BAILEEI turned back to Nicole at the bar as she watched with a smirk. I needed to get out of here. “Ben. Where is Ben? I need to talk to my brother. He’s not home and not answering his phone.”My brother, Benjamin Evans, the starting center for the Rangers, owned this bar, along with several others around the city. With this one being his first, it was his baby. If I ever needed to find him, this was the place to go.“He’s at an away game,” Nicole said, and my chest sank in as all the air left my lungs. Of course, he was.“When will he be back?” I asked, placing my hands on the bar as I leaned in, feeling panicked and desperate.Brinley was at a sleepover, and I had wanted to use the time alone to figure out where we would go from here. I had hoped we could stay with my brother for a few weeks until I could figure something out, but I also hadn’t talked to my brother in a long time.Every time we spoke, he would always mention Alex at some point, and our conversation would die off int
BAILEEThe look in Alex’s eyes when I had walked away from him was burned into my mind, and as I sat next to Brinley in the back of our Uber, I couldn’t stop picturing him. After what he had done to me when we were younger, after he had taken my virginity and then tossed me aside, I shouldn’t have been affected by him. I should have been able to ignore him. Yet, I was sucked in, just as I had been as a teenager. I had heard once that no one ever fully gets over their first love, but I had refused to believe that. Now I was wondering if there was any validity to it.The way he had been looking at me had caused all of the hurt of his betrayal to resurface, and I was struggling to stop thinking about him.Brinley moaned as I pulled her from the car seat. Her cheeks were pink, and her clothes were damp with sweat.“Come on, sweet girl. Let’s get you some medicine and into a cool bath, then bed.” I whispered, pressing my lips to her forehead as the Uber driver pulled away. “Wait! My car
BAILEE I narrowed my eyes at him. He didn’t get to accuse me of cheating, fake DNA test results, and then sit there and act concerned for her. As far as I was concerned he could stay as far away from her as possible. He was mental and unhinged.“You have got to be kidding me right now,” I hissed as I moved to stand in front of Lorna, glaring at her. “Get out of my way.”When Lorna leaned back against the counter instead of moving, I reached behind her, pulled the cabinet open, and let the wood softly hit the back of her head as I grabbed Brinley some Tylenol and Motrin.“Ugh!” She screeched. “How dare you! That was assault!” Lorna’s high-pitched voice seemed just as unsettling to Brinley.She lifted her little head and looked at the woman with fear before leaning over me to reach for Caleb.“Daddy!” Brinley called. “I want daddy!”Caleb moved to grab her from my arms, but Lorna closed the distance between them, pushing his hands down.“He is not your daddy!” Lorna narrowed her eyes
BAILEEMy ex-husband’s mistress was pregnant.Lorna was pregnant.My body was moving on autopilot as I slowly poured the cup of water over Brinley’s hair. Her cheeks had lightened to a soft pink, and I was optimistic that the medicine would kick in soon.Internally, I was fuming, but my body felt numb.Out of everything he did, cheating on me, emotionally abusing me, neglecting our daughter, and lying about me in court… this felt like the worst.How could he have the nerve to have another child when he had just thrown away his first oneHe wasn’t fit to be a father. He couldn’t even take care of himself. He had expected me to clean up after him, cook for him, and serve him like his personal maid.But maybe that dynamic was exactly why Lorna and Caleb could work together. She was his assistant. She already waited on him hand and foot. Announcing her pregnancy the night of our divorce, and in front of Brinley no less, was shameless and disgusting.Brinley lifted her head from my chest, r
BAILEE-I sighed at the familiar voice. “Nicole. It’s Bailee Joh…Evans. I need some help. Please tell me you have a key to Ben’s house or know someone who does. I need a place to stay tonight and a ride. I don’t have a car or car seat and don’t know who else to call.”It was humiliating that I didn’t have a key, but Ben and I weren't very close anymore. My best friend was on vacation with her boyfriend, and my parents lived hours away.“Bailee! Um, yeah! Give me a second!”There was some rustling on the other line, and over the loud music and sound of the packed bar, I could hear her talking to someone for a moment before she picked up the phone again.“I’ve got you, girl! Mason will be there soon. Give me your address!”I could have cried from relief that it was someone other than Alex as I gave her my address.While holding the phone between my shoulder and cheek, I got Brinley dressed before setting her on her bed to lie down until it was time to leave.Over the next few minutes, I
ALEXANDER I stepped forward, moving around Bailee as Caleb dropped the bag with a huff of anger. For several years, he had done everything he could to take down my company but had never grown the balls to address me directly, so I hadn't bothered wasting my time and resources on him. Knowing he
There was a little blood on my knuckles, and I bent down, wiping it on Caleb’s shirt before turning to leave. “You’re not going to get away with this!” The woman shouted, but I just laughed. "We will have you locked up for the rest of your life!" “Good luck with that,” Bash said before opening
BAILEEI had turned in my seat, staring through the back window as the cops surrounded Alex, shoving him to the ground and forcing his arms behind his back. My heart ached from the sight, and tears welled in my eyes as I savored the fact that I had someone in my corner, even if it were only for a few minutes. I owed Alex for what he had just done, and I hated that he was being arrested for defending me and Brinley. By the time we pulled up to my brother’s house, one way too large for only one person, Brinley’s forehead had cooled, and she was dozing in and out of sleep. I had held her to my chest tightly, terrified that we would be in a car accident and she would be sent flying without a car seat.“Baby, we’re going to stay in Uncle Ben’s house for a little bit,” I whispered, wanting her to know where she was even though she was falling asleep. It would be terrifying for her to wake up in a strange place in the morning.“Uncle Ben?” She asked, her excitement muffled by her exhaustion
HAVEN I had been ecstatic that Ben hadn’t been in the lobby when I left with Siri. Bonnie had gone up before us to check, and when she said he had left, I almost felt like I should thank him the next time I saw him. He had every opportunity to corner me with her and try to push the matter, but
BEN “You’re going back up?” Mason said, and I let out a deep breath and nodded. “It would be too hard to see her and not say anything. Plus, if I’m just staring at her, it might scare her.” I said, regretting the decision as soon as I made it, but I also knew that if I stayed down here, I would
HAVEN “She will be fine. I promise.” Bonnie said as I brushed the hair over Siri’s cheek to get it out of her face while she fought the urge to fall asleep on the break room couch. “I know she will. You are a good aunt. I’m not worried about leaving her with you.” I said, forcing a smile at my bes
BEN “Come on, you have to see they are related. Whatever happened that night must have triggered the restraining order nonsense.” Mason said, and I could see he was pushing for more information. “Nothing bad happened that night.” I insisted, pushing off my knees to stand and pausing when there wa
BEN “You’re not serious,” I said breathlessly, glancing at Haven’s tablet on the couch next to me as if it were her. “Deadly serious,” Mason said, and I watched as the court record pulled up on the computer screen. Right before me were our names, with me as the prosecution and Haven as the defen
BEN The tablet in my hand almost connected with the floor as I stared between the closing elevator doors and the little girl in Haven’s arms. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that she was Siri. The protective way Haven was holding her and how the little girl had her face in Haven’s neck was a si
HAVEN Somehow, the massage today was worse than yesterday. It might have been the anticipation, but after Ben said that there were things he and I needed to work out, he went silent. I didn’t want to dive into it, so I stayed silent, too, wanting to avoid the conversation for as long as possible
BEN Today was supposed to be an easy day. Low weight followed by a massage… I don’t think I've had such a light-lifting day in years. Haven had me using ten pounds for most of the exercises, which made me laugh when she first told me I would be using them. But I would never doubt her again, not
HAVEN “Good Morning, Mrs. Nile,” I greeted Suzie and watched as she nodded in return. It was missing her usual warmth, and I swallowed hard as I passed her to the locker room to put my bag away for the day. After Cynthia had talked me down and convinced me running wasn’t the answer and that it