Hypocritically Yours: A Standalone Age-Gap Romance

by Hayley Faiman

  My office door opens and there stands Tennessee, her face pale in the confirmation of Aaron Anderson being Holden’s biological sperm donor. Lifting my hand, I make a motion for her to come into the room. She closes the door and I watch as she walks toward the chair across from me on shaky legs.

  “What happens now?” I ask Bash.

  He clears his throat. “Now we play hardball. I’m having Hansen dig up every damning piece of evidence I can. I’m also having him get character statements from as many people as possible. We’re digging deep, Landry. We can’t bring charges against him for rape because the statute of limitations is up, but we can still make it very fucking obvious what he did, ruin his character. He won’t be able to climb out of this mess unscathed and Susan is going to be the one eating fucking crow for this.”

  “Good,” I grunt.

  “She went too far, Landry.”

  “Agreed,” I snap.

  There is a moment of silence and then I hear Bash let out a sigh. “Tennessee is a good kid. I saw all of Hansen’s reports. I’ve met her and although I may not agree with how you got together or your age difference, even I can admit that it’s all real and so is she.”

  “She is,” I agree. Lifting my gaze to her, my eyes are focused on hers. “She’s everything, Bash.”

  Ending the call with him a few moments later, Tennessee stares at me for just a beat before she speaks.

  “You know.”

  Nodding my head, I agree. “I know, but then again, I already knew.”

  “Me too, but hearing it confirmed.”

  “Yeah,” I agree.

  She inhales a deep breath, then lets it out shakily. “I just want it all over. I want it done.”

  Standing, I round my desk and make my way toward her. Without hesitation, I scoop her up in my arms and carry her over to the couch. Sinking down, I hold her in my lap. She buries her face in my neck and she starts to cry.

  “I’m going to have to face him again,” she mumbles against my neck.

  “I know, honey. I’ll be right there with you the whole time.”

  She lifts her head, her eyes finding mine and then she lowers her head and touches her lips to mine. “Thank you, Landry. Thank you for everything.”

  I don’t remind her that none of this would have happened if it wasn’t for me, if it wasn’t for Susan.

  I could have just had an affair with her, stayed married to Susan and none of this would have happened. We could have still had a content life, but we may not have ever truly been happy, because I wouldn’t have ever been able to make her mine, to give Holden my name.

  This isn’t the road I ever wanted Tennessee to have to travel. Susan has made her already difficult road a little bumpier, but I am going to make sure, after this, there isn’t so much as a pothole on her road. Not ever again.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  LANDRY

  The invitation stares back at me. It’s almost a living, breathing thing. This particular charity ball is one that I always donate heavily to and one that I never miss. Anyone who is anyone attends this event, which means that Susan will be vying for her own invitation. I don’t know if she’ll actually get one, but I always do.

  Tennessee has retreated into herself and I don’t blame her. She has court in just a week’s time, so I can only hope that once that is finished and as long as the verdict is favorable, we can get back to our lives and go forward with our future.

  A future that she is very much the center of for me.

  Lifting my pen, I mark my RSVP in the affirmative and include my plus one as Tennessee Bradley. I hope by then that she’ll be Tennessee Astor, but I’m not so presumptuous as to include her name as such.

  “Mr. Astor, Laurent Astor is here to see you,” Julie says, her voice echoing in the intercom.

  Shoving the RSVP in the envelope, I seal it and place it on my desk before I touch the button and tell her that she can go ahead and send him in.

  Laurent waltzes through my door a few seconds later and without a word he sinks down in the chair across from my desk. Lifting my gaze to his, I notice that his brows are knotted together and he looks distressed.

  “Talk to me, Laurent,” I gently demand.

  “About?” he asks like the true smartass that he is.

  Leaning back in my chair, I lift my hands and lace my fingers at the back of my head. My eyes never leave his. I focus on him, watching and waiting. He doesn’t say anything, instead, he stares blankly back at me.

  “Everything, son. What is going on with you?”

  His lips twitch into a cocky smile. “I’m thirty, I’m good looking, and I come from money. I’m getting laid, Dad. What else should I be doing?”

  I shake my head, my gaze never leaving his. “Don’t. That isn’t right. I thought that you and Bethie were working toward something?”

  He snorts. “She’s the cute blonde receptionist. Of course, I wanted to tap that. She was a challenge because she didn’t immediately drop to her knees, but I got in there. Then I got what I wanted and bounced.”

  “Laurent,” I warn.

  Laurent stands, he takes a couple of steps toward my desk and places his palms down on the edge before he leans over.

  “She wanted a happy little family and I wanted it with her,” he growls. “Is that what you wanted to hear?”

  “If it’s true, then yes. I also want to know why you’ve treated her poorly.”

  He shakes his head, looking down at the desk he inhales a sharp breath then lifts his head and his eyes find mine.

  “Because it’s too much,” he grates.

  He lifts his hands and slams them down on the desk, the noise echoing all around us. I press my lips together as I watch him. “It’s too much?” I rasp. “What is? The fear of rejection? The feeling that fills you with happiness? Tell me.”

  “All of it. It’s easier to fuck and walk away.”

  “It is,” I agree with a nod. “It isn’t fulfilling though.”

  “You’re fulfilled with Tenny? You’re ready to be a dad to a toddler, sixteen more years of parenthood? Just for young pussy? Come on, Dad, nobody ever actually married the trophies like that.”

  Anger immediately flows throughout my entire body, but then I remember that Laurent doesn’t know what a healthy relationship is.

  This is the price that I paid by giving my kids some kind of stability, they lost something else. I fucked up. But I don’t think it would have been better had I left, I think that it still would have been a mess.

  There was no right way to do any of this.

  “I am fulfilled with Tenny, but the thing is, I would be fulfilled with her if she was sixty-two, too. Her age doesn’t fulfill me. The person that she is, the way that I feel about her, that’s what fulfills me, Laurent.”

  “You’re going to be raising babies when you should be enjoying retirement and grandchildren.”

  I snort, then let out a bark of laughter at his words.

  “What?” he asks, standing up straight and crossing his arms over his chest in an attempt to look offended or something of the like.

  Licking my bottom lip, I lift my hand and run my palm over my beard, tugging on the end as I watch my son. He’s in love with Bethie, but he doesn’t want to admit it and the longer he hurts her, the less likely that she will accept him back. I can’t tell him any of that though, this is something that he has to figure out on his own, all I can do is attempt to guide him.

  “I don’t have any grandchildren, Laurent. And it doesn’t look like I’ll have any, anytime soon. None of you are in a serious relationship, probably a fault of mine. But to answer your question. Yes, I plan on raising Holden. I also plan on marrying Tennessee and adopting him as my own.”

  “Dad,” he hisses.

  I hold up my hand to prevent him from saying anything else, something that will no doubt make me think less of him if he voices it.

  “Do not be so blinded by money, by greed, and assumed status that you will say some
thing that you might regret. My company will go to the three of you, in thirds. It is written, signed, and sealed. I do not plan on changing that at all. My personal estate however will be divided equally among all of my children and once Holden is officially mine, that will include him, along with any other children Tennessee and I have together.”

  “Any other children?” Laurent whispers.

  “Yes.”

  “You’re going to have more children with her?” he snaps.

  I shake my head once. “Not that it’s your business, but yes, I would like to have children with her.”

  “You’re sixty-two, that’s irresponsible.”

  “Probably. But then again, you’re not really one to lecture me on being a responsible man, are you?”

  “I can’t agree with this,” he says ignoring my dig.

  Arching a brow, it’s my turn to give him a cocky smirk. “You don’t have to, Laurent. This is my life and believe it or not, I am an adult.”

  He takes a step back, then just when I think that he’s going to storm out of my office, he lets out a huff and sinks down in the chair. I watch and he buries his face in his hands, then lifts it to look at me.

  “I don’t know what to do.”

  “Whatever it is you choose, have it be your life you worry about, not mine,” I snort.

  His lips curve up into a grin and he jerks his head. “Yeah, but let it be known, I still think having more kids with her is a bad idea. But I won’t say anything else about it.”

  “Obliged.”

  TENNESSEE

  Inhaling a deep breath, I look over at Landry. Thankfully, because of the circumstances, Bash filed to go straight to trial and when he did, he did it all as an emergency with extenuating circumstances.

  The other attorney didn’t bat an eyelash, probably because Susan wants this done as soon as possible so the bitch can gloat. The divorce is final in just one week, seven days, so I’m sure that she thinks she’s going to fuck Landry over one last time.

  Landry reaches for my hand, lacing his fingers with mine and squeezing. I want to scream, I want everyone to know my side, my story, and I want the judge to agree with me in everything. However, I also know that this isn’t a normal circumstance and I honestly have no idea how it will go.

  The entire trial is a blur, even the point where I go on the stand and talk about what happened to me. Aaron is sitting next to Susan’s hired attorney, but I can’t even look at him. Instead, I keep my gaze focused on Landry’s the entire time.

  He smiles softly, giving me encouraging nods the entire time. I couldn’t do any of this without him. Then, when Aaron’s attorney starts to ask me questions, I brace myself. Bash already told me that he would make it all sound like I was just a girl who regretted a one-night stand, but when he actually does this, it still surprises me.

  “Isn’t it true you spent the entire evening with Mr. Anderson. You drank quite a bit that night, didn’t you?” he asks.

  Nodding my head. I agree with him. “I did, but I didn’t drug myself. I didn’t hold my legs open forcefully and cause bruises on my thighs,” I snap.

  He blinks, then clears his throat. I answer the rest of his asinine questions, then thankfully it’s Aaron’s turn to talk. Unfortunately, this isn’t a criminal trial, so no matter how much I say, he won’t be going to jail.

  When Aaron takes the stand, I finally look at him. I lay eyes on him for the first time in three years. He’s just as handsome as he was three years ago. He’s blond-haired, blue-eyed, and his shoulders are wide.

  He looks older, time has not been good to his face in that way, but it doesn’t make him less attractive. No, when he opens his mouth, that’s when he loses every bit of handsome he has. He, of course, spins the entire narrative that it was a one-night stand and that he has missed the past two years with his child.

  Thankfully, Bash, Hansen, and Landry told me that they had all of this under control, so I don’t panic—yet. When it’s Bash’s turn, he asks him about having a child again, if he’s ready for the responsibility and Aaron gushes, heavily, about the opportunity.

  Then it happens.

  I try not to smile.

  I try really, really, hard not to smile, but I fail.

  “Isn’t it true, Mr. Anderson, that you have two other children by two other different women? Both of which have filed domestic abuse charges against you. Neither child you have seen since the mothers have left, nor have you paid a dime of child support to?” Bash asks.

  It goes downhill from there for Aaron, and I breathe a tad easier, though not completely easy, not yet. The judge could still award some kind of visitation, even monitored. I want none. I want him to crawl back into his hole and never be seen again. I don’t want a dime from him, nothing at all.

  Bash isn’t finished though, he continues to go over Aaron’s past, even bringing into evidence signed affidavits by women he’s been with in the past that have no issue telling their stories of abuse by him. By the time Bash is finished, Aaron’s face is bright red.

  I watch as he stands, lifting his finger, he points to the back of the courthouse. We all turn and there, in a black dress with an oversize black hat, attempting to be incognito, but standing out just the same, is Susan Astor.

  I hear Aaron’s attorney moan right before Aaron opens his mouth. “You know what? Fuck this. It’s not worth it,” he barks.

  “Sit down,” the judge orders. “What isn’t worth it?” he demands.

  Aaron’s gaze flicks to the back of the room and he jerks his chin toward Susan. “That bitch wanted to get back at her husband. She had me tracked down and promised to pay me a fuckload of money to make Tennessee’s life miserable. I don’t want a kid, I don’t want all this bullshit that goes along with one. Fuck this, man.”

  The judge practically roars as he attempts to regain order, because everyone in the room starts to whisper, even the staff. I don’t hear anything, the roaring in my ears from my blood pumping is too loud, that is until the judge declares that I am awarded complete and full custody of my child, Holden Bradley.

  Landry wraps his arms around me, pulling me in for a hug, but I wrap my hand around his biceps and bury my face in his throat right before I burst into tears. My entire body shakes with sobs.

  Susan didn’t win.

  That monster won’t have access to my Holden.

  However, I am under no illusion that Susan is finished with her attempts to torture us and make us pay for whatever she feels we’ve done wrong to her. Landry says it’s because she has lost standing and status, plus access to his seemingly endless funds.

  I suppose that could be it and maybe because I’ve never had those things. I don’t understand why she would try to ruin people’s lives, a child’s life. Maybe it’s worth tarnishing your soul. I don’t think that it ever could be for me, but then again, I’ve never had any of that, maybe I would think it was worth it… though I highly doubt it.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  LANDRY

  This dinner was meant to be celebratory. It doesn’t feel that way at all. Tennessee is sitting across from me, Holden at her side. She looks anything but happy though and as I lift my water to my lips, I think of how to make this situation better. If I even can.

  “Talk to me,” I almost plead.

  She lifts her gaze to meet mine. I watch as she forces a fake smile and shrugs a shoulder. “There’s nothing to talk about, everything is fine,” she lies.

  I snort. “Honey, I know when a woman says everything is fine, everything is indeed not fine. Tell me what it is?”

  She shifts her gaze to Holden, then swings it back to meet mine. I watch as she inhales a deep breath before she lets it out on a sigh.

  “I thought that I would feel overwhelming happiness that all of this is over, especially with the verdict.”

  “But?” I encourage when she doesn’t continue right away.

  She sinks her teeth into her bottom lip and lifts her eyes to find mine. I see the sa
dness and the worry floating in her gaze and I know that she’s feeling something intensely and it isn’t anything good. I’m just not sure if it’s because of me or what exactly she’s thinking.

  “I feel empty,” she admits. “I feel like Susan is just going to do something else and it’s going to involve him. I feel like I had to put myself out there to a room full of strangers and share what happened to me when as of yesterday less than ten people knew, and last month only four people knew.”

  “Tennessee,” I rasp.

  Reaching out, I take one of her hands in mine. I hold her hand, giving her a squeeze. She doesn’t look away from me, but my grip isn’t comforting in the least. I want so badly for her to be happy. For her to forget this day.

  “I just… I don’t know.”

  I hum. “I won’t let her hurt you again. Even if she tries, she has to get through me first,” I announce.

  Tennessee’s smile is soft, but unbelieving. I’ll make her believe though. I’m done with this shit, with Susan and her stupid heartless games. Squeezing Tennessee’s hand again, I release it and lean back in my seat as the waiter approaches with our dinner.

  Once the food is in front of us, I watch as Holden, blissfully unaware of everything happening around him, quickly digs into his food. Smiling at him, I’m glad to see that he’s happy, that we’ve created an environment where this isn’t affecting him.

  What I’m not happy about is the way that it’s clearly affecting Tennessee. “I know you don’t think that I can end this, but I will.”

  “How?” she demands.

  My lips twitch. “Susan only understands two things, honey.” She arches a brow, waiting for me to continue. “Money and status, or simply put together, power.”

  “So what? We pretend she’s won and she’ll leave us alone?”

  Shaking my head, I can’t help but smile at her. “Susan can’t win. No victory will ever be satisfactory enough for her. She’s a narcissist. She will always want more.”