Time moved slowly as Holly watched the single word that changed her life.
Pregnant.
That was the only word displayed on the over the counter pregnancy kit she had gotten from the pharmacy and Holly's heart skipped several beats.
She was brought out of her shock by the sound of her phone blaring across her apartment and Holly rushed to her phone.
Anything she had to do to get away from the pregnancy test of doom. To her, there was no possible way she could be pregnant. It just didn't happen that way, she thought ignoring the small voice in her mind that was confirming the pregnancy kit.
"So?? What did it say?" Charlie almost scream
Catalina studied the white envelope, flipping it over and over and trying to know what exactly it was. She didn't know if it was work related or personal. But from the looks of it, she could tell it was personal. And the way the woman had looked when she lied that she was Ryder's girlfriend had made her conclude that Ryder had something to do with her.Catalina was unsure about a lot of things in Ryder's private life, she wondered if he dated the woman. The woman was far different from the kind of woman Ryder would have normally gone for. She would have been gorgeous, if she was slimmer, Catalina thought.Catalina decided to open the envelope, just to have a glimpse of what was inside of it.She opened the envelope and unfolded the contents. It was a pregnancy test result and a short letter.I didn't mean for this to happen this way. I am available to talk so that we can work this out some way. I
Holly generally hated sitcoms but she found that she enjoyed The Good place and binge watching it was a way to drown her sorrows and get her mind off a lot of things.She was lying on her couch in her oversized sweatshirt and sweatpants while eating a large tub of cookies and cream ice cream and some chocolates. She knew it was unhealthy but she couldn't help herself. She had not left her apartment for about three days except to restock on more junk. Watching The Good place had turned out to be more philosophical than fun and Holly was starting to vaguely think on most of the choices she had been making the past few days.She had also not been picking any of her calls. Most of which were from Charlie and her bakers.She didn't particularly feel like doing anything. Occasionally her hand would shift to h
Ryder scrambled out of his bed, still holding his phone closely and watching Catalina stark naked in his bed. He averted his eyes quickly. Seeing her naked was too much of a shock for him."What are you doing on my bed?"Catalina pouted a little as she bared herself to him shamelessly."Don't be like that. I was just a little lonely.""Lonely?!!! Put some damn clothes on!! And why the hell were you with my phone?"He asked as he went through his phone and saw that she was trying to take pictures of them together in bed."What are you doing? What the hell are these pictures on my phone? What are you trying to do?""
"Hey guys!! The mini pies are selling out so fast! You guys need to hurry up with another batch! People love this stuff!" Selena said as she rushed in with Rose closely following her and the peered into the kitchen."We're almost done!" Jamie shouted as he went to the oven with oven muffs.Holly was busy decorating a cake that they had to deliver in the next few hours. It was a three tiered cake and the base was going to be made of gel food colouring and a paintbrush to create a watercolour design.The client had asked for a simple and aesthetic design without too much decorations or piping or fondants and for a while Holly and racked her brain thinking of what she should make.The past f
El Pastel Bake Shop was silent as Kim slowly recovered from the slap that Holly had served her.Holly walked back into her office as soon as it had happened, the brutal sting of the impact on her palm was the only proof that something had transpired. She went back into her office and picked up her purse, randomly throwing things inside as she prepared to leave the bakery.Outside the bakery, she found out that Kim had left and everyone had gone back to minding their business as she quietly slipped out. She sent a quick text to Jamie to finish up the cake they had to deliver and walked out of the bake shop with teary eyes.She walked aimlessly for a while, following several people to walk aimlessly in Times square with no direction in mind before she went to the subway and decided to head h
Kim was seated at the edge of her chair on the lookout for Jake in the cafe. He called her suddenly and asked to meet her somewhere close and although she was reluctant to go, she needed to see him anyways.She wanted to demand more money from him. She needed another huge sum of money in ensuring that her plan against making Holly suffer worked.The fact that Holly had the guts to hit her had only made Kim even more enraged and she planned to especially make sure Holly suffered enough for even thinking of raising her hand to hit her.The Holly she knew would have never lifted a finger.Reggie was a crook and a bastard and he was exploiting her desperation. Kim begrudgingly gave into all his needs. If it would give her everything she needed to send Holly packing and into a permanent state of
"Does Ryder know she's carrying his baby?"Kim asked impatiently as Catalina looked down."He doesn't. I made sure of it. But he's going to find out sooner or later wouldn't he?"Catalina asked as she glanced at Kim and Jake.Kim felt a bit relieved that Ryder had no idea that he was going to be a father, if he did, Kim knew that things were going to change drastically.At least this way, there would be no reason for Ryder to go back to Holly.Jake could care less about what was going on around him.The only thought that occup
Christmas for Ryder meant his parents were coming home, along with his new brother Alex.He was already planning to spend Christmas with them, but he wanted to finish up with work before he visited his parents.Ryder was trying to close up a few things so he could have the opportunity to have dinner with his parents.His company had been busy lately, there was a lot of restructuring to do and talking to a lot of clients. Ryder had been swamped with work but that didn't mean his mind didn't stray and think about Holly, she was constantly on his mind and he thought about her every day.He often stopped by in front of her shop, hoping to somehow see her but he hadn't built up the courage to go into her shop after the last time. He sometimes spent his lun
September 2019.Holly pushed through the crowds of Fulton Street until she got to the park. She pulled the stroller to a crawl and then stopped at the edge of the curb. She pulled the top of it back and look down at her daughter Skylar Rae.She was peacefully sleeping as usual. She was a very happy baby. She had a calm energy about her and it was addictive."How old is she?" a woman asked. She was standing in front of the park with them, staring down at Skylar appreciatively."Two months.""She's gorgeous." she said."Looks just like you. Identical mouths."Holly smiled.
He had been smiling when the news came. Laughing at a joke his father made, readjusting his bow tie and imagining the love of his life in the wedding dress he saw her in two days before. He knew she was even going to be better than he pictured.The urgency and speed that Ryder used to rush into Holly's room was unmatched. And the sight he was met with made his heart stop.There was Holly, lying on the cold ground with her pale body and her white gown soaked with the crimson red blood that was gradually spreading from her chest.Before he knew it he was barking out instructions to no one in particular as he took her in his arms. The ambulance had been called. But they had to wait for it to arrive.Ryder didn't need to ask the question of who did
Mischievous. Cunning. Deceptive. Cruel.Those were the names anyone who knew what Kim was doing would call her. That was what she would have been called. For the past few days, Kim had been madly obsessed with Holly. Tracking her every movement, studying every move and every emotion on her face.From when she went into the bridal shop and when she emerged with a bright smile that only made Kim more angry. To when she went for her spa facials and Kim had paid two attendants 1,000 dollars each to listen in on she and Charlie's conversation. From what she had gathered. The wedding was going to be at the Pierre hotel. It was a private ceremony, so it was most likely going to be strictly by invitation.But there were other ways Kim would get her way. Other ways she could get her way that would go unnoticed.
The Peninsula spa at Fifth Avenue. That was the gift card that Ryder had given her for a full day of spa treatment. She had almost forgotten all about it due to the stress of planning a wedding till Charlie mentioned something about Holly going to a spa and getting her facials done in time for the wedding.That was when Holly remembered about the gift card. Charlie had decided to accompany her. She was going to be her maid of honor.The Peninsula spa gave an intimate vibe in a space that was gracious, discreet and luxurious. The walls were dark lacquered wood walls and it had English chandeliers and Carrara marble counter tops. It was so quiet and serene that Holly and Charlie found it hard to believe that they were still in New York. They couldn't even hear the sound of traffic!The spa offered everything from a regular sauna treatment to a cryo facial to rej
"Is this good?"Holly asked for the tenth time as she did a little spin in front of the mirror."You look amazing! Please stop worrying so much. My parents would love you."Holly turned to look at Ryder with a glare."I know you're saying that just to cheer me up but I'm so nervous."She said as she turned back and faced the mirror. She was wearing a navy blue pleated A-line dress with a V neck with lace sleeves.She had bought it in hopes that it would be fancy enough for Ryder's parents. She was so nervous about seeing them. Ryder had been trying to reassure her all week.
Christmas started around midnight for the Michaels family. Not only because it was Christmas but because it was also Holly's birthday. Ryder and Holly had stayed over at her parents house for Christmas. Then when the clock chimed twelve, they had woke Holly up with an array of birthdays gifts and happy birthday songs.It was how Holly had always celebrated her birthday when she was home. She always celebrated it with birthday songs and a huge birthday cake at midnight and she got her presents early. In fact she always got two presents. A birthday present and a Christmas present.The last few days had been hectic because she and Ryder had to go gift shopping for the family. There was a long list of things to get since Ryder also wanted to get gifts for his parents and his brother Alex. They had visited about five shops in total and spent almost two days shopping for gifts alone.Then, Holly's
The news of Holly and Ryder's engagement spread like wildfire since Holly made the brutal mistake of telling her sisters first. Holly sent the pictures to her eldest sister Ella who in turn sent it to the entire family. The picture that Holly had taken in bed with the engagement ring had been circulated by her mother, Crystal and even Ryder.Holly and Charlie had a long conversation, where they were both gushing about the amazing details on the ring. Charlie was so genuinely excited that Holly was finally happy with Ryder that she cried.After a blissful morning with the love of her life, they were off to spend lunch with her parents in a restaurant. It turned out that Ryder had slipped up and exposed the fact that Holly was carrying a baby, so her parents were already aware that she was pregnant. But no one was expecting the engagement news either. Because Ryd
They had to rush into Ryder's car because of the pouring rain and after twenty minutes they reached his hotel.By the time they got into his hotel room, they were both drenched from the rain. But they didn't care about it, it was as if they didn't even notice anything else but the presence of one another.Ryder told Holly everything, from the fact that Jake his best friend stole from his company and was wanted by the law to the extents which Kim's deception ran deep when she partnered with Jake.Jake was still at large somewhere, the police had been unable to find him. Holly had called Jamie out of excitement and told him to start the bakery's reopening without her. She still very much planned on spending Christmas with her family, that was if Ryder decided he wanted to stay in New Jersey for Christmas.
"Get out Ryder!""Get out of my house! Get out of my life!"Holly said as she started walking away. Her resolve was crumbling fast and she couldn't even bear to look at Ryder's face.Her hands were shaking so much that she felt dizzy and she sat on the edge of her bed to steady herself."Are you okay?"Ryder asked as he moved quickly to her side."Holly please, just give me a minute to explain. You can't send me away without knowing the whole truth."Holly finally brought herself up to look at him.He was exactly like s