**I realize I left ya'll hanging on an iffy chapter, so here's an update. Enjoy!! Please comment and let me know what you think!**

Roxie's POV

It was pretty late by the time the three of us got settled in, so our options for food were somewhat limited.

"Pizza?" I asked, having already gone through every other genre of food except for Italian.

"Mmm, that sounds good. From where, though?" Khloe asked while peering over my shoulder at the various menus I'd pulled from one of our kitchen drawers.

"I was thinking that little mom and pop place around the corner from here. They have the best crust," I groaned, my mouth already salivating at the thought.

"Sounds good to me. You order it and I'll pay. My treat," she said with a soft smile. I returned the gesture before digging my phone out of my luggage - Milo had stuffed it in there so I still couldn't get to it after we'd gotten off the plane and into the car. I powered the device back up, patiently waiting through the loading screen until, finally, all hell broke loose. My phone was bombarded with text messages, calls, and voicemails from the various people I'd left behind; my father, Sandra, Jedrek, Waylon, and even a couple from Jedrek and Waylon's father. There was also a text reply from Ezekiel. He confirmed the time for his follow-up meeting with Jedrek that I'd convinced him into scheduling (one that he promised not to show up late to, but I'll believe that when pigs fly).

I cleared all of the notifications before dialing the restaurant's number and placing our order. I mentally decided to listen to the voicemails and deal with the entire shit storm later tonight before I finally crashed in bed.

"Okay, keep telling Roxie about how perfect Xandie the Mandie is for you," Ivy chimed in. I chuckled at the nickname before focusing my attention on Khloe.

"We're perfect for each other. We like the same movies, have the same political opinions, we share the same religion - all things that can make or break a relationship," she stated knowingly to which Ivy and I nodded in agreement, though I was surprised those topics had already been discussed. "He makes me laugh in a way no one else can - one night he made me crack up so hard I had whiskey coming out of my nose!" she said to which I threw my head back and laughed. "And he said it was cute - cute, Roxie!" she exclaimed. "And he's not looking for just a hookup, he's made that more than clear."

"So, what's this man's downfall? There's no way he's this perfect in every way," I stated.

"There's a crazy ex-wife that's still semi in the picture," Khloe grunted while popping the cork out of a bottle of wine and proceeding to pour three generous glasses worth.

"Wait, what?!" Ivy yelled, clearly caught off guard by the information.

"I know, I just found out the day after Roxie left and I've been stewing over it ever since," Khloe grumbled.

"So when you say 'crazy', what does that entail?" I questioned.

"So, they were college sweethearts I guess. They married right after graduation and things were good until about three years into the marriage. Things started to go downhill because while all her friends were living it up on vacations and such, she was 'tied down' to him at home while he worked his ass off to support them both and fuel the lavish life she was used to living. And in New York City of all fucking places," Khloe hissed with a roll of her eyes. I had to agree with her unspoken annoyance - NYC was one expensive place to live - not to mention live comfortably. "He let her do whatever the fuck she wanted, but apparently that wasn't good enough for her. Things were continuing to worsen, so Xander brought up the conversation of children a year later when he turned twenty-six and figured it was a good time to start trying for a kid. He figured maybe having a child would bring them closer together. She apparently made it known waaaay back in the beginning of the relationship that she didn't really want kids, but, for him, she would have at least one."

"You're kidding," I interjected, "he's successful and wants kids before he's forty? That's unheard of," I interjected.

"Right? Anyway, he tells her he's ready and she agrees to start trying. Turns out, she knew she was infertile since she turned eighteen but just decided to fucking lie to him about the whole damn thing with no end game!" she ranted angrily.

"You're kidding me!" Ivy yelled, just as angry as Khloe was. I could feel my own anger festering in my chest at this nameless, faceless woman's level of deception.

"I wish I was, but it gets worse. He was completely unsuspecting because not only did she make him visit a fertility clinic to check and make sure he wasn't the issue, but she faked a goddamn miscarriage by somehow getting her hands on a positive pregnancy test and then turning on the waterworks when she got her period the following month!"

I felt the snack I'd had on the plane working its way back up my stomach at the last part of Khloe's story. That one hits too close to home for comfort. I bit the inside of my lip and squeezed my eyes shut, setting my glass of wine down on the counter before holding the edge for support. I shook my head harshly to try and forcefully rid myself of the dark memories creeping back in, but I couldn't.

"Roxie?" Khloe called to me. When I finally opened my eyes, both girls were looking at me with worried expressions. I gave them a tight-lipped smile before clearing my throat.

"I'm fine, I just can't believe someone could be so vile. Now that I know what kind of crazy this bitch really is, I need to know how the 'still in the picture' bit comes into play. Is she stalking him, or what?"

"Worse," Khloe sighed, a look of resignation in her eyes. "The poor guy is still legally married to the witch. She won't sign the papers. Well, she keeps saying she will but is always somehow out of the country or on vacation when they've made plans to meet and finalize things. Her willingness to go through with the divorce - even though she's really not - makes it so he can't just file without her. In his eyes, though, they are fully divorced. He offered her a pretty settlement and is even letting her keep the place he had for them back in New York since he's no longer using it, but she's still being a C you next Tuesday."

"There are so many ways around that, though. Any good lawyer would be able to get him out of this in a single visit by showing her irresponsibility in purposefully avoiding these meetings," I reasoned.

"Well, yes, but the assets are also an issue," Khloe responded.

"How? If she's not working, then there's no way in hell she owns jack shit that could complicate things," Ivy piped in.

"Yes, but since he thought they were in love, and this was before he really made something of himself, there was no prenup in place. She's fighting him on it tooth and nail. He gave up after a year because he got busy with work. Now that he and I have been talking, though, he's been looking into things again and it just sparked an even bigger fire under the bitch's ass," Khloe commented bitterly.

"Well, never underestimate the power of money, Khlo. If he wants to be with you, and he wants out of that divorce, he'll make it happen in no time," I assured her. She smiled at my encouraging words before her cell phone started ringing. The huge smile that overtook her face instantly qued me into who was calling.

"You guys have each other's personal numbers?" I asked, shocked. Ezekiel and I didn't have each other's number until, like, two weeks ago. And it was only because we'd become close friends. Khloe nodded before quickly answering the call and scurrying off to someplace private.

"You seem like you're handling things really well," Ivy commented. I laughed before taking a long gulp of my wine.

"Trust me, it's a facade. I'm just waiting until I'm alone to let it all out," I remarked sarcastically, though not a single word of what I said was untrue.

"Well, was the sex any good at least?" she asked.

"You're assuming I slept with my ex - who is engaged and getting married in six days?" I asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"I'm not assuming, I know. The tension that you usually have in your shoulders is gone and I can just tell a fucked woman when I see one," she insisted, mimicking my facial expression.

Touche.

"Yes, the sex was - and always is - amazing. But that's neither here nor there because he doesn't want...scratch that, can't be with me and I need to move on."

"Need or want?" she asked sympathetically.

"You're not helping," I shot back with a glare.

"You need to talk about this, though - whether you want to or not. If you just harbor these feelings, you're never going to be able to move on. Trust me," she stated. I looked into her eyes, seeing an untold story there. I tilted my head, letting her know I'd caught on, but she just shook her own back and forth. "This is about you, not me."

"Okay, sorry, I'm back. What'd I miss?" Khloe asked.

"Roxie was just about to open up about the sex she had and how she's feeling right now," Ivy said, causing me to huff in annoyance.

"Shit, Milo didn't say you guys had sex! He just said things transpired and that we needed to be there when the plane touched down for moral support."

While I was thankful Milo respected my privacy enough to allow me to be the one to tell them what happened, I was also dreading having to relive that humiliating moment all over again.

Thankfully, I was able to stall for a few moments when there was a knock at our door and Khloe went to pay for our pizza. The following hour consisted of me rehashing everything that'd gone down between Jedrek and me that I hadn't already told them both.

"So, how are you feeling about it all?" Khloe asked, pushing away her slice of pizza while waiting for my reply.

"How don't I feel is a better question," I grumbled. "I felt humiliated and pathetic at the time as well as completely disgusted for doing what I did with him, but also for feeling no remorse about it. It makes me no better than Tori, and that's the hardest part to stomach. I'm also conflicted because there was this look in Jedrek's eyes when I realized he wasn't leaving her. It was like...I don't even know if I can explain it. He looked so sad and sorry at the same time. So tortured. But maybe that's just my brain playing tricks on me to make me feel better about the situation. It just...doesn't add up in my eyes. There's something he's not telling me," I concluded before finishing my slice of pizza in one huge bite.

"Men suck," Ivy declared before releasing a loud huff. I cracked up, unable to hold in my laughter. Khloe soon followed only to be trailed by Ivy's own laughter.

"Ain't that the d-damn truth!" I stuttered out through my giggles, clinking my wine glass with hers and downing the rest of the pink-tinged liquid.

By the time Ivy left in a cab, it was well past 2:30 in the morning and I was delirious with exhaustion. Khloe gave me a long hug and told me to take something to help me sleep, but I just waved her off. I realized what Ivy said was true and that I needed to stay up and think through all the thoughts in my head or I would never truly be able to move on.

Whipping out my phone, I scrolled through the long list of voicemails and started at the first one from my dad. As I expected, it was just him yelling about me being a bad daughter. I ended it halfway through, deleted it, and moved onto Sandra's. Hers wasn't any different than my dad's beside the colorful names she called me. The next name was the one that confused me the most - Jedrek's father.

"Roxie, it's Colton. I wanted to call and make sure you were okay. I heard about what happened at the country club - though I'm positive I'm hearing a very biased version of the story. It was great seeing you the other day at lunch, I've missed having you around kiddo," there was a long pause followed by a deep sigh. "I'm not sure what happened with Jedrek, but I have a strong suspicion it has everything to do with you. Listen, honey, there were...things that you couldn't be included in that transpired and it put Jedrek in the middle of a very hard situation. You need to know that what happened between you and my boy...it wasn't his choice. It's torn at me every single day since things were finalized. I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for everything. It's every father's dream to have their son fall in love and someday marry a girl as wonderful as yourself." There was another deep sigh before the message ended. My mind was racing a mile a minute as I thought about the message.

What the hell could that mean? 'It wasn't Jedrek's choice'. And what could he possibly mean by 'things I couldn't be included in'? I listened to the message over and over again, trying to make sense out of what Colton was saying, but I came up empty-handed every single time. The only thing I was sure of was that Tori and her mom concocted something - yet again - and I was the one who received the brunt of it all - also again. If anything, it only served to worsen my mood. Colton had been like a second father to me, so hearing that he missed me made the lump in my throat from earlier returning. Already emotional, I decided to leave Jedrek's message unopened. What's done was done and I was serious when I told Ivy that I needed to try and move on; getting caught up in the past once again wasn't going to do anything but harm me.