Jude POV
“Why are you here alone?” Pam asks as she sits in front of me. I’m in our usual booth. I raise my head from my hands and look directly into her eyes. “Oh dear, what is going on?” She asks as she moves from her chair and sits next to me and pulls me into an embrace. I bury my head on her shoulder as I allow myself to be vulnerable.
Pam has been more like a mother to me than my own mother. I always had the freedom to talk to her, to lay my heart out and allow her to see me being just me, no filters, no barriers. “Whatever it is, it will fix itself.” She says as I take a deep breath before pulling away from her and awkwardly cleaning the tears that rolled down my face.
Pam grabs some paper napkins and gives them to me and I quickly get myself sorted and back together. The beer in front of me has gone flat and warm and I haven’t even touched it. “I’ll bring you another one and give your friends a r
Bonnie POVJude is fast asleep and so are the girls, but I can’t even fathom the idea of going to bed. My mind is spinning and I need to scratch the itch that is in my head. I need to know more about the man that turned his back on my Mom and me.I open my laptop as I sit in the dark of the living room and type his name, Roger Gustaf. Several web pages and references to his name pop up, one of them linked to the Ashford media. I frown and click on that one first. I read the article and realize he sold his company to Richard Ashford last year; he was in big debt and had to sell.I change articles and I read one after the other, how he is a patron of the arts and appears in several charity galas every year. I frown as I read he was in London at the same time as me. He was there on business. I shake my head as I read about his family.Happily married with five kids. Three of them are older than me, one exactly the same age and one younger. I shake my h
Bonnie POVI take a deep breath as I walk out of the daycare. The girls were crying when I left them and it broke my heart, but I need to get back to making some contacts and reschedule some jobs. I need some money ASAP if I want to leave Benny’s house.“Bonnie, here,” I hear someone shouting and it’s a man holding a camera. I ignore him as I walk past, and he keeps calling for me.“Bonnie, do you have anything to say for yourself?” He asks, and I take a deep breath as I get into Jude’s car. He landed me in his car so I could get the girls in and out of daycare while Benny was in the hospital with Trish. She is finally awake and conscious, but she still needs a lot of rest and in a couple of days, she might be released.I press the call button on the dashboard, and Jude’s name appears. “Hey, how were they?” He asks, and I take a deep breath.“They cried again. I wish I could keep the
Bonnie POV“Do you want anything to drink?” My dad asks, and I shake my head. I am biting my nail, something I haven’t done since I was a child. I don’t know how things got so complicated lately, but I know there’s one person behind all of this. Peter.“Sorry, the press wouldn’t let me pass,” Jude says as he sits next to me after shaking my dad’s hand. He rests one hand on my leg and I look up at him. As soon as his hand touches my body, I feel safer, feel like anything is possible.“What did the PR team say?” I ask, and Dad takes a deep breath.“Well, they told us to stay quiet and not say anything until Conrad and Caroline take care of the legal side of the NDA,” Dad says and I nod as Jude leans back on the couch and undoes the button from his jacket.“I am sorry, who’s Caroline?” Jude asks as he sits back on the couch and holds my hand in his. I love
Bonnie POVAfter leaving my parents’ house and pretending that everything was okay, I can’t stop thinking of the possibility. I could be pregnant. I take the pill every day, without failing, so I should’ve had my period. Two weeks ago. I shake my head, trying to push away the thought from my head. No, it can’t be. Not right now…I never really thought about kids. Well, I did, but I always thought that I would put my career first, settle, get married, and then I would think about that, so this is completely the opposite of what I wanted. I turn on the bed and Jude is sleeping deeply. His breathing is steady and without making too much noise, I get out of the bed and walk into the living room.I cuddle up with a blanket on the corner of the couch and close my eyes. I rest one hand over my stomach and the possibility of having a tiny human being growing inside of me is making my head spin. I shake my head, as I can’t help but sm
Bonnie POVI open the door and Carly storms inside as she holds her umbrella. “It’s raining cats and dogs outside. I hate this weather,” she complains as she removes her raincoat and gives it to me. I place everything in its rightful place as Carly passes her fingers through her hair, detangling it.“Did you bring it?” I ask as I can’t wait any longer. Her eyes meet mine, and she nods as she opens her bag and takes out four different tests.“I didn’t know what you wanted, so I asked the woman and she said these are the best ones,” Carly says and I nod. I look at the four boxes and she raises an eyebrow, looking at me.“Are we going to stand here or are you going to pee on the stick?” She asks and I look at her and nod.“Yes, yeah, I need some sort of container to pee,” I say and she shakes her head as she scrunches her nose.“That is absolutely disgusting. It
Jude POV“Julie,” I let out through the intercom and no response comes from the other side. Argh. I raise my head from the laptop and move my neck from side to side as I straighten my back. It’s almost time to go home.Where the hell is she? I walk out of my office to find Julie sitting in her chair with her face between her hands while she cries. God, I hate seeing women cry. It’s extremely awkward and I don’t know what to do or say.I walk into the kitchen area and pour some water into a glass and bring it to her desk. I put the glass in front of her and her eyes dart to mine as she fidgets on her chair and clears her face with the back of her hands.“Sorry,” she says, and I shake my head.“That’s fine, go home,” I say, and she shakes her head, pulling herself closer to the desk and looking at me. “What do you need?” She asks.“I can sort it out. Go home, Julie.
Jude POV“What time is the appointment?” I ask as I do the knot for my tie. Bonnie raises her head and looks at me.“Three,” she says, going back to her newspaper. She’s been obsessed with everything that is happening to her. I can understand why, but this is not healthy. She’s collecting articles and not sleeping properly.“I’ll come pick you up and we’ll go together,” I say and she nods as if not really paying attention to what I am saying. Suddenly she shifts positions on the bed and sits on her feet, lifting the newspaper.“What the fuck?” She lets out and I walk to her, peaking over her shoulder at the article she is reading. It’s about Meredith and I close my eyes for a few seconds before I turn my back and sit on the end of the bed, putting my shoes on.“Did you know about this?” She asks, putting the newspaper down and standing in front of me. How did
Bonnie POV“You are around six to seven weeks pregnant,” the doctor says and I look at Jude that has his eyes glued to the screen while he holds my hand. I squeeze it gently and his eyes move to mine. He smiles and looks back at the screen. I wish I could read his mind. I wish I knew what was going through his head right now.“Do you have any questions?” The doctor asks after I get dressed and we are back in her office. Jude sitting next to me with his hand on my leg.“Vitamins, what are the best ones? And Bonnie has been having morning sickness. Is there anything I can do to help her with that?” Jude asks, and I look at him as he waits for the response from the doctor. She smiles and looks at me, locking her fingers together as she rests her hands on the desk.“I will give you the name of some pre-natal vitamins, and how bad is the morning sickness?” The doctor asks and I shrug.“I don’t
Jude POV“Where are we going?” I ask as Fred smiles. I can see the mischief in his eyes.“You’re going to love it,” Dylan says and I take a deep breath as Richard places a cigar between his lips and lights it up while shaking his head slightly.“I don’t think he will love it, and I honestly think he will rip your head off,” Richard says and Fred shakes his head as he retrieves the cigar from Richard’s mouth.“Shut up,” Fred says as the limousine stops and the door opens while he keeps the cigar between his lips and Richard retrieves another one from his suit inside jacket.“Hello boys,” I hear two women say as they get in the car. Their skirts are so short they leave nothing to the imagination. Dylan smiles and winks as Fred opens his arms and the girls sit next to him, one under each of his arms as he hugs them against his body. Dylan moves quickly, grabbing the cigar an
Bonnie POV“What time are you meeting Carly?” Benny asks and I take a deep breath, closing my eyes.“In about one hour,” I say, and he nods as he keeps his eyes locked on his laptop. I am sitting in front of him, but he hasn’t looked at me once.“Okay, why did you call me here? You haven’t even looked at me,” I say and he closes his laptop, resting his hands on it. Benny bites his lips, looking at me, and I raise an eyebrow.“I am going to ask Trish to marry me again,” Benny says and I smile sitting forward on the chair as I look at him.“Oh, that’s great,” I say, and he nods. He looks at his hands and I realize there’s more to it than what he is letting on. “And?” I say.“She is pregnant, we just found out,” he says and I smile, standing up and walking to him to hug him. “But it’s not mine,” he finally says and I sto
Bonnie POV “Are you ready for this? We can just stay outside,” Jude tells me and I shake my head. I am not waiting outside when Peter is being judged by what he has done to me. Jude gathered all the information needed for everything he had done, using my phone and booking everything in London with my name, then what he did in Jude’s building. Everything built up and now here we are. Waiting to know what is going to happen. More people joined my lawsuit when it was announced through the media. He has stolen a lot of money from people; he committed fraud in three different countries and now he is going to pay for it. If it was a family without money, things wouldn’t be happening so fast, but because the Ashford name is involved, things are happening fast. Faster than I ever thought possible. “No, I want to face him,” I say and he nods as he holds my hand while we walk through the corridor. There he is, with his lawyer, while Julien walks next to me. Jude though
Bonnie POV“I can’t, I’m going to be late,” I say over my shoulder as I walk out of the bedroom and down the stairs.“But you said you would do it in the mornings before work,” Jude says as he follows me. I roll my eyes, avoiding answering him. We have been biting each other’s heads off lately, and I know that is mostly because of my hormones.“Bonnie, please stop,” he says, grabbing my arm. I turn around, looking at him, snatching my arm back, and then cross them in front of my chest.“You know today is a very important day for me, I have the Vogue photoshoot, and then I have the trial, so please Jude, don’t start a fight with me right now,” I say and he takes a deep breath as he walks to me resting his hands on my hips.“I am just trying to help you,” he tells me and I shake my head, as I can’t believe he is using that argument right now.“Yeah,
Jude POV“Good morning,” I say as soon as Bonnie opens her eyes. She squints her eyes a little as the sun is shining through the window and when her eyes land on mine I smile, watching as she stretches her arms above her head and then places a small kiss on my lips.“Good morning. How are you feeling? Do you need me to help you up?” She starts bombarding me with questions, and I close my eyes for a few seconds. Bonnie has been taking care of me nonstop. Even when the nurses are around, she refuses to leave my side, and I am terrified she will be doing too much.“I am good, I have been to the bathroom,” I say, and she bites her lower lip as she looks at me and I smile as I rub my thumb over her plump lips.“You should’ve called me,” she says and I shake my head as I watch her. She is the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on, and I can’t believe she is mine.It took us ten years to
Jude POV“Come, let me help you up,” Mom says and I shake my head.“I am okay mother, I am not an invalid,” I say and she shakes her head as she rests one hand over her beating heart and Bonnie looks at me as if I am a monster.“Don’t look at me like that. I have been stuck in this bed for far too long. I just want to go home,” I say and Bonnie looks at my mom and then back at me. They both look guilty as fuck. “What is going on?” I ask.“Well, as Bonnie is pregnant, and she is going through the horrible sickness in the morning, and you will need supervision, we thought the both of you could move into your old room, and stay with me until you’re recovered and ready to go back to your normal life,” my mom says and I can’t help but chuckle.“No, not happening, I am not a child anymore that needs his mommy taking care of him. We will go to our house,” I say and B
Bonnie POVJude is out of surgery, and I keep waiting for news. His mother and brothers are there and I feel extremely guilty for being in his house like a doll waiting for the phone to ring. And it does. I answer it straight away.“Bonnie, he is awake and asking for you,” Dylan says on the other side of the line.“Oh my God, how is he?” I ask as I walk to the door, putting my shoes on. I look around, trying to find my jacket, but I have no clue where I put it. I swear I left it here yesterday. I shrug, walking back into the bedroom to get another one.“He is okay, moody as ever, and asking to see you,” he says, and I smile.“I’m on my way. I’ll get an Uber and I will be there as soon as possible,” I tell Dylan before we end the call and I make all the arrangements to go see Jude. Things have been a kind of manic for me, after Jude being in the hospital, Carly being an only fans girl and H
Bonnie POVI have done what Jude asked me. I am home, sitting on the couch, waiting for Carly and Harlow to arrive. I made them both promise not to speak about Parker. I am in need of my friends and I definitely can’t deal with any crap that is going on between them.The door chimes and I jump. I stand up, ready to open the door, but I realize it was the phone that connects to the doorman.“ Miss Walton, there’s someone here to see you,” he tells me, and I take a deep breath.“I thought I had authorized Carly and Harlow to come up,” I say, and he takes a deep breath on the other side.“Yes you did ma’am, but it’s not them, it’s a Mr. Styles, he says it is important,” the doorman tells me and I stop breathing for a couple of seconds.“He is not allowed up, tell him I don’t want to talk to him, and if he insists threaten him with police,” I say and I can tell the doorm
Bonnie POV “Hi my dear, how is he?” Camila asks as she approaches me while I sit in the waiting room. We’ve been here for more than one hour and no one has come out to say anything. “I don’t know, I am sorry,” I say as the tears roll down my cheeks and Camila pulls me into a tight embrace. I never thought I would get a close relationship with Jude’s mother. I always heard she was cold and distant, but this is not that type of woman. “Bonnie, where is he?” I hear Dylan’s voice behind me, accompanied by footsteps. I pull away from their mother’s embrace and look over my shoulder to see Jude’s brothers all standing behind me. They all look as worried as I feel. “He’s through those doors,” I say, pointing at the glass double doors and Richard nods as he walks to them and presses the button to open the doors. “You can’t go there, staff only,” I say and he ignores what I say and walks in. Dylan and Fred sit next to me while their mother sits on the other si