Priya put the lasagna in the oven. She closed the oven door and heard Elias shout from the living room.
"Seth's here!" Elias shouted.
Priya walked in and nodded at Big E who was sitting on their couch. Priya and Elias walked out to open the door together before Seth got a chance to even get up there. They stepped outside and closed the door behind them to avoid him barging in like the day before.
"How the fuck did you find out?" Seth asked.
He had seen the only new footage there was from the camera he had placed. Footage of Priya walking inside the living room and directly over to the camera to pick it up. She had placed it down on the floor so it was filming her as she lifted her foot and slammed her boot down on it as hard as she could. Then the screen had gone black. She had given the broken camera to Big E so he could do with it what he wanted. Seth would never get it back.
"None of your fucking business," Priya said.
"Everything you do is my fucking business!" Seth snarled.
"Not anymore," Elias said.
"Stay out of this, Elias. Go back inside and let us talk alone," Seth said.
"That's not gonna happen," Elias said.
Seth gritted his teeth and turned his eyes back to Priya.
"He's abusing you," Seth said.
"What the fuck is wrong with you, Seth?" Priya raised her voice. "You put a camera in our home and fucking filmed us have sex. That's illegal."
"Yet you haven't called the police," Seth smirked. "Because you know what will happen. That footage will somehow make its way to the internet tonight. Once I get home, I'll have some fun."
"You didn't check," Priya moved her eyes from Seth to Elias. "He didn't check."
Both Priya and Elias started laughing. Seth looked even more angry.
"Check what?" Seth asked.
"The footage's gone. You ain't got shit," Priya said.
"What?" Seth asked.
"But we found something," Elias said.
"Fucking stupid of you to keep all the evidence of embezzlement on your computer. What if someone found it and took that evidence for safekeeping for a rainy day?" Priya asked.
"How did you..." Seth paused. "Did you break into my home?"
"We didn't do anything," Priya shrugged. "Did we, bear?"
"Nope, not a damn thing, kitten," Elias said. "But if we did, we would make sure someone you don't know would keep all that information safe for us in case we ever need it."
Seth took a step back. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times. He had lost control and he didn't like it one bit.
"Who has it?" Seth asked.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Priya said.
"What do you want?" Seth asked. "Please, Priya. I'll do anything. You can't show it to anyone."
"Leave me alone," Priya said.
"What do you mean?" Seth asked.
"You heard her," Elias said.
"Leave me the fuck alone, Seth," Priya said. "Don't call, don't text, don't come by. As far as you're concerned, from this moment on you're an only child. I don't exist."
"But..." Seth said. "No! You were supposed to leave him. You were supposed to move in with me. That way I can..."
Seth stopped before he could finish that sentenced. It didn't need to be finished. Priya and Elias knew what he was going to say.
"You will never be able to control her," Elias said. "No one will ever fucking control her, Seth. Not you, not anybody. Get some fucking help. You clearly need it."
"Priya?" Seth almost whispered.
"I said, leave me the fuck alone," Priya said. "If you ever come near me, Elias, this house or any of our work places or friends again, that evidence will go straight to your boss. You're looking at many years behind bars, Seth. Don't fucking test me. You've tested me all your life and you've never been able to win. I've tolerated you but I'm done. Walk away, Seth, and never look back. One wrong move and I will fucking end you. Am I making myself clear?"
Seth nodded. He was scared she would blow up completely if he said anything else. He knew she meant it. He knew he would be in a lot of trouble if he didn't walk away. He turned around, walked back to his car, and drove away. Priya and Elias walked back in where Big E was still sitting on the couch.
"How did he take it?" Big E said.
"Well," Priya sighed. "He took it."
"That's all that matters," Elias said.
"My mission here is done," Big E grinned.
Priya walked over to Big E and hugged him.
"Thank you so much, E," Priya said.
"My pleasure, sunshine," Big E said.
"Are you sure you don't want any form of payment?" Elias asked.
"Nope, that lasagna will be payment enough. Priya here can cook like no one else," Big E smirked.
"Don't I know it," Elias smirked back.
"Besides, it was the right thing to do," Big E said. "I remember how much he tried to control you back then too. I was visiting my ex a couple of times where I could hear him in the living room going at it. That's why we became friends. I told you never to take any shit from him, and you proudly proclaimed that you never had."
"I wasn't lying," Priya said.
Priya walked over to Elias. He placed an arm around her shoulders, and she leaned into his side.
"Sometimes I wonder how you've been able to stay with me for so long with him always trying to break us apart," she said.
"Because I love you too much to ever leave, kitten," he said.
"I love you too, bear," she said. "Okay, lasagna for dinner. How about some board games tonight? Let's hang out and have some fun. You can call those crazy friends of yours. What are their names again?"
"Kofi and Xavier," Big E said. "Yes, they will be all in. I'll tell Xavier to bring uno. He loves it."
"My favorite card game," Priya said. "This is gonna be such a good evening. Tell them they're welcome to stay the night if it's needed. We got a double air mattress we can bring out for them, and you can have the couch. Free breakfast included with pancakes."
"Pancakes?" Big E smiled widely. "How can I say no to that?"
Priya tapped her hand against Elias' chest and smiled at him.
"Step 4," she said.
"What's that?" He said.
"The final step," she said. "Live our lives and be happy. And eat a shit-ton of pancakes for breakfast tomorrow."
