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25| Moments
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2021-08-29 06:58:34“I was…” he sighed deeply and ran a hand through his thick, dark hair as he seemed to search for the right words. “I was thinking about leaving her.”
His eyes slowly moved up to meet mine shyly. I gaped at him as my entire world froze for a moment. He was going to leave Whitney?
“I mean…” He adjusted in his chair and cleared his throat to put an end to the silence. “I was thinking about leaving her before everything happened between us.” Isaac used his hand to gesture between the two of us as he spoke.
“Oh,” was all I could say.
“But then she shared the news with me about being pregnant and…” He motioned with his hand and whistled as it descended and made an explosion sound.
I chuckled at him and fiddled with a pencil between my index fingers. “Yeah, I get tha
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Claudette Reed 26| Interview
It’s the day of dad’s fundraiser now, and I’ve spent the last two weeks coming up with scenarios that may arise with Dominic as my date and how to handle any of them professionally.I decided that should he try to put his hand on my ass at any point, I won't snap at him. Instead, I will reach back with one hand casually and instead entwine our fingers between us.Should he make a comment on something that I don’t approve of, I will hold back the look of disgust on my face and instead force a laugh. Should we be I'm anyone’s company when he does such a thing, I can playfully smack his chest and say with a smile “Isn’t he such a jokester?”I’ve never attended an event with Dominic Knight before, so I am unsure of how he behaves at events or any form of social gathering. I want to prepare for the worst, though, just in case.I&
Last Updated : 2021-09-01Claudette Reed 27| Dad's Fundraiser
Once we finished our interviews and made our way inside the venue, I was able to breathe a little easier. Dominic has been nothing but professional and courteous this whole time. Sure, it’s been less than an hour, but I’m still pleasantly surprised by him. “You two look so beautiful together!” Some of the photographers hollered at us as we posed for them. The burgundy and mauve really did make a good pair. It was unexpected and untraditional, but that seemed to be extremely appropriate for Dominic and me. “Steph!” Dominic and I both looked to the owner of the feminine voice and found my parents walking toward us with big smiles on their faces. I smiled back and opened my arms to hug them both. “Oh, you look so beautiful!” “Thank you. You two look as young as ever,” I complimented them during our hug. Dad wore a tux and bowtie, and mom was in a deep red halte
Last Updated : 2021-09-03Claudette Reed 28| Dance
“You’re so fortunate to not have many symptoms. I hope it stays that way for you.”“Thank you.” Whitney smiled at me gratefully.There was a considerable amount of awkward silence between the four of us as Dominic finished his drink, Whitney adored Isaac, and Isaac and I looked at each other.“Care for a dance?” Dominic asked me with his hand out after placing down his cup.I looked at Whitney and Isaac and smiled at them as I took Dominic’s hand and we walked to the dancefloor. Isaac and Whitney followed shortly behind us and began dancing as well on the other side of it.“Something's troubling you. What is it?” Dominic looked sincerely worried about me. I wonder if he took some sort of ‘I care' pill today or something to turn him human?“Nothing is wrong, I’m fine.”Dominic narrowed his eyes at me. “Is it the redhead with the man yo
Last Updated : 2021-09-05Claudette Reed 29| Dominic Reacts
“And you’re certain that it’s mine?”“Yes. You’re the only one I’ve been with these last few months.” I glanced around to be sure that no one was looking or possibly eavesdropping on our hushed conversation.Dominic grabbed hold of my hand tightly. “Come,” he demanded as we walked off of the dancefloor. His face was unreadable, but his eyes held pure anger.I had thought that he was taking me to a separate room to have a conversation about this, but he dragged me to a side door that entirely left the venue and went out to a parking lot.Dominic pulled out his phone and texted a number.“What are you doing?” I asked.Dominic didn’t respond, and just a minute later, a black, sporty car with butterfly doors arrived to pick us up. The driver stepped out after the door lifted upward toward the sky, and Dominic walked around the car to get in the
Last Updated : 2021-09-07Claudette Reed 30| Steph Is In Trouble
Isaac POV“Baby, is something wrong?” Whitney asked as we danced together on the dancefloor. “You’ve been awfully quiet.”“Hm? Oh, yeah. I’ve just… Been thinking.”“Yeah? About what?”She had a sparkle in her eye and a hint of a smile at the corner of her painted lips as she tilted her head an inch.I frowned. “Just…things.”“Things like?”She kept pushing me and my mind was in overload after everything that Steph had said to me. I knew that something was off about Whitney's pregnancy, but I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt and believe her when she said that she was pregnant.I had never seen any proof of her pregnancy, and a part of me was suspicious, but the part of me that knew that it was still possible for her to be pregnant with my child stopped me from ever saying anything.
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I woke up feeling sore and groggy. The last thing that I remember is the flashing lights of the emergency vehicles approaching the car and Dominic getting out. Did he run? What happened after I passed out?I felt a hand on mine and gently squeezed it out of reflex.“She’s awake,” I heard a familiar voice say.“Isaac?”“It’s me, Steph. I’m here.” His voice got closer and I heard him stand up from a chair next to the bed I was laying on. He kissed my forehead and I heard some more steps approaching me.“Steph? Baby?” My mom called out to me. I felt her soft hand grab hold of mine and give it a squeeze.“I’m okay, mama.”“I’ll go tell the doctor that she's awake.” I recognized that voice as Isabella's.A hand brushed my forehead gently and pushed some hair back on my head. “You&rsquo
Last Updated : 2021-09-12Claudette Reed 32| The Plan
“Dominic doesn’t want this baby, so we have to pretend that I lost it in the accident. That’s step one. No one outside our family will know that I'm still expecting.”“Okay. What about when they ask who the father is?”I thought about that for a moment. I could tell them that it’s Dominic's baby, but then I would be bombarded with questions. What if I told them that it was Isaac’s baby? No. He has Whitney and that would create a whole storm of drama for him.“I don’t… I don’t know what to say when they ask. If I tell them about Dominic, they will ask questions that will lead to the accident, and I can’t lie if they ask. I can hide things from them, but I can’t lie. You know that.”“Okay…” Isaac thought for a moment and then shrugged. “Tell them that you don’
Last Updated : 2021-09-12Claudette Reed 33| Living With Mom and Dad
Isaac hadn’t come back into the hospital room after he excused himself to get a drink, and I learned from his mom the next day that he went out to a pub and got drunk that night because he was so upset. Whether he was upset over the accident or the fact that I’m pregnant, I couldn’t tell you.I wasn’t in the hospital long, and apparently, my parents had arranged movers to bring my things from my condo to their house the very night of the accident, even before I had agreed to move back in with them.I’ve been here a week now, and I left the hospital with a black eye, among other various bruises, three cracked ribs, a strained neck, and a severe concussion. I’ve had nightmares of Dominic coming after me every night since the accident, and sometimes I wake up screaming and covered with sweat. I’ve woken my parents a couple of times, especially the first nights back home.&n
Last Updated : 2021-09-14
Latest chapter
Claudette Reed 85| Bonus Chapter (Alternate Ending): Wedding
Whitney was put away after Ben found traces of her plotting with Dominic and Gwen, wanting to destroy Stephanie after she stole Isaac from her. Thanks to some good old fashion hacking of security footage that showed her purchasing the same green monster that was delivered to the Greene mansion, and some searching of phone records, she was arrested as an accessory and for conspiring.Eli and Isabella shared that they have secretly been an item for quite some time and are openly a couple now. It took Isaac a while to get comfortable with the idea, but he accepts their relationship and is enjoying seeing his mother so happy.He looked out at the rows of people and spotted them together, smiling at each other as Isabella adjusted his tie. There was an empty seat that separated them from Emma, who was speaking to Dylan, the ring bearer, about something before he was up. The Perry's were there as well; Emile and his parents Emmanuel an
Claudette Reed 84| Bonus Chapter (Alternate Ending): The Call
Both Isabella and Eli looked at Isaac in shock with their mouths slightly agape at this revelation and blunt truth that just escaped his lips. They stood there like statues for a long moment before responding to him.“I, uh… you… you got another threat?” Isabella asked Stephanie to clarify.She nodded her head. “Yes. We have Ben right now looking for the name of the person who declared Dominic DOA after the crash to see who could have possibly done this.”“Well shit,” Eli mumbled.Isabella had her lips parted in astonishment and her eyes were slightly wider than usual. “Well, do you have any suspects?”Isaac peered over at the small eight-year-old that was near Matthew and Emma but remained silent. Stephanie shook her head as her mind was still in a baffled, hazy state. Emma thought of Louisa, and Mat
Claudette Reed 83| Bonus Chapter (Alternate Ending): Isabella's
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Claudette Reed 82| Bonus Chapter (Alternate Ending): Doubt
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Claudette Reed 80| Epilogue
The police came to the cabin, and an entire investigation began. It turns out, the remains found underneath the cabin belonged to a Dani Winter, who was Dominic's high school girlfriend. Her records showed that she had given birth to a baby boy on Dylans birthday, then disappeared shortly after, and they quickly put two and two together - leading them to investigating Gwen. Kay had been speaking with clients of hers, as she is a womens rights activist and only photographs females, and had come across a number of women to testify against Gwen. They said that they had gotten involved with Dominic romantically, but he would get aggressive, and his sister would cover it up for him and make up excuses. All of the women said that they felt she was dangerous. Also the mention of her obsession and protectiveness with Dylan was unsettling. Even Louisa testified and said that Dominic had threatened her boys lives if she hadn
Claudette Reed 79| The Death Cabin
The following day, it was confirmed at Dominic was the fatality in the crash, and it was reported to be an issue with the manufacturer of the car, so all rumors or claims against Stephanie were voided and her name was entirely cleared. The fact that she had her event and went into labor the same time as the wreck had also cleared her from any possible accusations of having something to do with his fatal crash as well. She learned of every person’s own original plan to destroy Dominic and felt so much love hearing that everyone was planning something different. Her parents shared that they were going to buy him out, and Stephanie felt relief that they no longer had to do that. She would have felt awful if her parents gave up everything, including her childhood home, to take him down. Besides, there was still the chance of backlash with that plan. Ben had heavily considered Matthew’s idea of wi
Claudette Reed 78| What Happens Now?
What did I want to happen to Gwen? I guess to answer that, I would need to know exactly what she had done before I tell them to lock her up. Maybe Ben and Isaac had learned that she wasn’t really Dylan's mom and we could start the search for his real mom? But what if his real mom was the woman in those dreams? The dead one, who was Dominic's high school sweetheart that he supposedly killed. “I don’t… I don’t know….” “It’s okay,” Isaac said as he pet my hair. “It’s been a long day, and you need to rest. We can talk about the rest later.” Too tired to argue, I merely nodded my head, and everyone slowly left the room. Except for Isaac, as I asked him to stay on the bed with me. We faced each other and looked at each other silently for a while. “I can’t believe you came,” I said as I stared into his hazel eyes. “It took me a while, but once I re
Claudette Reed 77| Revelations
Everyone gathered around the bed where Isaac and I lay together, baby Micah cradled between us. The doctors came in to take him to the NICU and make sure that everything was alright, and with parting words and kisses, I let them take him.Once gone, I nuzzle closer to Isaac, and he wrapped his arms around me and kissed my head.“You named him after your brother,” my mom said with tears in her eyes and her chin quivering, her hand trying to hide her reaction. Dad held both her shoulders before hugging her from behind with a gentle smile on his lips.“Yes,” I responded. “Do you like it?”She threw her hand down and made a hmph sound as she answered, “Like it? I’m the one who picked it,” she and my dad both laughed. “We love the name. Thank you, baby.”It was past midnight now, and in the room
