by Bella Grant
“Go back to work, Kelly,” I informed her, not really wanting to talk to her right now. She probably knew all along what was going on. Not that I expected her to go against her sister, but it still was a bitter pill to swallow. The females I cared about had done nothing but lie to me.
“No,” she refused stubbornly. “I don’t care if you fire me. Go ahead. This whole thing is my fault anyway.”
“I can’t talk to you about this,” I insisted, my voice edgy. “I’m too angry with your sister for not only lying to me, but having the audacity to walk out on me without an explanation!”
“You’re going to listen to what I have to say,” she retorted, leaning against the desk. “It was my fault, Seth. She was trying to protect me. I don’t know what Greg wanted her to do, but I got in some trouble that could have landed me in jail and he saw it as an opportunity to blackmail Robyn into dating you.” I stared at her not sure if I should believe her. “I would tell you the rest except she never explained to me what exactly Greg wanted her to do.”
“If that’s true, why didn’t she come to me?” I demanded, no longer able to control my anger. “She had all this opportunity to explain to me what happened, but she never did. She left when she was found out.”
“Because she didn’t think you’d forgive her,” Kelly said, her eyes filled with tears. “But the bigger picture here is that she loves you.”
“Which is all built on lies!” I exclaimed, slamming my fist into the desk so hard she jumped. “She would have never gone out with me if Greg hadn’t compelled her to, and I can’t get over that. She just dated me because she wanted to keep you out of trouble.”
“That might have been true about how you met and how you started dating,” she argued. “But the rest has nothing to do with Greg and all to do with the way she feels about you. Isn’t that what’s important? She loves you.”
“I’m not so sure of that now,” I remarked, turning away from her. That stung, not knowing where the pretense started and ended with her.
“You know she loves you!” Kelly cried in earnest. “Please, you’ve got to do something. She won’t make the first move because she knows she was wrong, but all she did was try to keep me out of prison and she fell in love with you while doing it.”
“Funny way she has of showing it.” She walked out on me, and I realized how much that hurt. If what Kelly said was true and she loved me, if Greg was really responsible, why hadn’t she stayed and fought for our relationship? For me? Didn’t she think I was worth fighting over? That stung.
“You know what your problem is,” Kelly said angrily, stepping back. “You don’t believe in yourself. All this mentoring you’ve been doing? Bullshit! Because you have the lowest self-esteem ever! You can’t believe she loves you because you don’t think you are loveable, and why? Because of some stupid scar? So what? You’re a damn good man, but you’re so hung up on inconsequential things that you have no faith in yourself. So go ahead and let the best thing in your life just walk out on you without doing anything about it! Go ahead and lose the family you have left! Go ahead and never know your child because of your ego!”
Child? I swiveled around in the chair to face her, but she was storming through the door and slamming it behind her. Robyn was pregnant with my baby? My heart raced as I tried to process the thought. If she was pregnant, there was no way I was going to let her raise that baby on her own.
I was livid at her for being with me under false pretenses, for making me fall in love with her, under this condition. She had lied and smiled at me while she did so. Finding out that Greg had blackmailed her only made me feel worse. How could I be sure now that she had truly fallen in love with me throughout the course of the blackmail?
The rest of what Kelly said bothered me. I had wanted to confront Robyn the minute I confirmed that she had been with me only because of Greg. Yet, I’d hesitated. My old insecurity reared its ugly head and made me question whether she loved me or had been acting every time we were together. Nicole had been pretty good at acting she was in love with me but I’d seen the signs she wasn’t because I didn’t want to see them.
Robyn was never once ashamed to be seen out in public with me. She never once had a look of disgust on her face as she looked at me, whether she thought I was watching or not. She wasn’t afraid to touch or kiss my scars. She regarded me with love, always touching me, showing me affection. She never shied away from my kisses out in the open, and she was never afraid to wrap her arms through mine or around my waist as we went about or day.
The more I sat there and remembered the last couple months with her by my side, I started believing once again that she loved me. The laughter, the sex, the kisses, the lying in each other’s arms and doing nothing but talk or watch old sitcoms.
I swiped my car keys from the desk and was out the door. By the time the elevator landed at the first floor, I was running for my car.
Robyn
Call him? Don’t call him? I paced the living room with my phone in hand. Or maybe I should go see him? I was going out of my mind because of our soured relationship. I had no doubt in my mind we belonged together. We could have made each other happy, but would he talk to me?
I’d probably complicated matters yesterday by running instead of staying and talking it out with him. My actions made me seem guilty, like I had set out to deceive him intentionally. I should have tried to explain to him what Greg had been up to. Maybe he would have realized that my actions were out of love for my sister and fear of her going to prison.
“I don’t know what to do,” I groaned, wrapping an arm around my belly. I’d been to the doctor’s office first thing this morning for a check-up, and we had conceived the first night in the Bahamas after all. Originally, I had planned to keep the baby from him, but now I wasn’t so sure that was the right thing.
I needed to make better choices. And I would start them now. My phone ran in tandem to the doorbell. I saw that the caller was Kelly. I wasn’t even mad at her for choosing to stay at Seth’s. He had become like an older brother, a father figure, really, for her, and she felt guilty that the whole thing was her fault. I probably would have resented her a bit, too, if she had been around, because the whole damn thing was really her fault.
Yet could I be mad at her? If not for what she had done, I would have never joined that website and met Seth. No matter that we had ended badly, I wouldn’t have traded the couple months for anything. I would do it all again just to get to know Seth.
“Hello,” I answered the phone while walking to get the door.
“Seth’s on his way,” Kelly blurted. “At least, I think he is. He just tore out of the office like he was on fire.”
Elation filled me at the prospect of seeing him again; then my feelings plummeted. It didn’t necessarily have to be a good thing he was coming over. More than likely it was to confront me.
“How do you know he’s coming here?” I asked her, then paused on my way to the door. Was he on the other side of the door.
“Because I kind of took the liberty of telling him the truth about what really went down,” Kelly answered. “You can be pissed at me all you want, but I wasn’t going to sit by and watch my relationship goals break up. You guys give me hope for Josh and me. If you break up because of the first problem you have, what hope is there for me?”
I groaned. “I’m not mad. I should have told him and not left. I think he’s at the door.” I continued to the door and pulled it open.
“And I might have accidentally let it slip that you’re pregnant!” she ended on a rush.
Her words penetrated my mind, and I was appalled with her, but I had a bigger problem on my doorstep. I tried to slam the door shut upon seeing the one man I never wanted to see again.
“I’m sure you expected to see me again,” Greg announced, pushing his way into the house.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded.
“You bitch, you gave me the wrong bid!” he thundered and backhanded m
e so hard I fell, the phone crashing to the floor and scattering into pieces.
“I didn’t,” I lied and scrambled to my feet in fear. His eyes were ablaze with fury, and I was terrified of him. My cheek throbbed where he had slapped me.
“Don’t lie to me!” he thundered, so angry spittle was flying from the corners of his mouth. “I upped my bid a hundred thousand more than you said he would bid and I didn’t win. He won!”
“Maybe he changed his bid,” I tried to reason with him. “Who says he has to stick to the figure he gave me? Now get out of here or I’m calling the police.”
“Oh you won’t be able to call the police when I’m through with you.”
He grabbed at me and I struck him to evade his touch. I could only avoid him for so long. He dragged me by the arms to the living room and threw me on the couch.
“Stop it!” I kicked at him and tried to get away. “I swear if you touch me again, I’ll make sure you rot in jail.”
“I know just how to silence you,” he muttered, grabbing the hem of my skirt. I struck his arm, terrified but not about to let him have his way without a fight. He hit me again, and I started crying, shrieking at the top of my lungs.
“Shut the hell up!” he commanded, clamping a hand over my mouth, which also trapped my nose and made it difficult for me to breathe. I tried to pry his hand away as I struggled to breathe. He didn’t seem to notice my distress as he pushed a hand under my skirt. “When I’m through with you,” he snarled in my face. “You’ll be damaged goods for Seth. Think he’ll want you after this? After I fuck you?”
Tears streamed from the corners of my eyes, my chest constricting at the lack of air. I could feel myself getting dizzy, my face becoming red. Oh God, I’m gonna die! I don’t want to die! Please God, I don’t want to leave Seth this way.
“Get the hell off her!” Seth thundered out of nowhere, and Greg was ripped away from me. I rolled over, gasping for air, choking and sobbing at the same time. I was shaking as I tried to make sense of what had happened. Seth had arrived!
“You bastard! I trusted you!” Seth shouted, punching Greg in the face, bloodying his nose. “You were like a brother to me! I considered you family!”
Greg sneered at him. “You wiped out every opportunity I had to make a bigger name for myself. You always won. Companies were always more willing to sell to you than to me because you were the great Armstrong. All I wanted was one win! One win and it would have all been okay.” He turned to regard me. “But your bitch didn’t give me the correct amount you said you were bidding. This is all her fault. If she had done what she was supposed to in the first place, it wouldn’t have gone this far! It’s business after all. Isn’t that what you always say? Just business.”
“You were trying to molest her, you asshole!” Seth launched himself at Greg, and both men tumbled to the floor in a flurry of arms and legs and punches being thrown. Eventually Seth got the upper hand and had Greg pinned to the ground. “You fucking touched her, and that’s where I draw the line. I told you I would help you win that bid if you wanted, but you said no. I tried to help you!”
“I didn’t want your charity! I wanted to win it fair and square!”
“Fair and square! You blackmailed her by threatening to send her sister to prison! Do I even know you!? How could you do this to me? You were like my brother!”
My heart broke for Seth, hearing the anguish in his voice. I pulled my knees up to my chin, the tears streaming down my face silently. We’d all hurt him so much when he’d done nothing but give his best to us. None of us deserved him, but if I had another chance, I’d try my damn best to measure up to him.
“It was just business,” Greg repeated nonchalantly as though he shouldn’t be held accountable for the blackmail and his repeated attempts to abuse me.
Seth pulled him to his feet and shoved him towards the door. “Get out, and you better be glad I remember the things you did for me. Of course, it’s up to Robyn to press charges against you. Despite the past, I will stand by her decision.”
Greg shook his head and started out of the living room, clutching his side. His nose was bloody. “I’ve been a good friend to you over the years,” he said sadly. “And what do I get in return? You get the billion-dollar business and the girl.”
“That’s no excuse for what tried to do!” Seth roared at him, and he was so mad I thought he would punch Greg again. “Stay away from her, Greg.”
“I’m not looking an excuse,” Greg grumbled and stalked out of the house.
I heard the front door slam. I didn’t know how to look at Seth. I was so ashamed of everything I hid my face in my legs and cried.
“God, baby he didn’t hurt you, did he?” Seth asked, sitting on the couch beside me and pulling me into his arms. “I swear if he hurt you, I’ll kill him.”
“Oh, Seth, I’m so sorry,” I wailed, wrapping my arms around his neck and burying my face in his chest. “I didn’t want to hurt you. I just didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t let Kelly go to prison.”
“I know. I know,” he rubbed my back comfortingly. “I wish you had come to me and told me, but we can’t change the past. You didn’t tell me if he hurt you, did he?”
“He slapped me,” I sniffled. “But he didn’t… he didn’t succeed… you know.”
His arms tightened around me. “I never knew such jealousy was in him. I never saw it.”
“He told me he just wanted you to be happy with someone who would love you for you,” I tried to explain. “I believed him. Only when I fell in love with you, he tried to get information from me about your bid. I didn’t tell him,” I added. “I swear I didn’t tell him the right amount.”
“And that’s why he came here today,” Seth murmured in understanding and pulled me back a little so he could cup my face. “I can’t imagine the hell he put you through. I was hurt when I found out you had been lying to me the whole time. I was hurt even more that you just left me without an explanation.”
“I didn’t know how to face you with what I’d done,” I admitted. “I hated lying to you, but I told myself it would work out even though I didn’t know how. I’m sorry for hurting you, Seth.”
“Do you love me?” he asked, his face serious. “Do you honestly and truly love me?”
“Yes!” I answered without hesitation. “I love you so much.”
His lips turned into a smile. “Then that’s all that matters,” he affirmed. “Just please don’t lie to me in the future, Robyn. You can talk to me. About anything. Even things that’ll make me mad. And promise me you’ll never walk out on us again. If you’re with me, it’s for keeps. There’s no way to go but in my arms.”
Tears gathered in my eyes again. “I promise. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I love you, Robyn.”
He kissed me and I clutched him in joy and relief that everything had worked out. He had forgiven me and I didn’t have to lose him.
He released my lips, though they still touched his. “Is it true?” he whispered. “Are we really having a baby?”
I nodded, laughing and crying at the same time. “Yes, I’m eight weeks.”
“We’re going to be parents,” he said in awe. “I never thought it would happen. For me to find a wife and have kids. You’ve given me so much. Thank you.”
“No, Seth, thank you,” I murmured. “You were the better one in all of this. I’m glad you’re in my life.”
Epilogue
Seth
As I resurfaced from sleep, giggles penetrated my semi-conscious state. My lips curved in a smile as the musical sound reached my ears a second before tiny hands plucked at my eyelids.
“Daddy, are you awake?” my four-year-old daughter, Judy, asked.
My body jerked as her twin sister, Sophie, jumped on the bed. Together I swore they were going to be the death of me. How Robyn and I had ended up with twins was still beyond me. As far as we knew, there was no history of twins on either side of our family. Robyn had tried to come up wit
h a theory that I’d lost so much, God decided it was time to double-up on us.
“I am now,” I grunted and snagged my arms around the child nearest to me. Sophie shrieked with laughter, and just as I knew would happen, Judy jumped in the mix. I tickled both girls until they begged me to stop, then they collapsed on my chest, still giggling.
“You were sleeping for days!” Sophie exaggerated. Staring into both their faces, I felt such love for them. They looked like their mother, something I’d grumbled about good-naturedly until our son had arrived and looked exactly like me.
“Daddy was tired, sweetie,” I told her the censored version. Only Mommy needed to know what had gone down in this bedroom last night. I was surprised she was already up.
As though she knew I was wondering where she was, she walked into the bedroom carrying our eight-month-old son, Will. She was just as beautiful as the first time I’d seen her. When the baby saw us, he kicked his little legs, babbling excitedly until Robyn placed him on the bed. He crept towards us to sprawl between his sisters.
“I guess it’s too much to ask them to sleep in for one morning,” Robyn groaned as she got into bed as well. She leaned over to drop a kiss on my mouth.
“I’d hazard a guess you sent them here to torture me.” I eyed her suspiciously.
She laughed. “Now why on earth would I do such a thing?”
“Why indeed?”
She shuffled closer to me so we had the kids sandwiched in between us. I couldn’t believe I had been so fortunate. Robyn and I couldn’t have been more in love with each other, and our kids were our world. Everything had fallen in place for us. Even Greg had visited us after all these years and apologized for the hell he had put us through. He, too, was married and had a daughter and had wanted to apologize to Robyn for assaulting her. We’d accepted his apology, although I didn’t believe we could ever be friends again. I was glad he was happy and had found a woman who had given him the reason to settle down.