HAYLEY’S P.O.VAndrea- or my mother- stood there with her eyes wide and her mouth open. I wasn’t sure what she expected when she walked into this house. Did she think that we would welcome her with open arms?She turned to me but dad was quick to push me behind him. “Don’t you dare look at her.”“She is my daughter,” Andrea spat. “I deserve to see her, I deserve to know her.”“You lost that right when you gave her away. Stay the fuck away from my family.”“I could sue, you know? I could say I was coerced. Your family was rich, you threatened me, you made me feel like I had to do it. Your mother-”At that point, I knew I had enough. I brushed past my dad despite his attempts to keep me behind him and stopped in front of the woman. There was no pull, nothing that joined us together, I felt nothing in regards to her, she was a stranger to me and that was how I liked it.“You don’t get to say shit,” I cut her off. “I am not a toy to be fought over. You will not blame them for your mistake
JAKE’S P.O.VI took Hayley to my house.I knew it was the only place she would get a semblance of privacy. Kate and her mother had gone out for the day meaning we had the entire house to ourselves, at least for a while.When we pulled up at the gate, Hayley snorted. “Of course you’d bring me here. I thought we were going somewhere different.”“Do you want to go somewhere different?”She pretended to think about it for a while before shaking her head. “I like it here, thank you. Are the others-”“No, we’re alone.”She tried to hide it but I saw the obvious relief on her face at the knowledge. She wasn’t ready to be around people, that was the only reason I had brought her here. She needed time to come to terms with everything, time to gather her own thoughts. Her grandmother had just died, one of the most important mother figures in her life and now, her birth mother was in her face.It felt like an insane coincidence but somehow, I doubted it was. From the way she spoke, it sounded li
HAYLEY’S P.O.VI didn’t realize how much I needed to be out of the house until I was out. It felt like I could finally breathe for the first time in a long time and every day after that, I spent a few hours with Jake and Kate.Maybe it was selfish to leave my father and grandpa alone seeing as they didn’t have anyone but it was the only way for me to stay sane.Dad buried himself in work while grandpa stayed in the house most of the time. He tried to tell us that he was fine but we could see through his façade, he was hurting despite how hard he tried to hide it.The only time he tried to engage in conversation with us was when he wanted to talk about the funeral preparations or when he wanted to demand that we let him move back home. Other than that, he locked himself up in his room which was as sad as it was concerning.It was a lot to deal with- work, the funeral and my personal life but somehow, I made it work. Greg didn’t bother me, the police had stopped sniffing around me and e
HAYLEY’S P.O.VDad was barking orders into his phone from the moment we got into the car.He was the only person more pissed about her presence than I was. I knew grandpa would have been pissed if he had the energy to spare but he was exhausted. He just sat there staring out the window.He didn’t say much for the rest of the day, he just dragged himself up the steps and locked himself in the room. I sat in my room too because I did not want to hear dad yelling at people over the phone as he tried to find a way to keep Andrea away from us.I had barely been alone for half an hour when I heard a knock on my door. I couldn’t respond because I was in the bathroom wiping my face clean of makeup but I heard footsteps and I knew immediately that it was Jake.One glance in the mirror told me all I needed to know. He leaned against the doorframe watching me. I had ditched my dress as soon as we got back and was only in black lace underwear but Jake’s eyes didn’t linger or roam down my body. He
HAYLEY’S P.O.VAt first, I was hoping for someone to jump out with a camera and say that it was a prank. I always knew my grandmother to be an impractical joker but this was truly pushing the limit.“That can’t be right,” grandpa cut in. “Are you sure she put that in?’He nodded. “I tried to advise her against it but she was determined. There is also a stipulated timeline by which you must have done it before the trust fund is distributed amongst charities.”“What’s the timeline?” I asked hoping to hear something like five years.“I can’t say,” he gave me a small smile. “It is her rules, not mine. I am so sorry.”“You’re joking,” I bit back a laugh as I turned to grandpa. “I’m sorry but your wife was insane.”“I’m starting to think the same thing,” he mumbled as he ran his hands down his face. “”What the hell was she thinking?”Dad and Jake were the only quiet ones. Dad seemed lost in thought but Jake- he was staring right at me. I could only imagine the kind of pressure it put him un
HAYLEY’S P.O.VGrandpa returned to his house earlier in the day and I already sent him five messages trying to find out how he was.I didn’t consider myself overbearing but on this case, I allowed myself to be. He claimed he was fine but there was no denying the fact that he was hiding how he felt about the whole thing. I had no idea why he was in a rush to return to the home, I couldn’t imagine going back to the home I shared with a partner for so many years without them.I wanted to visit him after work but I had a feeling he was more likely to slam the door in my face. He was like me in the sense that he hated feeling reliant on other people. He liked to fix things on his own even when he knew he needed help.“You’re back,” I looked up to find Sienna standing at my doorway. “I didn’t think you would be here today. How are you?”I shrugged. My grandmother’s funeral wasn’t a secret and my absence at the office had surely raised a few questions. I made sure to arrive very early before
HAYLEY’S P.O.VI was shaking by the time I got to Jake’s office.Everyone seemed to recognize me. I wasn’t shocked, my face was plastered all over their TVs a while ago with Jake. They knew who I was to him and on another day, I would’ve been concerned about it but today, I couldn’t bring myself to care.I took the elevator up to his office and met his secretary at her desk. She looked up at me with a professional smile but as soon as she realized it was me, the smile disappeared. If there was any doubts in my mind that she wanted Jake, it was gone in that moment. She stared at me like a jealous girlfriend.“Mr. Ryker isn’t in his office,” she told me, a smug smile on her face. “As his girlfriend, I thought he would have told you that.”I just stared at her blankly and made to step past her but she was quick to get into my way.“Move,” I didn’t even bother to try and keep the disdain out of my voice. She was pissing me off.“No one is allowed to go into his office. If you’re truly dat
JAKE’S P.O.VThe last thing I wanted to do was talk to Marie again after everything.As soon as I got the news that the child wasn’t mine, I blocked her number and didn’t bother to seek her out again. I had no intentions of ever talking to her again, she was a part of my past and I intended to leave her there but I should have known that she wouldn’t be willing to step down so easily. Marie had never been the kind of person to accept defeat.With a sigh, I dialed her number. It didn’t take long before she picked up, her nasally voice filling the room.“I was wondering when you would call,” she drawled. I could hear her nails tapping against something and could almost see the smirk on her face. “Have you gotten tired of her yet? Is that why you are coming back to me? I knew that sooner or later, you would tire of her problems.”“Why don’t we cut the bullshit for a second,” I hissed and she clicked her tongue.“That’s no way to treat the woman that you spent most of your life with, Jake
HAYLEY’S P.O.VThe smell of breakfast was what woke me but it was the light streaming through the windows that had me sitting up in a flash- I was late.“Relax,” I felt a hand on my shoulders as Jake gently guided me back into the bed. “You don’t have to rush anywhere.”“But I’m late-”“Your dad gave you the day off, rest, Hayley, you’re not a machine, you are not a robot, you need a break once in a while.”I wanted to protest but he just shot me a look that clearly told me he wasn’t taking no for an answer no matter what so I reluctantly found myself resting against the pillows. It was only once I was back in bed that I took the opportunity to look at Jake.He was shirtless showing off his toned chest, he had a tray of food in his hands that he placed in my lap. It smelled delicious and my stomach rumbled, reminding me that I didn’t have a chance to eat last night.I mumbled a thank you under my breath before shoving a forkful into my mouth while Jake excused himself from the room. I
HAYLEY’S P.O.VI stared at her for a moment.If anything, I was actually proud of the fact that she came all this way to ask that her mother’s charges be dropped. It was a ballsy thing to do, especially for a fourteen year old and that was the only thing that kept me listening to her.“You don’t understand how these things work,” dad began but she shot him a bored look.“I’m fourteen, I know how things work. I heard what she did, I know she assaulted someone but I don’t know who.”“Don’t you want to know?” I asked and she groaned.“Look, I’m not going to defend her because I know what she did was wrong. It’s clear you didn’t want to see her, I saw how you reacted at the funeral. I know my mother and she can be a bit much sometimes but she has issues, okay? I found out she went off her meds-”“What meds?” she fell silent immediately. “Look, Kayla, if you want me to help you then I need to know why.”“I can’t tell you her business. All I will say is that she is a good mother. She has ne
HAYLEY’S P.O.VI registered the slap before I even knew what was happening. I was on my feet in an instant and rushed over to the door.I couldn’t think of anyone that would dare hit Jake and yet, Andrea stood there. She looked furious, her chest rising and falling rapidly as if she had thrown everything she had into that hit. I glanced over at Jake and a gasp left my lips. His cheek was red and angry but he didn’t seem upset, he looked more shocked than anything.“Did you get all your anger out?” he asked and she lifted her hand again but he stopped her with his words. “I would choose my next actions wisely. If you hit me again, you will go to jail for assault and I will make sure you stay there for as long as possible.”She was smart enough to drop her hand but the anger didn’t leave her face. If anything, it got even worse.“You little bastard,” she spat. “You’re the one poisoning my daughter’s mind. Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? You are closer to my age than to hers. You’re a fu
JAKE’S P.O.VThe last thing I wanted to do was talk to Marie again after everything.As soon as I got the news that the child wasn’t mine, I blocked her number and didn’t bother to seek her out again. I had no intentions of ever talking to her again, she was a part of my past and I intended to leave her there but I should have known that she wouldn’t be willing to step down so easily. Marie had never been the kind of person to accept defeat.With a sigh, I dialed her number. It didn’t take long before she picked up, her nasally voice filling the room.“I was wondering when you would call,” she drawled. I could hear her nails tapping against something and could almost see the smirk on her face. “Have you gotten tired of her yet? Is that why you are coming back to me? I knew that sooner or later, you would tire of her problems.”“Why don’t we cut the bullshit for a second,” I hissed and she clicked her tongue.“That’s no way to treat the woman that you spent most of your life with, Jake
HAYLEY’S P.O.VI was shaking by the time I got to Jake’s office.Everyone seemed to recognize me. I wasn’t shocked, my face was plastered all over their TVs a while ago with Jake. They knew who I was to him and on another day, I would’ve been concerned about it but today, I couldn’t bring myself to care.I took the elevator up to his office and met his secretary at her desk. She looked up at me with a professional smile but as soon as she realized it was me, the smile disappeared. If there was any doubts in my mind that she wanted Jake, it was gone in that moment. She stared at me like a jealous girlfriend.“Mr. Ryker isn’t in his office,” she told me, a smug smile on her face. “As his girlfriend, I thought he would have told you that.”I just stared at her blankly and made to step past her but she was quick to get into my way.“Move,” I didn’t even bother to try and keep the disdain out of my voice. She was pissing me off.“No one is allowed to go into his office. If you’re truly dat
HAYLEY’S P.O.VGrandpa returned to his house earlier in the day and I already sent him five messages trying to find out how he was.I didn’t consider myself overbearing but on this case, I allowed myself to be. He claimed he was fine but there was no denying the fact that he was hiding how he felt about the whole thing. I had no idea why he was in a rush to return to the home, I couldn’t imagine going back to the home I shared with a partner for so many years without them.I wanted to visit him after work but I had a feeling he was more likely to slam the door in my face. He was like me in the sense that he hated feeling reliant on other people. He liked to fix things on his own even when he knew he needed help.“You’re back,” I looked up to find Sienna standing at my doorway. “I didn’t think you would be here today. How are you?”I shrugged. My grandmother’s funeral wasn’t a secret and my absence at the office had surely raised a few questions. I made sure to arrive very early before
HAYLEY’S P.O.VAt first, I was hoping for someone to jump out with a camera and say that it was a prank. I always knew my grandmother to be an impractical joker but this was truly pushing the limit.“That can’t be right,” grandpa cut in. “Are you sure she put that in?’He nodded. “I tried to advise her against it but she was determined. There is also a stipulated timeline by which you must have done it before the trust fund is distributed amongst charities.”“What’s the timeline?” I asked hoping to hear something like five years.“I can’t say,” he gave me a small smile. “It is her rules, not mine. I am so sorry.”“You’re joking,” I bit back a laugh as I turned to grandpa. “I’m sorry but your wife was insane.”“I’m starting to think the same thing,” he mumbled as he ran his hands down his face. “”What the hell was she thinking?”Dad and Jake were the only quiet ones. Dad seemed lost in thought but Jake- he was staring right at me. I could only imagine the kind of pressure it put him un
HAYLEY’S P.O.VDad was barking orders into his phone from the moment we got into the car.He was the only person more pissed about her presence than I was. I knew grandpa would have been pissed if he had the energy to spare but he was exhausted. He just sat there staring out the window.He didn’t say much for the rest of the day, he just dragged himself up the steps and locked himself in the room. I sat in my room too because I did not want to hear dad yelling at people over the phone as he tried to find a way to keep Andrea away from us.I had barely been alone for half an hour when I heard a knock on my door. I couldn’t respond because I was in the bathroom wiping my face clean of makeup but I heard footsteps and I knew immediately that it was Jake.One glance in the mirror told me all I needed to know. He leaned against the doorframe watching me. I had ditched my dress as soon as we got back and was only in black lace underwear but Jake’s eyes didn’t linger or roam down my body. He
HAYLEY’S P.O.VI didn’t realize how much I needed to be out of the house until I was out. It felt like I could finally breathe for the first time in a long time and every day after that, I spent a few hours with Jake and Kate.Maybe it was selfish to leave my father and grandpa alone seeing as they didn’t have anyone but it was the only way for me to stay sane.Dad buried himself in work while grandpa stayed in the house most of the time. He tried to tell us that he was fine but we could see through his façade, he was hurting despite how hard he tried to hide it.The only time he tried to engage in conversation with us was when he wanted to talk about the funeral preparations or when he wanted to demand that we let him move back home. Other than that, he locked himself up in his room which was as sad as it was concerning.It was a lot to deal with- work, the funeral and my personal life but somehow, I made it work. Greg didn’t bother me, the police had stopped sniffing around me and e