"Thank you. I need to figure something out soon before she comes. I'm not even ready for her, and she's due in twelve weeks." I sigh, defeated. "Cole and I were supposed to go and get everything she needed after he got back from his trip, but..."
"Then we will go and get everything she needs." My mother states, kissing my temple and rubbing my bump. I sigh, suddenly exhausted, and nod. "How about I make you and my granddaughter your favourite dish?" I shake my head.
"I'm not hungry. I just want to go home, shower, and sleep for a while," I answer, and she nods in understanding.
"Okay, but make sure you eat honey. I know food is the last thing on your mind, but the baby needs the nutrients to grow and be strong, especially the weeks leading up to the birth." My mother explains, and I nod. "Make sure she eats." She firmly tells Jo who nods in assurance.
"Of course. We'll take care of her, don't worry," Jo tells her. We left my mother's place and went back t
Two weeks crawl on by, and the pain has yet to subside. There's a constant ache and heaviness in my chest that I can't seem to shake. I've not seen or spoken to Cole at all, nor did I have any desire to.I force myself to go outside to get some air. I feared I'd lose what little sanity I have left if I kept myself hauled up inside. I went for an appointment with my midwife to check everything is okay with the baby, and thankfully she's perfect, growing nicely. Well, she would, the amount of food Jo and Aimee keep shoving down my throat.On the thirteenth day, I got a visit from Cole's mother. I was surprised to see her standing at my door. "Hi, sweetheart.""Hi," I reply and step aside to let her in. "Come on in." I close the door and walk to the living room. Elaine looks me over, a deep sadness in her honey-coloured orbs, as she takes a seat on the sofa beside me."I've wanted to come and see you for a while, but Tristan told me to give you space." I stare a
"Mr Hoult?"I blink and look back when I hear someone knock and enter my office. I was lost in thought, standing at the floor-to-ceiling window staring at the bleak city before me. "Yes, Jessica?""I'm sorry, I did knock, but...""It's okay. What do you need?" I sigh, looking back at her, and she shifts uneasily, chewing on her bottom lip."The investors are here, and they're asking to speak to Shayla. I don't know what to tell them. They seem pretty upset." Jess informs me, and I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose."Take them into the conference room and offer them refreshments. I'll be there in a few minutes," I instruct her, and she nods, leaving my office. I look out of the window again and wonder what the hell I'm going to tell these people.It seems Shayla has built quite a rapport with the investors to the projects we were working on that they're demanding to speak to her and no one else. I've lost a major account already this week
I was having a shitty day at work, couldn't focus on anything, and my head was hurting again, so I had Josh bring me home. A tiny part of me hoped I would catch Shayla when she was packing, but she wasn't there. It was just Aimee. I walk into the living room and saw the photo of Shayla and me that we had above our fireplace was on the floor ripped to bits. I sink to the ground and stare at the torn-up pieces of what used to be our wedding photo. Christ, what have I done to her? She must really despise me to shred our picture."Shay, please stop crying. Think about the baby. The doctor said no stress, remember." I hear Josh say. He was on the phone with her. I get up and move over to where he was in the kitchen. "He wouldn't." Josh sighs, rubbing his forehead as he paces back and forth, "He's just not himself right now. Yesterday, he had a bit of a breakdown at the hospital and admitted he's really struggling with everything. I was furious with him for hurting you, but I get w
"Tell me you love me, baby," I stare at Cole motionless when he presses his forehead to mine and whispers those words to me. I fought the tears that were threatening to fall when he slowly opens his eyes and looks at me."What?" I whisper, watching him as he gazes at me, his eyes searching mine for something. He said the words, but the look in his eyes wasn't the same as that night. The love wasn't there, and it pained me deeply that he remembers the night he told me he loves me for the first time, but there's no emotion behind his words. Cole pulls back and looks at me, bewildered."Uh, was that a... memory of ours?" He questions, and I nod silently, stepping away from him. Cole stands and takes hold of my arm and pulls me back to him again. I look up at him questioningly."Fill in the blanks. Please?" He says pleadingly, and I blink, my eyes already welling up.I shake my head."I can't," I answer, and he looks at me beseechingly. "You can't ask
"You did what?!" Aimee shouts, her blue eyes wide like saucers as she shoves popcorn in her mouth and chews excitedly like you do when you're watching a fascinating part in a film. "Tell me again...tell me again. I need to hear this word for word...slowly."I sigh with a smile shaking my head as I pull my hair up in a messy bun. After I got home, I told the girls about my exchange with the witch. "I am not explaining it all over again. I basically put her in her place and told her if she keeps pissing me off, I'll steal Cole back from her just out of spite.""Yes! That is my bitch right there!" Aimee exclaims, excitedly throwing her popcorn in the air, and it falls around her. "Oh, damn." She utters, looking at the mess she made.Jo and I laugh and throw the popcorn at her. "That was a long-time coming, Shay, and we're proud of you, baby girl." Jo praises me with a hug, and I smile, sighing."Heck yes, it was. Who the fuck does she think she is? Prissy li
"Who the hell is Blake, and more importantly, is he hot?" Aimee questions and I set my phone aside and shrug."Blake Bryant is an investor for one of our projects, and yes, he's a very handsome man," I explain with a sigh, and they nod slowly, still looking at me expectantly. "What?""What do you mean, what? Why is he asking you out?" Jo questions, her brows drawn together.I roll my eyes, "He's not. It's a business lunch to go through the contract for the project, that's all." I clarify, and Aimee doesn't seem convinced."He went out of his way to find your personal number to call you, out of office hours to invite you for a business lunch?" She drawls sardonically, and I nod and shrug. Aimee looks at Jo, and they shake their heads. "It's definitely a lunch date." Aimee snorts."What does he look like?" Jo questions, intrigued, and I shrug indifferently."I don't know, tall, dark hair, blue eyes," I explain, chewing on my lip. "Oh, actually
The following day I was sitting in my office going over the contract before Blake arrived to pick me up for our lunch. I was avoiding Cole like the plague after what happened the night before.I tried my best to push it out of my mind, but every time I saw him walking toward my office, my heart would race, only for him to walk past it. I wondered what happened between him and Sophie after I left. The more I tried to convince myself I didn't care, the more it was bugging me, so much so that I couldn't focus on a damn thing on this contract. "Shay?"I look up when I hear my name and see Cole standing at the door. Oh shit. "Yes?”"Can we talk for a second?"I sigh, "If it's about work, yes, we can. If it's not, then no." I tell him, dropping my pen, and he exhales."Shayla—" Cole interjects, but my intercom goes off, interrupting whatever he was going to say. He scowls at it."Mrs Hoult, Mr Bryant is here and waiting for you in the lobby." Jenn
Two weeks later.“What are you doing?” I jump startled, look back, and see Josh standing behind me as I watch Shayla smiling at a basket of some sort and flowers she just received. “Are you spying on Shayla?”I rub the back of my neck and shake my head. “What? No.” I utter, glancing at her again, and Josh chuckles.“Right, so you’re hiding behind the wall looking into her office why?” I sigh, relenting.“Fine, I was spying…a little,” I say, looking at him before I look over at her opening a book and skimming through it. “Who sent her those, and what the hell is that basket?”“Uh, it’s a nappy basket. It’s filled with blankets and booties and clothes for the baby.” He explains, looking over at her with a smile. “She said it’s a gift from Blake Bryant.”I grate my teeth; every hair on my body goes up when I hear that man’s name. “Why? Why is he sending my wife gifts?”Josh’s brows furrow, and he looks at me surprised. “Your wife? Weren’
Twenty minutes later, the house smelt sensational with home-cooked goodness. Cole strolls into the kitchen while his wife cooks pancakes. He wraps his arms around her from behind and kisses her pulse. “As good as this food smells, I can’t wait to eat you later,” Cole growls in her ear hungrily, making her grin. “Shh, baby, the kids are going to hear you,” Shayla whispers back, looking up at him, and he matches her grin leaning close. “They’re not even in here.” Cole chuckles, kissing her softly. Shayla wraps her arms around her husband’s neck and parts her lips when his tongue silently requests permission to meet her own. “Oh, barf. Mum and Dad are making out again.” RJ grumbles, walking into the kitchen, followed by Alaia, who grimaces as they take their seats at the dining table. Shayla and Cole laugh as they pull apart. “Now you know how we feel watching you slobber all over your little ‘friends’ you keep bringing over.” Alaia retorts, making air q
Sixteen years later…On a beautiful Saturday morning in the month of August, Shayla Hoult rolls over in the bed she shares with her gorgeous husband Tristan Cole Hoult and smiles contently. At the tender age of forty-six, he was still every bit as handsome as he always was. She lay on her side and admired him while he slept. He still looked the same—but older with fine lines that came with maturity, which made him even sexier. The stubble of his beard had specks of grey, which she loved.“Why are you staring at me?” Cole mumbles, his eyes still closed, causing his wife to start while she was lost deep in her thoughts. Shayla smiles, her cheeks flushing ever so slightly, and reaches over to brush her fingers over his cheek. Cole smiles, peels his eyes open, and blinks, looking at his beautiful wife smiling at him lovingly.“How long have you been awake?” Shayla giggles when he wraps his strong arm around her waist and drags he
I exhale slowly, and Cole sits up and turns the night light on, blinking a couple of times till his eyes adjust to the light. “My water broke,” I tell him, and he shifts and pushes the covers off himself and gets out of bed. I watch him walk around the bed to my side, and he takes hold of my hand to help me sit up.“Are you having contractions?” He questions, brushing my hair away from my face, and I nod. “What do you need me to do?”I exhale slowly when another contraction comes. I wait for it to pass before I speak. “Call my midwife, then my mum. Tell her I’m in labour, and we’ll drop Laia to her.” I instruct him, and he kisses my forehead before he grabs my phone. While Cole was on the phone, I take off my wet clothes and change into a pair of grey comfortable tracksuit bottoms and one of Coles oversized hoodies. The pain was getting worse by the minute, and I was worried we wouldn’t make it to the hospital. “Cole, we have to go. Like right now.” I whimper, and he l
“Shay.” I lift my gaze from staring at my huge baby bump and look at my husband, who rolls over when I turn the night lamp on. “You okay?” Cole questions drowsily, and I glower at him.“Why won’t this baby come out.” I hiss angrily, and Cole groans, leaning up on his elbow and looks at me, his green eyes narrowed.“Maybe he likes it in there and isn’t ready to leave just yet.” He smiles, rubbing my bump, and the baby squirms inside me at his father’s touch. My due date was six days ago, and this stubborn child is showing no indication of arriving anytime soon.“I’ve had enough.” I whimper, agitated. “I’m uncomfortable. I haven’t slept a wink in days, and I’m swollen like a beached whale. Look at me.” I complain, gesturing to myself, and Cole lets his eyes wander over me, and he smiles. “What are you looking at?”He blinks, bemused.“You just said—”“You get this baby out of me right now.” I huff, and Cole scratches his forehead, his brows fu
Shayla pulls back and looks up at me, tears flowing from her beautiful eyes. “Did you...” She trails silently, asking me if I had something to do with her killing herself off, and I shake my head.“No, I had nothing to do with that. She obviously couldn’t handle being locked up. The warden did say girls like her are like fresh meat to a hungry lion.” I explain, brushing her tears away.“I did.” I turn and look at Sam, and Shayla frowns. “I may have visited the prison. A guard there is a friend of mine, and when he found out you were my sister, he did me a favour.” He explains with a shrug, stuffing his hands into the pocket of his jeans. “It wasn’t enough that she was locked away, I wanted her to suffer, so I had my artist friend paint a photo of you and Cole kissing on the wall opposite her cell, she’d be forced to stare at it, be reminded every second, of every day that she didn’t break you,” Sam tells her. Shayla pulls away from me and runs into her brother's arms.
“That was a great party. I’m a grown arse man, and I had a blast.” Josh chuckles, sitting back on the sofa, taking a sip from his beer. I smile and nod, looking over at my mother and Shay’s mother directing the kitchen's cleaning crew. Sam comes across with baby Trey in his arms and sits on the sofa with a tired sigh.“It really was. Shayla did a great job with organising everything.” I tell him, and Josh nods, looking over at the baby in Sam's arms.“How’s fatherhood treating you, bro?” Josh questions putting his beer bottle down and taking Trey from Sam.“Tiring man, but I wouldn’t give it up for the world,” Sam admits looking over at Trey curled up on Josh’s chest. “To think I was terrified of ever having one of those, now I can’t picture my life without him.”I smile in understanding. “Yeah, they really do change your life, especially if it's with the right woman,” I state, and both men nod in agreement.“I feel so left out. I can’t wait to hol
“Happy birthday, princess.” I croon, looking down at Alaia, who just rose from her sleep. She smiles up at me as soon as she sees me, displaying her two teeth. She’s always so happy in the morning, and this morning was no different. She’s just lying in her crib, kicking back with her hands behind her head. “Good morning, my sunshine.” I pick her up and kiss her cheek affectionately. “Is my baby girl one-year-old today?” We walk out of the nursery back to our bedroom, where Shayla was still asleep. “Let’s go wake up, Mummy,” I whisper, kissing her temple and smile when I see Shayla lying on her front, peacefully sleeping. I crawl up on the bed and lay Alaia down on her stomach, and she immediately crawls over to her mother. I lay on my side and watch as she makes cooing sounds, pressing her hand to Shay’s face, who stirs from her sleep and smiles.“Mm, good morning, birthday girl.” She sighs, lifting her arm and wrapping it around Laia, who tries to crawl over her. She looks o
We see Josh and Aimee in the waiting room, along with Jo’s father, “How is she doing? Any news?”Aimee shakes her head. “Not yet. We got here not long ago.” I sit beside her, and Cole walks over to Josh, talking to Jo’s dad, Phil. “Did you look in the mirror before you left the house?” Aimee grins, her blue eyes raking over me.“No, why?” I ask apprehensively and look down at myself.Aimee laughs, “You look fucked out, girl. You could have at least run a brush through your hair.” I stare at her dumbfounded and reach to comb out my hair with my fingers.“We left in a rush,” I whisper, unlocking my phone and loading up the camera. “Do I really look that bad?” I look at my reflection in the camera and gasp a little. My face was all flushed, my hair a tousled mess, my lips were swollen, and I had love bites all over my neck. “Oh shit.” I curse, pulling my hair over my shoulder to cover up the love bites.Aimee nudges me, grinning wickedly. When I look
Later that evening, Cole and I were sitting on our bed, me on my tablet and him on his, looking through emails. “Do you not think we’re going a little overboard with this birthday party?” I ask, looking away from the tablet to him, staring intently at a document on his device.“No,” Cole utters, typing away on the screen. “What my baby wants, my baby gets.” I frown.“Cole, she’s turning one, she doesn’t have a clue what she wants. She’s not even going to remember this.” Cole looks at me and shrugs.“She’s aware of more than you realise.” He replies, his brows lifting to his hairline. “Don’t you see the way her little face lights up when she sees Moana on the screen?” I smile and nod, “Or the way she sways side to side when she hears the song.”“That is adorable.” Cole nods, smiling, and leans over, puckering his lips for me. I lean in and kiss him softly.“Let’s give our baby girl the birthday she deserves.” Cole mumbles against my lips, and I grin