Thank you for reading and voting!
BAILEE SEVEN AND A HALF YEARS AGO (Seventeen Years Old)My feet were aching as I stared down the main driveway leading to the resort. I figured if Alex were getting the limo, he would probably use the parking lot instead of my parent’s hidden driveway. Yet, there was no sign of him being there wai
BAILEE I was done. Absolutely and completely done. “Bailee,” My mother called after me, but I ignored her as I carried Brinley to my room to grab the bags I had already packed this morning. “Bailee, wait!” “What?” I snapped, making Brinley jump. I immediately pulled her closer and whispered an a
ALEXANDER It was evident that Bailee had never flown on a private jet before, and I enjoyed seeing her awe as she boarded. She had walked down the aisle and looked at everything, including the bedroom in the back, before returning to the seats with red cheeks. We had a slight delay as we had to g
ALEXANDER Bailee turned to Brinley, holding her hand and talking to her softly to keep her calm as we ascended. Once we were level, miles above the ground, and Brinley was distracted by her movie, Bailee finally turned back to me. “I didn’t just go to your house looking for you, Alex. I went t
BAILEE Alex didn’t have a car seat in his car. While he could afford someone to bring him one, he also seemed to understand my need for space after such an emotionally exhausting day. I was heartbroken over my parents, torn between a father who didn’t want to lose his daughter and a mother who se
BAILEE“Ow! Keep your hands off of me!” I exclaimed but instinctively grabbed the paper before it could fall. I glanced up at him every two seconds as I scanned the paper, refusing to let him get one up on me. It was a printout of an article titled ‘Is Alexander Kingston the biological father of
ALEXANDER “What took you so long?” I asked as I opened my front door to see Ben standing there. “I had to talk to my parents before I could leave.” Always the parent and never the child. Ben had cared for his parents for as long as I had known him. They didn’t realize it, but without him acting
BAILEE “You are not going to believe who is inside,” Lacey said as she ran out of the shop as I returned from an early afternoon meeting. Even the pincushion on her wrist and the tape measure around her neck couldn’t detract from how stylish she looked. It was as if her outfit had been designed
HAVEN “Excuse me?” I snapped, and Ben’s eyebrows rose in amusement as I moved my shoulder in front of his and faced the microphones. He didn't need me defending him, but I was furious. “You have a lot of nerve making that accusation. Benjamin Evans is a good man and never forced himself on me. He r
HAVEN: “Our daughter’s name is Siri, and she is three years old, about to turn four,” Ben said, and I could see the excitement light in the eyes of the reporters like vultures watching their prey fall to the death for easy pickings. “I did not know about her until recently, but it wasn’t for lac
HAVEN Siri refused to leave Ben’s side the next day, and I was relieved because Diana had several notes for me on my statement and demanded that I get them fixed that morning so the press conference could be in the afternoon. As soon as Ben was done with his physical therapy and massage, I went i
HAVEN “You’re a great mom.” I beamed under his praise. It felt incredible to hear it, and Cynthia and Bonnie had told me often, but it felt different coming from Ben. “Hey, Siri,” I said, walking over to join her in the living room. “Can I talk to you about something for a minute?” “Of course,”
HAVEN “We should tell her tonight instead,” I whispered as I stared at the marriage certificate. We just needed to sign it and have the officiant sign it, and we would be married as soon as it was filed. It felt unreal. It felt too fast. “I agree,” Ben said as he tossed the kitchen towel over hi
HAVEN I expected a celebration, a kiss even. Instead, we spent the next hour writing up my statement to the press about how Ben had been a complete gentleman and that what happened between us was not abuse or harassment. In turn, he also drafted a statement that stated the same. I had been refu
HAVEN “Mommy,” Siri said, pulling her headphones off and letting them and her tablet fall to the floor as she looked around the room at all the strange faces. Her arms wrapped tighter around Ben, and I looked around the room, too, seeing how she could be scared. “This is not a conversation that
HAVEN “I worked for Ben for years, but in reality, I worked for your entire team,” I said, and Coach Dawson’s face tightened. “I did everything ever asked of me, regardless of who asked from your team, the cost, or the time it would take. Your wife’s bake sale, when over half of the team wives and
HAVEN “That was years ago, and it wasn’t like I was being reckless and having a fling with some random employee!” Ben yelled, and my breathing became faster. “I loved her! I was planning on marrying her as soon as she agreed! People wouldn’t care about us sleeping together if we had gotten married