Spy School Reunion

Chapter 33

Excuse me while I wipe my tears. This is the last chapter of this incredible journey. Don't worry, I'll get all sappy in the final authors note in the other "chapter" which is right after this. I also celebrated 7 months with this story on July 31. Wow a lot of things happened in those seven months.

And for the very last time, don't forget to vote and comment. Please enjoy. Bittersweet moment.

I stared at my reflection and let out a very shaking breath in nervousness. Mike stood behind me, smiling broadly, and put an arm around my shoulders.

"How do I look?" I asked him nervously.

Mike grinned in reassurance, "Amazing."

A lot has happened in the last four years since that spy school reunion.

When I got back to that motel after the conversation with Mark Dazy, I had a lot to figure out. Hailey and I had a long conversation. At that time, we mutually agreed to separate from each other. I knew Mark was going to tell her that he is alive soon. Together, on good terms, we agreed it would be best to take a break.

I know now that, at that time in my life, I wasn't ready for any type of relationship. I was at a very low point, as I had just lost my apartment and was suffering a bit of an identity crisis. I was in a stressful situation and wasn't my normal self. As cheesy as this sounds, I needed to love myself before giving love to anyone else. During that time, I was self conscious and didn't love who I was. I was in no shape phycologically to be in a relationship. After a lot of soul searching and life had calmed down, I found who I was and learned to be content with who I was.

The shock Hailey felt after hearing that Mark was alive didn't make her ready for a relationship either. She had to process that information and have extensive talks with her dad. The physiological stress that comes with guilt was taking a toll, and then she had to learn that the guilt was for nothing as her dad was still alive. Hailey had a lot of personal pressure to deal with. We needed to get our own lives together.

So for the next two years, Hailey and I,  respectively, focused on our careers. It was great for our mental health so that we could focus our energy somewhere else. I worked my way up to be COO of the private equity firm and Hailey went back to work in New York. She published many articles on the molecular biology properties of neurons and neural circuits. They were absolutely fascinating and I read all of them.

Erica was so kind as to lend me the money for a new apartment in the better side of Washington DC. The Erica Bank was even better than a real bank because she charged no interest. She literally offered to just buy me an apartment but I felt really bad being a charity case so I told her that I would pay her back.

Zoe suffered a hectic year after our reunion. Kurt and Zoe went into crazy legal battles over the house, divorce, parental guardianship over Jackson and Stella, child support, emotional and physical abuse and tons more. Luckily, Erica was supplying lawyers and money to Zoe's case while Kurt had to fund everything himself. In the end, Zoe got sole guardianship over the kids as the court deemed it unsafe for the children to be with him alone (and Kurt could visit only with approval from Zoe) and Kurt had to pay child support. After a ton of court dates, Kurt was not prosecuted with any charges for emotional or physical abuse. He never hit her and cheating on your wife isn't a felony in Illinois, as awful as it is. However, as all the documents are in Kurt's name, he still owns the house. But after all these legal battles, I'm sure he'll have to sell the house to pay for the lawyers. Plus he has to pay off the mortgage still. But still, because of all this, Zoe, Jackson and Stella were technically homeless.

Scott was arrested for a year. He was charged with conspiring with terrorists or something. Because he was helpful and didn't actually do anything physically wrong, that was the best case scenario for him.