C.A.K.E

Melinda Danae Carven-Stone ... The woman whose voice is ripping shreds in the usual harmonious fabric of the Stone household. Elliott's first wife and Arden's sworn enemy.

Ardi is adamant that part of the reason Melinda married Eli was for the clever effect created by the pairing of his last name and her maiden name, Carven-Stone. She's just that superficial and tacky.

“Get your ass down here, Elliott!”

Melinda's blur of blonde strands whips across the screen, as she shouts obscenities at the camera. The anger dancing in her blue eyes transcends the barrier of the screen and freezes Elliott to his core. He feels his heart rate slowing down to a pitiful crawl.

“I know you and that bitch can hear me ... Where the fuck are my goddamned kids?”

“That bitch,” Arden repeats, rolling her eyes so hard they could pop right out of her head.

Elliott looks from the indignant mug of his wife, then back to the raving face of his ex.

“This is not happening to me.” Eli drags his hand down his face.

“What is she even doing here?”

“I don't know.” He shakes his head. “I thought she'd at least call first.”

“I know they're here, Elliott. They bought the fucking plane tickets with my credit card.”

“That's what she's upset about,” Arden smirks. “The money, as usual.”

Eli strokes the stubble on his chin and shakes his head again. He squints at the screen. The small wrinkles at the corners of his eyes deepen with every second of Mel's ranting.

“She could have phoned that in. I would have gladly sent her the money.” He glares at the blonde woman harassing the concierge. “Melinda doesn't inconvenience herself unless it benefits her in some way. She came here for a reason.”

“What else could she possibly want from us?”

Arden kneels on the bed behind Eli and wraps her arms around his torso. He grasps her hands in his, as she rests her chin in the crook of his neck.

“I don't know.” He licks his lips. “I don't know.”

Dread fights his wife's warmth, wrapping its frigid arms around Elliott, and letting its chilly breath choke his spine one vertebrae at a time. His breathing has reduced itself to sporadic sputters, like a car savoring its last whiffs of gasoline before chugging to an exhausted stop.

It's never good to see Melinda. The sight of the first woman to bear his last name issues a biological response from him that's akin to a massive heart attack or stroke. It's a wonder he survived being married to her.

She likes to show up on occasion, wielding an ax just above Elliott's neck. Laughing the entire time, as she watches him squirm.

“The longer I have to wait, the worse things are going to get.”

Arden and Elliott observe with their mouths dropped, while Melinda plucks a small vase from the concierge's desk and hurls it at the stone wall. Edward ducks as the vessel sails past his head, just missing his ear. The porcelain screams against the solid surface and shatters into a million opaque shards.

“I'm getting very impatient,” she screams.

Melinda picks up a potted plant and sends it flying across the lobby.

“Oh, she is gone,” Ardi remarks.

“I'd better get down there before she starts ripping up the foundation.”

Elliott retrieves his shirt from the floor and slips it over his head. Arden finds her bra and does up its hooks, before thrusting her legs back into her jeans. She pulls on her shirt and starts brushing her hair up into a ponytail.

The noise of another piece of expensive artwork crashing into the polished walls of the lobby gets their attention.

“Shit,” Elliott mutters.

Eli watches Edward rise from the cover of the expansive marble desk, peeking over its edge to make sure Melinda hasn't found another object to transform into a missile. He informs her that if she doesn't calm down he'll be forced to call the authorities.

“Do whatever you want, hobbit.” She snatches the poor man forward by his collar. “I'm not leaving here without my damn kids. So I suggest you find Dr. and Mrs. Stone for me.”

Melinda addresses the camera again. “You hear that, Elliott? ... I'll be here all night if that's what it takes. Now get your ass down here.”

She releases Edward, shoving him backward. The young man stumbles over a chair and almost hits the concrete floor.

“Ma'am, I've alerted Dr. Stone. Please, just calm down.”

As the melee continues in the lobby, Elliott notices that Arden has redressed and is sitting on the edge of the bed with a pair of Nikes at her side.

“Wait a minute. Where are you going?”

“I'm going with you.” She glances at him, as she finishes doing up the buttons on her blouse.

“No, you're not.”

“You are not going down there alone.”

“Arden, you know how she is. Seeing you will unleash the Kraken for sure.”

“Then call me Perseus.” She shrugs and stares him square in the eyes. “You're not going by yourself.”

Ardi speaks like the subject is closed, so he might as well stop arguing with her. She slips her feet into her sneakers and springs from the bed. Elliott catches her arm, as she walks past him.

He pulls her back toward the bed. “Arden, please. Stay here.”

“No,” she states, her response unyielding.

“Please, just let me handle this.”

roll over for her like you always do.” She shakes her head. “And it's not happening tonight. I'm not

have a choice.” His voice sounds a

Her tone has climbed to

from his chest, then back to

her. Eli hooks his arm around her waist, lifting her

“Arden, wait.”

“Put me down, Elliott.”

“No.”

struggles against his grip. “Put me

until you listen to

hang on to her. He rights her but doesn't let go.

“I'm done talking.”

cements her feet to the floor, grounding her weight. She bends, making him overextend his back. Eli moves right with her, tightening his grasp on her waist. He knows she's either trying to flip him or force him to break his hold

ground until he's standing on his tiptoes. Arden has always had strength. She is a former athlete, after all.

drags out his words,

to convince Arden to leave the damage control to him,

heard over the main intercom in the living

warnings and picks up her

know the little bitch had something to do with this,” Melinda

a combination of a low chuckle and a

bitches, Eli.” A little bit of that hood girl

are in superb focus. She taps the camera lens with her decrepit

Try having some crumb snatchers of your own for a change,

on the receiving end of the first ass-kicking of the night, I suggest you let go of me.” Arden's tone is low and controlled.

tonight could be one for the record books. It looks like

seeing someone as quiet as Arden lose her shit would be like watching an F5 twister decimate a town. No warning. No escape. Just

bear hug and places his hand over her heart. The adrenaline courses through her veins, pounding her heart against his palm at breakneck speed. It makes him tremble.

and sweet, even the most nefarious of villains couldn't resist its

evil bitch downstairs feeds off anger, and

She has become very well accustomed to Melinda's modus operandi. That woman has been the bane of Arden's existence for the last sixteen

Mel has even referred to her as a whore in front of the twins. She is also privy to the scathing "anonymous" blog Melinda has dedicated to blasting her ex-husband's second wife. She remembers convincing her father not to lodge a civil suit against Mel for

that same gathering, Mel managed

when a woman as ... striking ... as Arden hasn't given her husband any children. Must be something wrong with her plumbing, or he's found some other little slut to take care of his needs. Either way, I feel so sorry for her. A woman who can't have kids isn't really

ground that Melinda slithered on, as she bore a

bitch tossed her head back, cackling as she drank Dom Pérignon in the backyard of the Mitchells’ forty-acre estate. She didn't say anything. Just let Melinda's

got no reaction

misplaced something when they stitched her back together after

offer some

their grip on the silverware she'd been holding, sending it crashing down onto the expensive china. Her brown eyes glistened, as moisture strained against her

made her lunge across the pristine white tablecloth, and bust Melinda

to light up Melinda's pasty behind for that remark. Seeing the anguish on her niece's face was all the motivation she needed to pull off

into an emotional tailspin. And everyone close to her is conscious of that fact, including her best enemy. She wanted nothing more than to lay her ass out. But she wasn't going to allow herself, or her aunt, to sink to Mel's level.

mom would not have approved of such an outburst. Especially not in the company of most of her

expression and made polite conversation with her sister-in-law and cousins. When Elliott called to apologize for his absence for the third time, she made no mention of Melinda's behavior. She didn't put him in the

everything was hunky-dory with her on the inside. She did inhumane things to Melinda in the

of flesh. Arden did what she could that evening to refrain from choking the life out of Elliott's ex-wife.

beef. Slammed doors and cabinets. Chewed the inside of her cheek raw. She prayed. Rolled her eyes,

she kept her

over the years. So yeah, the Ardi and Mel soap opera goes back like babies and pacifiers. She doesn't need Eli to remind

conniving, jealous, old witch who is still in love with Elliott. And it seems the one thing that brings the bitter hag any trace of satisfaction, is making his current

high, she wants to lay into that bitch with a baseball bat. Beat her to within an inch

she remembers

team. His induction into the English Honor Society. Or his first soccer game.

in the school play. Or the way her eyes light up when she

The twins.

about

in the middle of Melinda's sick little game. And they did nothing to deserve

to convey a somewhat genuine interest in whatever mindless fodder she volunteers. She dodges Melinda's

need someone who will never be too involved in her own shit to notice them. Arden has

can't let tonight be any different. But she also cannot allow Melinda to take the twins back to New York with her.

for a reason, just like Eli did. She's a self-important, venomous fame whore. If she lets them leave with Melinda and something happens, she will

she has to relax and convince Eli that she's not out for Mel's blood. She needs to remain composed. She takes a few deep breaths and releases the tension that's

struggling in Eli's arms. For now, she's some imitation of calm. Though she would still

twins come downstairs and see their parents. They take in Arden's wild expression and the desperation on Elliott's face.

new to them. Ardi and Eli have never so much as raised their voices to each other in the twins' presence. To

on?”

and releases Arden before

backward into the stairs, tripping over the bottom step and landing

Melinda is here.

peaceful mother and father are in such a state. The woman who gave birth to them

Alabama?” they ask

camera. She directs the

twins glimpse their mother and begin to plead for asylum like prisoners campaigning

make

her for dear life. “Ammi,

sweetheart.” Ardi hugs her, stroking her hair. “But it's not up

and the twins follow

please,” Ro

shrugs. “There