by Eva Luxe
Chapter 24 – Willow
It was now three weeks since we’d had sex. Darien still made sure I was comfortable and fed, he put gas in the car and left a credit card for me to shop with.
He put me as Ariel’s emergency contact at school, and put my name on her HIPAA forms at the doctor’s office in case I needed to take her there. And we’d had a few late night, tension-filled conversations, where our mouths spouted pleasantries about our day and our nerve endings screamed for us to touch each other.
We didn’t, but I knew it wasn’t any easier for him than it was for me. He started leaving for work earlier, leaving me to drop Ariel at school—which I never minded, of course. And he’d come home later, missing dinner, but always in time to tuck Ariel into bed. I knew why—he was trying to avoid temptation, and I guess it worked, because nothing physical went on between us that whole time.
Not that I’d been in the mood for it, really. Recently I’d been sick as hell. Nauseous, moody, and achy. My period was supposed to be here by now, but when I noticed I was gaining some suspicious weight, I ran to the store to get a pregnancy test.
The next morning, right after my regularly scheduled vomit session, I peed on the stick and waited for those sixty seconds to pass.
It was a long wait, but the results finally began to fade in.
Two lines.
“This can’t be,” I whispered to myself, covering my mouth with my trembling hand. I bent over the toilet to empty out this morning’s breakfast and looked at the stick. “Oh, God, what will I tell Darien?”
It was no mistake. It was right. I had all the symptoms.
God, we had only done it that one time. Well, those two times, but I felt like it had happened the very first time, though I guess there was no way to know.
I had to think of something.
Darien knocked on the door. I could tell it was him from the authority in his knocks. They were strong and vibrated off the door.
“Willow, do you want me to drop Ariel off at school this morning?”
I dragged myself over to the door and placed my face near the seam of it. “That’d be great,” I said weakly. “I’m not feeling very well.”
“Are you okay?” he asked. “I can take you to a doctor.”
“No, I’m fine.” I draped my arm over my belly.
His kid was growing inside me. That was all.
I had no idea how I could tell him. Not with everything going on in his own life. I felt like such an idiot, even though I knew it took two to… tango.
“Call me if you need anything.”
“Thanks.”
“Bye, Willow!” Ariel called through the door. “I hope you feel better soon.” Her bubbly voice cheered me up.
“Thanks, Ariel.”
I waited for them to leave before I tiptoed downstairs to get some food. No wonder I had awful cravings recently. I was honestly shocked I hadn’t figured this out a bit sooner.
Opening the refrigerator, my appetite pointed to the orange juice. I grabbed it and took out a glass from the cabinet to the side. I inhaled it down as soon as the rim touched my lips.
“God, this orange juice tastes good.”
“It does, doesn’t it?” A familiar voice said from around the corner.
“Who’s there?”
Then she came around. Morgan.
“Hello, dear. Look at you. All at home while Darien is out with our daughter.”
“His daughter,” I corrected.
“Snappy little bitch, aren’t you?”
She must have just helped herself into the house after they left. She was just waiting to pounce.
She ran a finger on the marble island of Darien’s kitchen and stared at it with a coy smile. I moved over to where the knives were kept and took one out.
Shring.
That noise was warning enough.
“A knife?” She raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow. “What’re you going to do with that?”
“Cut you if you step any closer to me.” I jabbed the knife up, showing her I meant business.
“I don’t need to touch you to hurt you. Not at all. You see, I gave Darien time. Lots of time, but he still resists. He won’t get rid of you, you little whore.” She inched around the island. I backed up in sync.
“Stay away from me, I’m calling the police—” I said, reaching for my phone.
“You don’t want to do that. There’s a good reason why.”
Morgan took out her phone and swiped around on it. “See, I have this video…” She flashed the screen at me. I didn’t get a clear look at it, but I could hear the sounds coming from the speaker. “Darien was never that tight about security, until he met you. I still had access to the cameras, and he forgot to take the camera out of your room once you moved in.”
She stopped the video and placed her phone back into her purse. Morgan’s dark makeup made her look just as evil as she acted. Ariel looked nothing like her.
“You’re trying to blackmail him, aren’t you?” I strengthened the grip of the knife in my hand. “All you care about is his money. Didn’t you ever care about him at all?”
“Money?” She stepped toward me again. “No, not just that. You see, if I show this to the court, and you know, accidentally leak it into the media, his life will be out there for everyone to see. His company will be tarnished, his reputation will be ruined, his daughter will never see him again, and half of all his assets are mine.”
Stopping, she bent over and rested her elbows on the island. We had made a full circle and a half around this thing now.
“Why are you waiting then?” I asked.
“You might want to tone down the attitude, darling. Because you’re the only one who can save him.”
“What? How?”
“Leave. Don’t contact him, meet him, or even think about him again.”
“And how does that help you?”
“I get to watch him suffer as he loses something he loves. He might even keep Ariel. I don’t want that sniveling kid anyway. I want to see him writhe in agony.”
“Just because you want his money?” I lowered the knife a bit.
Morgan may’ve been crazy, but she was on a different level of crazy. She was the kind that wanted to butcher the mind, not the body.
Damn.
“Yes. When he divorced me, he took away my power. No one wanted me around anymore. I was cast out.” Morgan looked out the window brushing a piece of her dark red wavy hair behind her ear. That was all that mattered to her; money and power.
“That’s your fault for using him,” I said. “No one wanted you around because you’re a manipulative bitch.”
“And? That’s what rich people do.” She smiled, standing up straight again.
“That’s what bad people do.”
“Look, I don’t have all day. I want you gone, and I want to see it. So go, pack your shit and I’ll dump you off in the city. Go!” she demanded, pointing up to the stairs.
At first I hesitated. But that video… Darien would be humiliated. He was such a private person, and he’d kept his personal life out of the media for so long. But far worse, he might lose Ariel, and I could never, ever, be the cause of that.
And I was pregnant. If she found out about the baby, she’d do something crazy for sure, just to hurt Darien.
Even though the circumstances in which it was conceived were crazy, I knew I wanted this baby. I hadn’t ever thought I wanted to be a mother. But some natural maternal instinct came over me now that I was pregnant. And probably, now that I had spent so much time around Ariel, and fallen in love with her just as much as I had fallen in love with her father.
Oh, my God. How did I let myself go and fall in love with him? And his daughter too.
I would miss them so much. But there was a new life to think about now. I was going to be a mother.
I ran up the stairs, my stomach churning with sickness from Morgan’s threats and the changes my body was going through. Good thing I didn’
t have too much. I stuffed what I could into my old duffle bag and struggled to the steps.
Morgan was waiting by the main door. I looked up and around.
“I’m sorry, Darien…” I said quietly to myself as I dragged my things down the steps.
“Good girl. Let’s go.”
Her car was a Rolls Royce Ghost. She slammed my things in the back and got in. I walked around to the other side of the car and glanced back up at the house for one final look.
“Good bye.”
Chapter 25 – Willow
Morgan drove me into the city, and neither one of us said anything the entire time. That was fine by me. I wanted her out of my life— my baby’s and my lives— for good. Once she was satisfied that she had driven far enough, she stopped at a street corner.
“Here we are. Get out. Remember what I said. Don’t want to see poor Mr. Thrilling suffering, do you?”
“No,” I mumbled as I got out.
I got my bag from the back of her car, and she sped off right as I closed her door.
“Nasty bitch,” I said, giving her the middle finger while she disappeared around a corner.
Sam was going to be gone. I was kidding myself that he was going to get better.
Ariel and Darien were gone.
What was next?
I walked into the bar, an hour before it opened. It had been a while since I’d seen this place. The smell of cheap liquor made my stomach turn though. And even despite that, it was nice to be here.
I longed for a sense of normalcy. Something that reminded me of before I met Darien.
Mr. Brent saw me walking his way and his eyes lit up. All he probably saw was a huge pay check. I had been starting to be a favorite among the customers.
Mr. Brent stretched out his arms, and shouted, “Willow! Welcome back, I didn’t expect to see you so soon!” He gave me a slap on the back.
“Hey, Mr. Brent. Sorry about bailing out like that. But the nanny job was too good to pass up.”
“Nah, don’t worry about it. If you respect money, then I respect you.”
Good old blunt Mr. B.
“So, still got any space at the bar?” I asked. The happy expression on his face dropped into a frown.
“You want to work in the bar? Not dancing? Come on, Willow, you were bringing in a lot of money.”
“I know, but I can’t dance anymore.”
“Why?”
“I’m pregnant.”
I rubbed my stomach. It wouldn’t be long until I really started showing.
“Oh shit. You left here as an innocent girl, now you’re all knocked up? Congratulations. All right, all right. The bar it is. You’ll still snap up lots of tips due to the sexy memories. Guys come in here asking for you all the time.”
“Thanks, Mr. Brent.”
“Yeah yeah, go ahead and get ready for opening.”
I headed over to the bar, already feeling a bit heavier than I was used to. It wasn’t long until Stacy hopped over for her nightly routine; a shot of whiskey.
“Hey Willow! You working behind the bar again?” she asked, hopping onto a stool.
She liked to get a shot before everyone crowded in. It was enough to loosen her up, but not make her sloppy.
“Yeah. No more pole dancing for me.” I said, dipping down to get her favorite brand of whiskey.
“Aww. Say, you can come back anytime. You know Mr. B would love to have ya.”
“Thanks. It was fun being up there once I got used to it.”
Maybe in like 15 months, after I have the baby and lose the tummy.
I shuddered at the thought of having to plan that far in the future. I had no idea what I would be doing with my life. At this point, I could only think one day at a time. Just getting through a twenty four hour period without breaking down was hard enough.
I couldn’t believe I had to give up my one true love, and his cute little daughter too. My heart broke to think of her thinking I had just walked out on her without any reason. She had certainly been through enough, and I hated that she had to deal with that on top of everything else.
I poured Stacy’s whiskey in a clean shot glass and pushed it toward her. She snapped it up and swallowed it down in one gulp.
“Damn, I love this stuff. Good seeing ya back.”
She hopped off her stool and disappeared behind the black curtain.
A few hours later, the place was hopping. The music thumped, and the dancers put on a good show. I didn’t used to pay attention to them like I did now. I guess the experience of being up there still lingered. I found myself cheering them on, and some of the men gave me the side eye, obviously wondering if I’d be up there too.
Nevertheless, the tips were raining in, with Mr. B having been right about some of the guys happy to see me back in any capacity, and giving me even more money than they would probably tip me had I been dancing on stage. So, I found myself breathing a lot of sighs of relief, as all seemed normal, or even good.
Until he walked in.
“Willow? Is this where you’ve been?” Darien said, pushing his way up to the bar. I was too busy to stop and talk to him, and I was thankful for that. I had not been prepared to see him, and I really needed a minute to figure out what to say.
“D-Darien! I’m really busy—”
“I need to talk to you.”
“I really can’t.” I was juggling a lot of alcohol in my hands and whipped up some drinks for people that were waiting. Darien didn’t like waiting though. So he jumped over the bar and scooped me up into his arms. “Wait, what’re you doing! Darien, I have a job to do!”
What had I thought, that he wasn’t going to come here looking for me? I was so stupid. A part of me was happy he found me, another was scared to death.
“Put the girl down,” the bouncer warned.
“Willow, tell them to move. I need to talk to you in private.”
“Eric, he’s good. I’ll be back.” I glared at Darien. “But you need to put me down!”
“Fine.” He let me down reluctantly and we went outside in the same alley where we’d met a couple of months ago.
I looked around and over my shoulder. Darien cleared his throat.
“Why are you back here? After everything—”
“Darien, just stop.” I held my hands up, stopping him mid-sentence. “I know what’s going on. I can’t be around you. I can’t be the reason you lose everything,” I cried, holding my arms.
I had to save the man that saved me.
“What’re you talking about?” Darien inched over toward me, his arms out.
“Look, I have to go.” I turned to the door and reached for the handle.
“No, Willow. Talk to me.” He grabbed my arm and pulled me close to him. There went that cologne again. So manly… so him.
“I can’t, it’s too dangerous.” Now I was letting on too much.
“Wait, is this because of Morgan? Did she threaten you? Tell you to stay away?”
“No, I just—”
“It was her.” Darien could see through all the lies.
Time to drop the bombshell. He did have the right to know. “I’m pregnant.”
“Pregnant?” He stared at me, then grabbed me by the shoulders. “Did you think I’d tell you to leave?”
“Of course not. But I can’t stay out here.”
“You’re not telling me the whole truth. I can’t just leave you here working in the bar if you’re pregnant. I don’t want you here at all. Ariel misses you. I miss you.”
I hung my head and rubbed my forehead. “She has a video of us…” I admitted.
“I know— hey, wait— how do you—”
“She came to the house when you took Ariel to school a few weeks ago. She wanted to make you suffer. I— I love you. I can’t let her do that to you. And how did you know? When did you find out?”
“She tried to make me get rid of you. But I wasn’t going to let go so easy… like you did.”
Ouch, right in the gut. Hey,
I deserved some credit too. I glanced at the sky and saw the moon. A chilly breeze blew by and I shivered. There were a lot of thirsty people inside I needed to get to.
“Bye, Darien. Maybe when this is all over we can pick up where we left off. For now, I don’t—can’t see you suffer.”
“Willow, I’m already suffering without you.”
What was I supposed to say to that?
Chapter 26 – Darien
I was close to getting Willow to leave with me. I felt it. She knew damn well Morgan was nothing short of a liar and a manipulator. Willow was mine the moment I saw her.
“Come home, Willow. Tell me what’s been on your mind. Tell me the things I need to do to make you that vibrant, happy person I saved in this alley that day.”
“You really are a good man, Darien. But Morgan—” She glanced back over her shoulder.
“If you really think she’s going to hold to her promise, then you’re sorely mistaken.”
“But she hasn’t released the video yet,” Willow argued, trying to find some reasonable explanation to keep herself away from me.
“There is no video.”
The damn video was the reason she left? God, if only I’d known that was the problem, I wouldn’t have had to suffer, watch Ariel suffer, so long without her.
“Yes, there is!” she snapped in exasperation. “She showed me, I heard it. She said if I didn’t go away, she’d release it to the media!”
“She told me that too,” I said, “the day after you and I first made love. I went over there to tell her to leave Ariel and you alone, and she showed me.”
“But you─”
“I destroyed it. I destroyed her whole phone, and I’m completely sure there is no backup copy. She wouldn’t have thought of it, because she was fixated on gloating, but I had my security team check on it anyway.”
She crossed her arms in front of her. “I don’t understand.”
I shrugged. “Morgan is a liar. Did you actually see the video?”
She squished up her face, trying to remember. Damn, she was so cute, even in the midst of all this chaos. “I─ I guess not. I mean, she flashed it at me, and then I heard, you know, sex sounds.”
“Yeah.” I grinned at her. “The original was pretty hot, probably hotter than whatever junk she pulled off the Internet to trick you into believing she still had a tape. But she didn’t show you that original video, because she couldn’t.”