Yuri may have left before Rebecca returned, but Everett stayed. He didn’t want to make Rebecca feel like everyone abandoned her to her own devices. They believed her worth so little, only when she was absent. They didn’t give her a second thought.She hadn’t returned yet, and he couldn’t get his mind to forget the image of her lying on the bathroom floor. He checked if she had collapsed or left the meeting before Yuri. What he found eased his mind. Rebecca returned, at least for her things, with coffee in her hand.Did he use the men’s room? I brought coffee.” Rebecca entered the room, expecting them to have done nothing while waiting for her. At least, she tried to fix things with coffee. She appeared surprised when Yuri didn’t wait for her return. “He left saying he had things he needed to do. He believed you should go into this blind for the most authentic response you could give.” Everett couldn’t help himself. He must have informed her about Yuri’s true na
“I gave you a chance once already, Everett. You demanded a divorce. That means you gave up on us, long before I did. Why should I bother trying again? The first attempt proved unproductive. Disregard the emotional pain I endured. Why would I want another round? What guarantee do I have? That I’m not wasting my time again?” Rebecca couldn’t help herself. She needed to protect herself from the previous events their breakup created for her. Rebecca gave so much of herself into their marriage, she’d felt the too actual pain. “It won’t be like that. I promise you. Please listen to me and believe me? “Never again.” Everett’s sincere voice reached Rebecca’s ears. His words echoed with a desperate need. Rebecca knew how much she feared his mood’s influence on his decisions. She couldn’t take another upset like she’d had back then. Another thing he’d not done yet was accept the guilt of following his agent’s promises. He’d decided and done what his agent persuaded him
“That’s not a problem. I assume you’ve been to the restaurant Phillip’s Fresh Foods.” The jerk’s smile explained nothing and left Rebecca confused. She remained confused and out of touch with the restaurant scene, preferring to avoid dining out to sidestep any problems. “Then it’s my treat. They specialize in serving food for allergies and medical needs.” Rebecca rolled her eyes as she stopped and looked at him. They now stood outside the main corporate building of the Studio. He stood there as he handed her back the coffee tray and smiled as if he believed he’d scored a point or something like that. “Sounds expensive, Everett, and you need a reservation for a restaurant like that? They’re very trendy and overpriced with a waitlist a mile long.” Rebecca didn’t want to hold out any hope. The restaurant will be full of gluten-free dieters because of the diet trend. “I may have called in a few favors, and I may have reserved a t
Everett did as she expected he would. Did he wait with the car while she made it to her appointment? No, of course not. Everett insisted on parking and escorting her into the office. Waiting with her and followed her into the appointment. When the nurse tried to stop him, he glared at her and informed her he had something to report on Rebecca’s condition with her doctor. As her partner, it was his responsibility to tell him. The nurse threw up her hands and stormed off, saying she’d inform the doctor of this irregularity. She didn’t receive a large enough paycheck to strong arm a large man like him. Her constant simpering towards him while they waited was irrelevant. No, of course it did. The nurse’s jealousy was clear when she learned Everett was with Rebecca. They sat in the doctor’s outer office, awaiting him. “Everett, you could have been nice and flirted with her. I wouldn’t have said anything. Your presence in the consu
“Oh, good grief.” Rebecca believed she had only thought about those words, but she hadn’t. She’d said them out loud, and Everett spoke up and offered their willingness to take part in the couple’s therapy. “No, Becca, we should try, at the very least.” Everett said to her. Of course, he wanted to make a good impression with her doctor, so he agreed to investigate it. Rebecca prayed he wouldn’t follow up on that. “It will help, I believe. Let’s remember why we’re here. Your blood work shows improvement, but if symptoms persist, we must retest. I will order the tests and you can make the appointments when you leave. As for resources, you can study, sir. If you give me your private email address, I will have a list sent to you by no later than tomorrow afternoon. The therapist will can you and arrange times with both of you so they can understand your needs better and offer you a plan for resolution and healing.” Dr. Walker took control of the
Everett didn’t care any longer what Rebecca’s complaints were. She needed someone in her life, and he was determined to be that someone. But he still needed at least dinner to process he’d almost become a father, and the mother of that child, dealt with the loss of their child alone rather than tell him. She didn’t seem to think he might have wanted to help her mourn by mourning with her. It was worse than that. She believed he’d pulled away from her before that. He needs to consider it further. Everett wasn’t sure he could face his past intentions right now. But he’d felt so insulted about her belief that he’d accuse her of fabricating the loss of their child to lure him back. Or she tried to cling to him in desperation. She’d put a lot of thought into how he might react. He hated how she believed he’d have nothing but hate for her. Then he remembered how he’d felt nothing but dislike and hatred for her. It came from a photo
When they walked into the restaurant, it appeared unremarkable. Everett gave the Dining Room Manager a name. One Rebecca hadn’t heard since they went and got their marriage certificate. “Reservation for Jake Daniels.” Rebecca never changed her name back when they divorced, but Everett didn’t know that. Rebecca was Josalyn Daniels. She’d gone through enough anxiety and fear, changing her name to his name for the first time. Also, with all the time she’d spent recovering, with no one understanding why she was ill. She’d gone past the free legal name change. What if her father had someone watching the official government systems looking for her name? She discovered people one could hire for that task. Watching marriage, birth, and death certificates. It couldn’t be difficult to watch legal name change and divorce certificates, too. Rebecca didn’t want to take that chance of changing her name back. Once they sat at their table, the Manager expl
“Where are we going?” “I told you. I’m taking you home so I can kiss you.” “You’ve kissed me, and this isn’t the way to my house.” “I’m not done kissing you. My place is closer.” “What? I read your fans were always lurking outside your condo’s main entrance. Security often calls the police to clear them.” “We’re using another door. They’ll never see us. We’ll park underground.” They pulled into an underground garage with heavy security. While security staff parked his car. He whisked her up into his lavish condo. She stood inside the entrance as he took her coat. Rebecca saw the city laid out before her through a wall of windows. “The installers claim the windows have a one-way reflective coating that doubles as a UV protectant and for privacy.” “Oh.” Rebecca didn’t know what she expected, but not this. Hardwood floors gleamed around an appoin