It’s not his fault that he was an illegitimate child, Kenz.”

“As the saying goes, the apple doesn’t fall from the tree.” Hunter stared at his wife, unable to comprehend her unadulterated hatred toward Jeffrey.

“Kenz, even if that all is true, Jeffrey was once our friend too. Don’t you feel bad at all?”

“No. And you shouldn’t either. He didn’t just betray Anni, Hunt. He betrayed us too. The four have been inseparable since college. At one point, he was your best friend and married my best friend, but what did he do? He chose his materialistic pleasures rather than loyalty to those who loved him. His choices got him to where he ended up. Broke and alone.”

“He didn’t deserve to die, Kenz!”

“No one forced him to off himself, Hunter. Again, he made his own choices that led to his death. He could have gone to court and faced his punishments like a grown-ass man, but he didn’t. He chose the coward’s way out. Why should I feel sorry for someone like that? Rather than fix his wrongs, and repent for his misdeeds and betrayal, he chose to leave this Earth. He left behind his parents, the woman who raised him, his unborn child, and his little brother! He made another selfish decision. He was not the victim, Hunter.”

“I never said he was. I’m just … I don’t know, babe. I hate him for everything he did to Anni. But I didn’t want this to be the result. I wanted him punished, yes, but not with death.”

“It’s not a punishment unless he was coerced into it, but you said that he did it all on his own.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. It just sucks because I would have liked to talk to him one last time. You know? To get an actual explanation for why he did all of this.”

“I can see where you’re coming from, baby. But it’s over and done with. Jeffrey is gone, and he’s never coming back. As to why he made all the horrible decisions he did, I guess we’ll never know the real reasons why it all.” They sat in comfortable silence for a minute or two before Kenzie realized something. “Honey, did he leave a note?”

“No, he didn’t. That was another thing I wanted to check for. But it seems he didn’t care to leave one of those for us to find.”

“As I said, selfish.” Hunter nodded his head. Hunter and Kenzie eventually went to bed after spending time with each other in silence.

The following day, there was an abrupt knocking on their front door, and their doorbell rang incessantly. Hunter dragged himself to the front door and was suddenly faced with Annika and Leon.

“What are you guys doing here?”

“We have a problem, Hunter,” Leon stated while forcing himself in. Annika followed after him.

“What’s going on? Why do you seem like you’re about to lose your shit, Leon?”

“Because I’m this close to losing my shit!” Leon roared and rubbed his vigorously.

“What’s going on?” Kenzie asked as she came out of their room in her robe. “Anni? What’s the matter?” she asked when she saw how concerned Annika looked.

“Are you going to tell them, or do I have to!?” Leon shouted at Annika.

“Whoa! Leon, what’s got your panties all up in a wad?” Kenzie questioned him.

“He’s a rhino on a mission,” Annika replied.

“Meaning?”

“Jeff’s family is suing Annika for manslaughter!” Leon burst out in frustration.

“WHAT!?” Kenzie and Hunter exclaimed while looking back at Annika.

“Why?” Hunter asked.

“They’re blaming me for Jeff’s death. If I hadn’t publicized our divorce, his affair, his love child, outed Jack’s infidelity and dug up the unintentional bigamy with Sadie. Jeff wouldn’t have killed himself,” Annika explained.

“You can’t be serious?” Hunter asked in disbelief. “No judge in their right mind would take this case to court. They would squash it before it even hit their desk.”

“Yeah, that’s a load of bullshit!” Kenzie shouted in agreement.

“I know, and he does too,” Annika replied while pointing at Leon, “But he’s still flipping his lid over it.”

“They have some fucking nerve trying to sue you for something that has nothing to do with you!” Leon thundered.

“Babe, please, will you calm down?” Annika pleaded. She hated seeing him so worked up over nothing. She wasn’t even concerned with it, yet Leon was about to burn down the world because of it.

“They’re grasping at straws, Leon. There’s no reason to get this worked up over it,” Hunter told him, trying to calm his new friend.

“What if this was Doc Malloy!?” Leon shouted.

“If it were, then I’d have it dismissed immediately.”

“And that’s what Matt and the other family attorneys are going to do, but Leon still can’t seem to calm down,” Annika explained.

“Wait, your family already knows?” Kenzie asked. Annika nodded and looked at the still-fuming Leon. “So, he’s worked up for nothing?” she continued. Annika nodded again. Kenzie’s face dropped in annoyance. “You woke us up at the ass-crack of dawn for nothing!?” she shouted at Leon. Leon narrowed his eyes at her but couldn’t retort.