Chapter 14 The Argument

Sierra really didn’t know what to do when she found Axton standing in front of her house. Honestly, there were so many questions running through her head, but she knew that Damian’s question deserved an answer first.

Why is he here?

"Is there an issue at the office that made you come find me here, Axton?" Sierra didn’t have an answer for Damian, so she chose to ask Axton when the three of them were standing in front of her gate.

Axton glanced at her, then looked at Damian for a moment before furrowing his brow. “Why are you here, Damian?”

Alright, now everyone was confused about why they were there.

“I’m giving Sierra a ride home. Why are you here?” Damian replied.

“She’s my secretary,” Axton answered.

“Does her job require you to come to her house?”

Sierra blinked, not knowing why, but she felt the atmosphere around them turning uncomfortable.

“I’m on leave today because I’m with Callie, didn’t I tell you that? My phone died earlier due to the battery running out, so I didn’t know if there was something important I needed to do. If there is, is there a problem?” She tried to stay professional, speaking like a secretary talking to her boss.

“Let’s go home. Callie’s looking for you,” Axton said.

Sierra briefly closed her eyes as she realized Axton’s words didn’t match their current situation at all. Luckily, she was facing away from Damian, so he couldn’t see her expression.

“I already told Callie that I won’t stay over because your mom is coming to your house. Did she contact me again? I’ll check my phone.” She took her phone out of her pocket and pretended to do something with it. “Oh, she asked me to come over. Is it okay if I come when your mom is at home?”

Alright, this is going to be an interesting story.

“Get in the car. I don’t have much time,” Axton said calmly.

Sierra still tried to smile, although she was starting to feel very annoyed. This morning, Callie had left her in a very uncomfortable position, forcing her to tell many lies to Damian. And now, in the evening, it was the husband of that woman who had put her in an awkward spot.

Did this guy have no sense? At least he should’ve made small talk with his friend, right?

“I didn’t know you two were this close outside of work,” Damian commented.

“Did he tell you he’s my wife’s friend?”

“Yes, of course, Sierra told me.”

“Well then, you know the reason. Why are you asking again?”

Sierra closed her eyes. “Has Callie been waiting for me? If so, we should head to your house before I end up getting scolded by her. She’ll be very upset if I make her wait.” After saying that to Axton, she turned to Damian, “Thank you for the ride home, Damian. But now I need to go to Callie’s house because she wants me to meet her.”

“If you know you need to go to Axton’s house, I don’t mind taking you there.”

“Yeah, I know. But I still don’t want to use my voucher just for you to drive me. I want to use it for something else. Maybe something expensive.”

Damian laughed when he heard that.

Spending the whole day with this humorous man has made her develop a silly sense of humor for herself.

“Let’s go, Sierra,” Axton said, opening the car door.

Sierra nodded. “Thanks again, Damian. I have to go now.”

“Of course!” Damian waved his hand, and she found it a bit strange, but she still waved back before getting into the car.

Axton’s car sped through the streets of New York. It was getting late, and they would likely reach her house just before dinner time.

Sierra felt a little uncomfortable with the silence in the car, but she didn’t plan to start a conversation because she remembered how their last discussion ended badly.

“What are you doing?”

It seemed she couldn’t hold herself back. The question didn’t come from Axton but from her.

“Driving.”

“Listen, Axton, I’m really not liking what’s happening right now.” She turned her head briefly before shaking her head. “First, Callie, and now you. Our agreement didn’t include me having to follow your drama or get involved in your mood swings. I’m still trying to understand Callie, but this time, I can’t understand what you’re doing. Why were you at my house?”

“Callie asked me to find you,” Axton answered quickly. “What really happened? Did you two fight?”

Sierra furrowed her brow. “I wouldn’t call it a fight. I think Callie just lost control because she was disappointed with what happened. Then we had an argument because maybe... I couldn’t control myself when Callie said something that upset me. I think I was in the wrong.”

She had to admit that she had been wrong to assume Axton was angry when he saw her with Damian. But now, everything made sense. He was angry because she had done something that upset Callie, not because she was with his friend.

“Then why were you with Damian? You were right when you said the agreement didn’t require you to understand anyone’s emotions, but remember that no one should know about this agreement, right?”

“I didn’t say anything to Damian except for a few lies I had to tell to cover up the truth. Also, you don’t need to look at me like I’m some woman who doesn’t deserve to talk to your friend.” She felt a little offended by what Axton said. Maybe she was also influenced by all the emotions that had been building up inside her since this morning.

“Since when did you two start talking and getting to know each other?”

“Does it matter? I met him at the office, and I don’t see anything wrong with talking to him.” She couldn’t believe they were talking about Damian now, not about Callie and what had happened. “Do you know Callie left me at the hospital? My wallet was in her car, and my phone died, so I couldn’t do anything. Damian was there, and he helped me. It was even a coincidence that I ran into Mr. Smith, and it’s likely to impact your project because I already spoke to him.”

"Do I care about that?"

"Didn't you ask me?" Sierra furrowed her brow. "From what I heard and how you reacted when you found out I knew your friend, you seemed to dislike it, as if you were saying I didn't deserve to talk to him. Listen, this is insulting to me, but I realize that maybe everyone will see me the same way you do after learning what I’ve done. But I was just talking to him, not selling myself to him."

***

Sierra thought Callie’s mood would improve after leaving her alone for the whole day. She thought Callie just needed some time to calm down and realize that what happened this morning wasn’t their fault. But she was wrong. It seemed Callie still wasn’t okay.

After wracking her brain for an excuse she could give Damian so she could get into Axton’s car without arousing suspicion, she now had to come up with an explanation for Callie. And she had to do it now—at the dinner table before Axton came over for dinner.

Her conversation with Axton during the ride from her house to here had also ended badly, and now she really didn’t know what to do about him. She means, how can she get pregnant if things are like this?

“This morning, I met Damian, and he was surprised when he saw me near the obstetrician's office. I had to come up with some excuses for him, and maybe I should tell you this so that we don’t make up different stories if he comes to you and asks anything.”

No reaction.

“I told him that we’re friends, and that’s not a lie, right?” Sierra turned her head, hoping Callie would react, but she remained silent. “Then I told him you’re undergoing a pregnancy program. He asked why you left me, and I ended up hitching a ride in his car because my wallet was left in your car, and my phone battery died. Honestly, I was pretty upset about that one, Callie. But I don’t want us to argue again. So, I went with him, and I ended up attending his nephew’s birthday party, which meant I spent the whole day with him.”

Still no response.

Sierra was starting to feel frustrated in her mind.

Honestly, everything that’s happened recently has been tough on her, and she realized she still had to push herself harder to control all the emotions she was feeling. Callie was very sensitive, and she had to understand her state of mind.

“I also met Axton’s colleague there, and I hope this meeting will help Axton’s work with that guy. I think Damian is a nice guy because I’ve never known him outside of the office. But I hope we never run into each other again outside of work because it’s a little hard for me to make up stories without you. I’m afraid I’ll say something wrong and ruin our agreement.”

“Do you still care about that agreement?”

Sierra furrowed her brow when she heard Callie scoff. “What do you mean? Of course, I care.”

Even though she had known Callie for a long time, Obstetricians couldn’t deny that this was a really difficult time for her. She had to truly understand Callie and navigate whatever was making her mood change. And honestly, that was hard to do when Sierra herself was struggling to control her own thoughts.

“Listen, Callie,” she shifted her position so she could face Callie, “Even though I’m not pregnant right now, that doesn’t mean I’m not serious about this agreement. If you’re still worried that I won’t follow through because Axton already paid off my debt, that’s definitely not true. I’ve said repeatedly that this agreement will still happen. Do you know that I now have no way out?”

Her last words sounded somewhat sad, and she hated that.

Since she made the agreement with Callie, she knew her life would never be the same again. Even her relationship with Callie would never be the same as it was before. But she took on all of the consequences because she knew she was the only one who could help her friend.

“You know how messed up my life is because of my damn father. You also know that I don’t have anyone else but you. You even know that everything I have now is thanks to you, right?”

“And is there a guarantee for all of that? I’ve heard stories about friends betraying their friends.”

“Oh my God, Callie.” Sierra furrowed her brow, “Have I ever done that to you?”

“I heard you.”

Sierra turned her head in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“The other agreement you made with my husband,” she paused for a second, “I heard about it.”

“You what?” Sierra felt as though a heavy stone had fallen on her head—drowning her in the shock that was now overwhelming her.

All the words she had prepared to persuade Callie and explain what had happened vanished from her mind in an instant.

Her mind went blank, and the only thing spinning in her head was the conversation she had with Axton earlier.

“I don’t care about what you want to do to save your life, Sierra. But I warn you not to overstep your boundaries. Even though I love you, I won’t let you betray me. You know that, right?”

Sierra felt like she had lost all ability to think.

No. This couldn’t be happening.

Didn’t Callie’s call end when Sierra talked to Axton?

Or…

Or maybe that call wasn’t over?

Suddenly, she remembered what had happened last night when Callie’s friends seemed so sentimental with her as if they were showing her a war flag.

“If you betray me, it won’t just be me who’ll destroy you, but also the people around me. They’ll definitely destroy you, and I... don’t want to see that happen for the rest of my life.”

Damn. So, did they—Callie’s friends—also hear what she talked about with Axton?