**A Black Dogs Coat Cant Be Washed White**
“Sophie, fine, Ill help you with everything. But Im warning youyoull suffer with that rogue. Cant you see the kind of man youre tying yourself to? A freeloader and a drunk!” My brother raised his voice, but he couldnt talk sense into me.
Life did that instead.
Alfie was brought into our company by my sister, Emily. I knew theyd had a fling, but it fizzled out, and Emily, not wanting to upset her ex, got him a job as a warehouse worker in our family business. We sold furniture, with several shops across town. My brother, Edward, the companys founder, despised Alfie from the start. Alfie, sensing the bosss dislike, kept his distance.
“That lad lives beyond his means. Emily, I still remember you begging me to pay off his debts. Claimed you pitied him, said he was tryingbut I see the truth. Your Alfies a cad, chasing women and fancy dinners. Ive no respect for men like him, always looking for a woman to leech off,” Edward lectured, as the eldest brother had every right to.
Emily nodded silently but didnt fire Alfie.
Alfie was undeniably handsomecharming, athletic, effortlessly winning women over. Before I knew it, I was head over heels. I dreamed of a lavish wedding, a designer dress, Tiffany heelspure fairy-tale nonsense.
Edward, watching his little sisters foolishness, didnt stop me. “Come to your senses, you silly girl,” was all he said. But he threw a wedding to rememberthe most expensive venue, a limousine, guests galore. A feast for the ages. I was the baby of the family, spoiled rotten.
I was over the moon. Me, plain as I was, landing a man like that! Emily, though, had her doubts.
“Sophie, keep your wits about you with Alfie. Otherwise, youll regret it, sis. That mans all showempty as a balloon.”
But nothing couldve stopped me then. Not even a brick wall.
Edward gifted us a flat as a wedding present. Soon after, Alfie asked for a car”preferably foreign.” Lost in love, I decked him out in designer clothes, bought him that car, furnished the flat with top-tier everything. Our business thrived; we lived well.
Alfie didnt care. Hed shamelessly exploit my devotion, wipe his feet on me, laugh at me behind my back. But that came later. For now, I was blind.
Three years into marriage, Alfie never once mentioned children.
Edward, as usual, couldnt stay quiet.
“Sophie, your husbands not the family man type. He doesnt want you or kidsjust money and freedom. Loves a bit of spice, doesnt he? A selfish narcissist, thats your Alfie. When will you wake up, love? Why grovel for a man like that?”
But I saw nothing but Alfie. He was my fragrant flower; I, the tireless bee buzzing around him.
I begged Edward to promote him.
“Let him manage a shop. Maybe hell take to the business. I want him as a partner.”
“Only for you, Sophie. But its doomed. Hell run it into the ground.” Reluctantly, Edward agreed.
Alfie, as a shop manager, drove it to ruinthen blamed me. “Not enough stock, rude customers, bad location”
“Fine, darling, maybe youre right. Dont work at all. Edward will handle the shop. Just focus on our unfinished holiday home.” Id agree to anything to keep him, to stop him leaving me for some pretty little thing.
That holiday home became a den for loose women, addicts, shady charactersneighbors made sure I knew. A nightmare. Still, I tried pulling Alfie back from the edge.
I dragged him home, hired a live-in nurse to sober him upIV drips, meals, the works. I worked nonstop. Edward watched, smirking but silent, knowing I was hurting enough.
Then the nurse got pregnant. Three months in, she asked me for abortion money.
“Too late now. Have the baby.” I pitied heranother fooled by Alfies pretty shell.
I left him. No point continuing. I let him keep the wedding flathe had a new family coming, after all. I wanted him happy, even without me.
The scales fell from my eyes. The holiday home stood half-built, the car reeked of booze, and I was left paying Alfies debts.
The girl had his son, but the boy grew up fatherless.
It took me ages to recover. I still loved Alfie. Edward comforted me, patting my head like a child.
“Sophie, dont you know the sayings? You cant make a silk purse out of a sows ear. A leopard cant change its spots. Forget that good-for-nothing. Life handed him a golden ticket, and he wasted it. Youll be alright, love. At least you came out clean.”
Time healed. The shop Alfie ruined recovered under new management. We opened three more.
Alfie drank himself to death by thirty-three. They found him dead in a ditch. A lost soul always finds the deepest pit.
Ive long turned that wretched chapter. Started fresh, though the scar ached for years.
Now, Ive three children and a wonderful husband.
