Pandora heard a click, and she pulled the cell away from her ear and looked at the screen. The woman had hung up on her.Groaning, Pandora ran her fingers through her hair. "I will deal with this shit tomorrow, or else I may be the first person to get a restraining order against calling roadside assistance. Now, I need to deal with changing a damn tire." She huffed and got back out of her car, making her way to her trunk. She opened the trunk and started pushing things out of the way. She pulled out the tire cover and grabbed for the different objects. Holding the instruction card in her hand, she searched for the thing to lift the car. She finally found the jack and picked it up. "Well you're not what I want right now, but you’ll have to do," she said to it. She plunked down the jack on the wet ground and lined it up. After finally setting up, she followed the instructions about loosening the bolts on the tire. "Oh, mother of God," she yelled. "What the fuck! Are these damn lug n
“Is your husband due back tonight?” he asked. Pandora frowned and shook her head slowly. But this only made him look more worried than before. “Pandora, I would like someone to be here to watch over you tonight.” She gasped, stopping her movement, and started to agree with him instead. “I could call someone?” She tried to make herself sound sure and confident, but it still sounded like a question. "Okay, you do that. Come by my office tomorrow so I can look you over again." "I can't. I am working early and most likely will be there late too. My boss' mother-in-law passed away." Benjamin scratched at his head. "Fine. I'll come to you. Where do you work?" "There's no need," she protested. "Yes, there is." "No." "Pandora! I found you in the rain. You were crying and trying to change a goddamn tire. You're doing all of this because your 'husband'—" Pandora was taken by surprise that Benjamin spat out the word husband and did the same air quotes she had done earlier, "—canceled you
Pandora pulled her clothes on quickly and then turned to the door. “I’m dressed,” she called out, moving back to her mirror to touch up her makeup and hair. "You look nice," Benjamin said as he bent down to look in the mirror. He pushed his hand through his hair, trying to fix it. "Comb?" she offered, handing one to him. "Thanks," he smiled, taking it without reserve. Her eyes flickered to his as she watched him comb his hair. Putting her own in a messy bun, she moved to put on her jewelry for the day. "What?" Some of her jewelry had been moved. She looked at each of the boxes and right away, she knew there were pieces missing. "What's wrong?" Benjamin asked softly as his hand touched her back. "This looks like it has been touched," she said, pointing at her boxes of jewelry. "And there should be more?" She turned and looked at him, to find that he was frowning, looking down at it."Could your husband have moved it? Maybe you put some of it someplace else?" Pandora shook her
“Pee? What do you think I am?”“Pregnant,” he stated nonchalantly. Pandora grumbled as she snatched the cup from him. By the time she walked back, Benjamin had set out a bunch of food and drinks on the table.“What is all of this?” she asked, feeling a lot hungrier than she had been moments ago. The smell of food wafted in her direction, making her stomach grumble pitifully.“Lunch,” Benjamin replied without looking at her. “I didn’t know this was part of your services, Doctor Parks,” she chuckled.“This is a special treatment reserved for patients I like!” Benjamin retorted with a wink before he took the cup from Pandora.“You know… I am grateful for this and last night. But you don’t need to look after me,” she whispered. She was touched by his gesture. The sad fact was, Derrik had made her coffee every morning for all the years they were together. That was the only thing he had contributed to their relationship.“Someone has to do it,” he insisted while he looked at the stick he p
Benjamin closed the door of her car and headed for his own. Pulling into the parking lot at his office, she saw Benjamin standing outside his car. When she turned the engine off, he opened her door and gave her a warm smile as he extended his hand. His hand stayed on the base of her back as he guided her into the clinic. She held back a groan and a pout when she saw the clinic was busy.Benjamin chuckled and she could feel his breath right next to her neck. “I already booked a scan room for you. It was my plan to get you out of your office today, one way or another,” he claimed proudly as he guided her all the way through the reception area and into the hallway. There was a part of her that knew she should be unhappy that he was planning on tricking her from the beginning, but the fact that she was getting to see her babies out of his plot overruled any displeasure she could have felt. "You know the drill," he said as she sat on the bed. She lowered her pants a little and pulled he
Where she called the man Nemo and she was sure it wasn’t his name. She was sure she would never get over that embarrassment. "I should go and let you get to work. I don't think that being the only patient could keep a doctor's lifestyle going," she joked to lighten the mood. "Yeah, I need to see more patients or how will I heat my pool?" Benjamin played along. "See you in a few days," he said, giving her a pointed look. "You will, more so if you keep feeding my fat ass." Benjamin rolled his eyes. "Make the appointment before you leave. I already have a slot set aside for you, so you just need to confirm at the front desk. That way, when we're finished, I can take you out for dinner.” He paused as she made her way to the door. Before she could walk out, he made one last comment to put a smile on her face. “And you don't have a fat ass!"- - - - - Pandora moved around her kitchen, cleaning it. But a small squeaking sound stopped her. She glanced around but couldn’t see anything th
When she was done, Milton’s lips twitched a little, and she knew he was having a hard time staying in cop mode. "Go on, laugh," she dared him with a pout. "But I don't care about the other stuff, it's the jewelry that is upsetting me, some of it belonged to my grandma and it's gone." Milton placed his hand over hers. "Do you have photos of the missing stuff?" "My father was a prosecutor, remember? I took photos of everything. I keep receipts and insurance records, too," she said in the mocking tone her father would use. "Oh, speaking of insurance, Derrik canceled my car insurance. I only found out because I had a flat tire and called them, and they wouldn't send out roadside assistance because I was no longer a customer." "Was this before or after the restraining order?" "Both, it was six weeks ago, so after the temporary one, when you arrested him, but before the more permanent one." Milton hummed. "I'll still be speaking to him about it, make sure all your bank accounts, home,
The entire time she typed, Milton called and yelled at her through the bathroom door.[Hi, this is the Jane your brother-in-law was mentioning in his last message. For what it is worth, I am truly sorry for the cruel pranks he is playing on you. If you do want to get him back for it, you should know people in government jobs get into an embarrassing situation far more easily than us civilians. A good batch of spiked brownies should do the trick, in my opinion. If you want to really screw with him, put the fake wife he gifted you in the trunk of his car. Anonymously report that you saw someone put a girl in a truck. That way he will get pulled over. I would personally love to see how he would get out of that one. Just so you know, I am deleting this text so he can’t see it. If you do respond, make it quick. You have three minutes. I am on your side, brother-in-law.] Pandora bit her lip as she started to watch the time. After two and a half minutes, she started to feel a wave of sadnes
"Looks like you are going to have a baby," Emily said, showing her the test. "Or maybe two. Knowing you and Benjamin, it will be twins again," she laughed. "Hush," Pandora gritted out and glared at her. "Hey, you never know, it could be three this time," she smiled. Pandora snorted and slapped her arm. "No, thank you! Now, not a word about this to him. I want to surprise him!" Emily nodded. "Just glad I know someone that's having a baby who will be around this one's age," Emily rubbed her tummy as she spoke. "Maybe you'll have a boy and I'll have a girl and they'll get married," Pandora joked. Emily’s eyes lit up and Pandora knew her joke backfired when she got a big smile on her face. "That would be so awesome," she said. Pandora heard Benjamin yell her name and Emily winked at Pandora. "I better get back to work. Text me when you tell him!" "I will," Pandora replied and she opened the door and ducked out. "Give me three minutes, and then you'll be free to get out of here wi
"It was just some homeless man. I really don't know why they even followed up on it. But I was blamed, and then put in jail. JAIL! When I got out, I was a laughingstock. No one wanted to know me. No one, not even the people I had made great. They all left me to rot. My daddy left with all the money he had and started over in another country. I had nothing. I have nothing and it's all your fault." At that point, she stood and charged at Pandora again, but Pandora easily deflected her arms, grabbed her, and held her down as Raegan hissed and growled at Pandora. "Oh shit!" she heard Milton say and he moved quickly to her, restraining Raegan. "I told you to stay away from this place," he said. "This is all your fault. You and that bitch took my life. I was meant to be Mrs. Parks—it was my life!" she yelled and Milton sighed. "Handcuff her. We have to drop her off at the hospital again," he sighed to the female officer as Pandora watched her place handcuffs on Raegan. Pandora stood, a
Their imperfections, and the fact that they didn't want to be perfect, or have a perfect marriage made them able to cope when one of them made a mistake. Thankfully, Pandora was very kind, and since it was Benjamin that normally screwed up, that made him lucky. Benjamin glanced at Pandora who was hugging his mother, and he noticed she had a warm glow around her. He had always seen it, but it had become more evident to him since they renewed their wedding vows. Benjamin wanted—needed—to marry her again, not because they were both drunk the first time, but because he needed her to know that he meant it all and that he wanted her to be his wife. Pandora looked stunning in the wedding dress that Maisey had made her, but he thought she could have worn a trash bag and still shone like a star. She was so happy and cheerful that he made it his vow to make her that happy at least once a day. He hated to let her dance with anyone else at their reception, but it did give her a chance to hold
"Where are we going tomorrow?" Jack asked. "The zoo," Amy answered with a roll of her eyes. "We can't all be great at remembering stuff," he replied, making the rest of them roll their eyes at him. "It's on the family schedule on the fridge... Oh wait, that's right, you don't look at that because then you would need to do your homework," Beth was quick to point out. "You're just jealous that I can do it in five minutes flat and still pass," Jack boasted. "That's not always going to work, and you will no longer be doing the work moments before it's due to be turned in; do you understand me?" Pandora asked him. "But, is it more important to get it done right or promptly?" he asked, making Benjamin stifle the chuckle that was starting to bubble up, knowing he just stepped into it. "No, mister smarty pants, and you'd be wise to use those smarts to mind what you argue. Getting your work done promptly and done correctly are both important and if you keep doing it at the last minute,
"They must have been naughty, they're back to being just mine," he said with a chuckle, knowing full well that they had been fighting all day. He gave her one last kiss before walking away. "Okay, Amy, you're up first," he said, pointing in front of him as he sat down. He took them one at a time, listening to what they each had to say. As it turned out, this was just a fight about whose turn it was to pick something to watch on the television. So as a punishment, he removed their TV time for the rest of the day and the next. "I can't believe I am going to miss watching golf!" Jack tutted. "What am I going to do now?" "You could read, like Amy," Beth told him with a touch of attitude. "I am not reading one of her silly books!" he bit back. "They were Mom's books," Micheal reminded him. "And Dad said he read them, too." "Yeah, I guess, but what about tomorrow? No TV tomorrow and I planned to watch the tournament. I wish school started already." "Jack, we have plans for tomorrow–
Benjamin took his time looking at the screen. He looked over all the measurements and made sure the spine was straight. Next, he paid close attention to the beating heart and found that it, as well as the other organs, were seemingly perfect. He let out a soft breath when everything looked good, and looked up with a smile. "Mackenna," he said softly as she had her eyes tightly closed. "Come on, open your eyes and look up here at the monitor. She's fine– everything looks great," Benjamin whispered. Mackenna had four miscarriages in the past ten years, and where Benjamin couldn't prove that they were caused by the mistreatment that she received at the hands of Derrik, he stood firm in his belief that the drugs he had given her had some long-lasting effects. About eight years ago, Pandora and she ran into each other while out around town. They got talking and Mackenna accompanied Pandora to the tattoo store Benjamin frequented. The couple had planned on getting matching tattoos on the
“On the twelve counts of Identity Theft Fraud, we, the jury, find the accused, Derrik Preston, guilty on all counts.” “On the four counts of Attempted Murder, we, the jury, find the accused, Derrik Preston, guilty on all counts.”“On the three charges of Breaking and Entering, we, the jury, find the accused, Derrik Preston, guilty on all counts.” “On the five counts of Mortgage Fraud, we, the jury, find the accused, Derrik Preston, guilty on all counts.” “On the six counts of Aggravated Assault, we, the jury, find the accused, Derrik Preston, guilty on all counts.” The reading went on, covering all the different charges. Meanwhile, Miriam was wailing. Pandora closed her eyes, feeling a sense of relief, as each charge came back guilty. "Mr. Preston, you have been found guilty by a jury of your peers; you will be remanded in custody and sentenced on Friday at ten a.m.—" "No! No, not my boy! You've made the wrong choice, you stupid people! I'll end you all for doing this to my baby
Benjamin and Pandora arrived just as the court was starting up. First up was Derrik, who sat there for almost three hours, trying to paint himself as the victim. It was hard sitting there listening to him spew out how Pandora was trying hard to ruin him, and she did all that herself to set him up. Miriam was the next to take the stand and she just glared at Pandora as she was sworn in. "I would first like to ask you about your son, who is he?" Derrik's lawyer asked. "Oh, my sweet Derrik is such a good boy. He was a star football player, but she..." Miriam hissed with a nod in Pandora’s direction, "made him give up his dream. She was always bossing him around, telling him what to do, and what to wear. He wasn't allowed friends, and she even tried to stop him from talking to me. But I wouldn't allow that to happen. I would walk through hell for my son." "So, Mrs. Preston, you are saying that Mrs. Parks was controlling your son?" "Oh yes, he wasn't allowed to work because she was af
During her testimony, Pandora learned that she was also known as Brownie. As she continued through the questions she was asked, Pandora had to bite her lip to stop the sobs from coming out. She told the court how she was paid to pretend to be Pandora. It was one thing to hear how she pretended to be her, but then she told the court how Derrik had sex with her several times inside Pandora’s home. She talked about being in Pandora’s bed, and it just about broke her. For the first time since all of it had started, Pandora was grateful that she had sold her home. "We have one more witness, Your Honor," the District Attorney said and with a nod, the Bailiff walked out. "We call Hannah Song to the stand." Pandora looked over to see a girl who looked like a teenager walking in with her head down. She was sworn in but her head remained down. "Can you tell the court your age?" the District Attorney asked. "Nineteen," she answered quietly, so the Bailiff adjusted the microphone in front of