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#Chapter 40 Moving Out
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2023-07-20 20:27:43“Who-who are you?” I asked. “What are you doing here?” “I’m Tom,” the man said. “I’m here to see you.” The man stepped out of the darkness. He was surprisingly well-kept with short dark hair and a well-trimmed beard. His eyes, though—his eyes bore into me with a fire straight from the depths of Hell. I knew I should run, but I was frozen to the spot. I tried to scream, but no sound would come out of my throat. All I could do was stand with tears streaming down my cheeks. “No, no, I won’t hurt you,” Tom said. He held his hands up, as if to placate me, and I flinched. “I would never hurt you.” Tom stepped towards me. Whatever had frozen me in place finally broke, and I stepped backwards. “Stay away from me,” I said as loudly as I could manage. &nbs
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Hockey Billionaire's Hat Trick #Chapter 41 Missing You
I transferred the rent to Barnett and moved out the next day. Since he had helped me before when my old apartment didn’t work out, I asked Barnett if he could help me move my stuff into the new house. He just said he was busy and hastily closed his apartment door on me. I got Lily to help me instead, but I couldn’t keep my mind off Barnett the entire day. As we moved boxes and bags, my mind drifted to Barnett helping me with the back support belt, his strong arms wrapped around me as he strapped on the Velcro. I couldn’t help but think about his perfect form as he lifted the boxes, and I wondered why he didn’t want to help this time. After all, we did seem to have such fun moving me in to the other apartment… “Hello? Earth to Anna!” Lily said as she waved her hand in front of my face. I shook my head. I hadn’t realized that I had spaced out thinking about Barnett. I blushed. “What were you saying?” I asked. “I was asking where yo
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I tried to get that dream out of my mind. I tried to get Barnett out of my mind. Neither worked. I relived the sex, the pleasure it had brought me, over and over. I contemplated Barnett’s disappearance after the labor and what it meant. But mostly, I thought about that baby boy. I knew he wasn’t real, and yet the fact that I could not hold him again brought me great sadness. He represented everything I didn’t get to have before and everything I still would not be able to have. Even if there were some way to get past the infertility Bob always said I had, I had months—weeks—left to live and could never carry a healthy baby to full term. The only way I could force these thoughts from my mind was through exercise. Unfortunately, I was finding it harder and harder to get to Stand Up. The distance from my new home was a struggle, and the fans—oh, the fans!
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I froze and listened to the night. For a minute, there was nothing. Then the screaming started again. “No! No!” My heart pounding, I cautiously reached under my bed. I grasped for the bat that I started keeping near me since the incident with Tom. Its hard, grainy surface gave me a sense of security and confidence as I gripped it tightly. Bat in hand, I slipped out of bed and snuck out of my room. As I approached the end of the hall, I peeked around the corner. Nothing appeared out of order. The door was still locked and closed, the TV was off and stayed mounted on the wall, and all the furniture still stood in place. Even Arthur remained on the couch, fast asleep. I was about to search the kitchen when the screaming started again from the living room. “No! Pleas
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I turned to face the young woman I had accidentally hit. She was holding her cheek and eye, part of which I could see had started to turn pink. “Oh my God!” I exclaimed. “I’m so sorry!” I reached out to touch the woman’s arm, but she shrunk away from me. “Please, let me help you,” I continued. “Let me get you inside. We can get you some ice—” “No!” the woman said, shaking her head. Her hand never left the side of her face. “No.” “Please, I insist…” I reached out for her again, but she stepped away from me. The woman kept shaking her head and muttering “no” as she back away through the crowd. I thought I saw tears on the uncovered side of her face. My heart broke. All eyes were suddenly on me. I had no
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“Come over here,” Arthur said as he sat me down in the closest chair. “There you go.” I slumped forward and put my face in my hands. My head swam. Tears trickled from the corners of my eyes. “Anna, are you okay?” Arthur’s hands on my shoulders grounded me. I took deep breaths, inhaling his cologne. My head slowly steadied itself. I wiped my tears and forced a smile for him. “I’m all right. It’s just that…some of what’s in that article is tough for me.” “So, some of it is true?” “The facts are true, but what they read between the lines are not.” Arthur tilted his head. “Meaning…?” “Meaning, I had nothing to do with my brothers’ deaths. I was
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Hockey Billionaire's Hat Trick #Chapter 80: The Hat Trick
9 years later… I sat down in the first row, my coffee cup balanced in my hands. The rink was cold, and I was bundled up in a sweater and a winter coat. Beside me, Lily sat with my daughter on her lap. Winnie was just three years old, and she was already asleep on Lily’s shoulder, the hood of her pink parka pulled up over her head. The sight of them together warmed my heart.“Damn, she’s getting heavy,” Lily said.I smiled. “I know. They grow up fast.”She nodded. Lily didn’t have kids, and I didn’t think she ever wanted to. She was happy being Cool Aunt Lily, and I thought that was amazing. She still traveled all over the world, bringing exotic gifts back for her niece and nephews.“She asks about you all the time now,” I said. “She calls you ‘wi-wy.’”“Adorbs.” Lily hugged her closer. “We’re going to be besties when she’s older.”“For sure.”“Scratch that. We’re already besties.”The first period was about to start, and I sat up straighter. Both teams were on their benches. I could
Hockey Billionaire's Hat Trick #Chapter 79: Journey's End
“I’m the father,” he repeated.I nodded. “That’s why I was trying to find you. I wanted to tell you, but after what Julia said, I thought you never wanted to see me again. If not for Lily, I would have continued to think that. Still, I’m sorry you’re only finding out now.”A sad look crossed his face, and he put his head in his hands. “God, I’m sorry.”I stood up and walked around the desk. His muscles tensed, but he didn’t look up as I ran my hands over his shoulders. “You’re here now,” I said.“I should’ve been with you the whole time.”He swiveled around in his chair and hugged me, his face resting lightly against my stomach. I ran a hand through his soft blond hair. “I’m so sorry,” he said. He looked up at me and gave me a wide smile. My heart skipped a beat. “I’m really happy, Anna.”“You are?”“You have no idea.” He still hadn’t let go of me, but I didn’t want him to. I never wanted him to. If I could have stayed in his arms forever, I would have.“I’m happy too,” I said, tears
Hockey Billionaire's Hat Trick #Chapter 78: The Father
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“Barnett, open up!” Lily called.Barnett sighed and got out of bed. It was still early in the morning, early enough that he wanted to yell at her through the door and tell her to go away. He hardly slept as it was. The last thing he needed was an early morning wake-up call.He pulled on his robe and stomped over to the door.“Barnett!” she called again.He yanked open the door and scowled down at her. “Do you know what time it is?”She smirked and shoved past him into his apartment. At least she had two coffee cups with her. She handed him one and he took a sip. It was still hot, and it burned his tongue.“It’s a beautiful day,” she said.“Is it?”He sank down onto his couch and pulled his robe tighter around him. Lily didn’t sit down, she just started pacing back and forth in front of him. He was much too tired to deal with all her energy. Lily wasn’t much of a morning person either, but today she was clearly on something.“Did you sleep at all last night?”“Like a baby,” she said, h
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I’d been home for nearly a month, and people were still talking about my ‘relationship’ with Arthur. It was really starting to drive me crazy. To the point where I knew I’d have to set the story straight if I ever wanted the rumors and speculation to stop.The nursery was mostly finished now, and the rest of the rooms were looking better, too. I had my office set up with a desk and some of my filming equipment. I planned to use it mostly for behind-the-scenes stuff, but it would work if I needed to film a quick video like I did now.I decided to just film a sit-down video. I’d been filming my vlogs at the gym in my building, and while that was going well, I’d avoided addressing everything with Arthur.I knew people were still talking about it because the comments on my videos were mostly about our relationship. People wanted to know why we weren’t traveling together more. If we were going to get married. What we planned to name the babies.Everyone seemed convinced that they were his,
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Hockey Billionaire's Hat Trick #Chapter 73: Miscommunications
Lily found Barnett at his apartment. She had to knock a few times before he finally came to the door, a slight scowl on his face.“So, you’re back,” she said.He stepped aside to let her in. She closed the apartment door behind her and trailed him into the room. “How was Egypt?”“It was fine. Saw the pyramids.” He looked interested, but she wasn’t there to talk about Egypt. “Have you been online recently?”
Hockey Billionaire's Hat Trick #Chapter 72: Anna’s Letter
I stopped in front of the mirror and pulled up my shirt. A few months of filming later, and I was really starting to show. I kept having to buy new clothes as my size changed. Those jeans I worked so hard to fit into didn’t even make it past my thighs now.I dropped my shirt and looked over my outfit. I had on a pair of workout leggings, sneakers, and a form-fitting pullover that showed off my protruding belly. Arthur and I were hiking today for our segment. My hair was up in a high ponytail, and I had some natural makeup on. Without it, I had dark circles under my eyes from all the early morning shoots.
