Denial_A Stone Billionaire Series Novel

by Kaya Woodward

  “Oh Gianna, I didn't see you there,” Athena acknowledges my mother.

  Has she been here the whole time?

  “It's alright,” My mother's voice is light, airy.

  My mother approaches my bedside, taking my hand.

  “All that matters is that Tinsley and the baby are alright. How is Noah doing?” my mother asks carefully.

  “He's in surgery again,” Athena reports, now wholly composed.

  “They haven't told me anything further than that. There were complications with the first surgery. I think they're going to put him in a medically induced coma for a few days,” Athena adds.

  My heart drops when Athena says this.

  “He'll be alright, I'm sure,” My mother's authoritative voice tells us both.

  “Now both of you need to take care of yourselves, for him. I won't have him come back to his family a mess. Athena you can go and shower at our apartment, here's a key. Borrow some of Tinsley's clothes if you need to,” she says.

  My mother, a pillar of strength, something I have never seen before.

  “Of course, anything you like,” I agree.

  “Evan too, and Ava and Corban. Our home is open to all of you,” My mother's voice is gentle.

  One Athena is gone, I have to ask.

  “Why are you being nice? I shouldn’t have been there in the first place,” I say.

  My mother laughs.

  “Sweetheart, I’m not heartless, I don’t have to pretend I like Connor any more than you do,” She laughs.

  “Now I've brought you clothes. I suppose you want to go wait with the rest of them while he's in surgery?” She poses the question as though she knows the answer.

  I wait with Evan and Ava in a little alcove just off the surgery wing.

  We all have nothing to say, we can't think, and I can barely breathe.

  Noah was in surgery; then they had to wait until they go to the next operation, there was severe internal bleeding, complications.

  Another surgery.

  “Are you okay?” Evan asks, a worried look on his face.

  “I can't breathe,” I try to explain.

  Suddenly the lights are too bright, the people are too loud, and my heart beats wildly I can't catch my breath.

  “Put your head between your knees, inhale deeply,” Ava instructs.

  “I used to have panic attacks when I was first pregnant,” She adds.

  I bend over as much as I can, to take deep breaths.

  Ava rubs my back gently.

  “You know I thought it was a heart attack the first time,” she quips.

  “I seriously thought I had a heart attack. Corban had to take me to the hospital because I was convinced that’s what it was,” she laughs.

  “You're a trip. Poor guy,” Evan laughs.

  “Shut up Ev,” Ava bounces back at him.

  “You're the one chasing the woman who doesn't want you. I'd like to think you are the trip,” Ava laughs.

  “Right. Me the trip,” Evan scoffs.

  Then he shakes his head.

  “Our father could die on that table, what were the last words you said to him?” Ava adds.

  “I said 'don't you die, you fucker,” Evan replies in a bored tone.

  “This is stupid; he's not going to die. We all know my dad, he's not the kind of man to die on us like this, when we all need him most,” Evan is firm on this.

  “Evan's right,” I respond.

  “He won't go. He's not finished here yet,” I add.

  “That's a good way to think of it,” Ava agrees with me.

  “He's not finished yet; you hear that Evan?” She bugs him.

  “I didn't say otherwise, did I?” His blithe reply comes.

  “What were your last words to dad? Is that what's bothering you?” He asks.

  “Shut up,” Ava mimics Evan telling her to shut up.

  “Stop it you two,” I snap.

  “Do I need to put you two in separate corners?” I ask.

  “What like that movie? Where the guy finds his friends standing in the corner and then he gets killed? Are you going to kill us?” Evan harps on me.

  “Very funny. If you don't stop, I just might,” My voice is deceptive now.

  “You know, pregnant women have gotten away with murder,” I send a conspiratorial look at Ava who's rubbing her belly.

  “Yes,” She responds in an evil voice.

  “We could easily get rid of you. Hormones, don't you know?” Ava laughs wickedly.

  “Okay, I'm done with the pregnant women. I'll go find us food,” Evan snaps back at us before he gets up in search of sustenance.

  We burst into giggles just as the doctor comes out with the news.

  “Well your father's heart stopped Mrs. Stone,” He's looking at Ava.

  But the doctor can't continue because Ava has suddenly gone limp, and we both stumble to catch her.

  35

  Noah

  “Sweetheart!” Tinsley screams before she smacks me right in the face.

  “Get up! It's your turn!” she mumbles into the pillow.

  “Alright, alright,” I rub the sleep from my eyes and glance at the baby monitor.

  Incessant wails fill the room, and I turn it off, stumble out of bed and stub my toe on a nearby chair.

  “Fucking chair!” I yell.

  I rub my toe for a second before I pull on some shorts.

  Tinsley's naked form is twisted in the cotton sheets, and she’s fast asleep.

  I guess today is my day.

  Not that I mind.

  The sun hasn't quite risen over the island yet, but it's enough to wake up our boy.

  “Sebastian,” I coo as I walk into Sebastian's room, to pick up our three-month-old.

  His wails stop the instant he's in my arms.

  “Why do you do this? Hm?” I ask.

  Sebastian only smiles back at me and coos.

  He's been a happy baby from day one.

  But the sleep is a nightmare.

  The second the sun peeks into Sebastian's window he's up, ready to see his parents and begin his day.

  He's always been like this, ever since we took him home from the hospital.

  With Sebastian in my arms, I pad downstairs into the kitchen, where Elizabeth is already warming up a bottle.

  “Did he wake you too?” I ask.

  She rubs the scarf on her head.

  “No, I couldn't sleep. A headache or something. When I heard him, I was going to try to feed him before you woke up," she says.

  “Well, tip for next time,” I laugh.

  Then I hand Elizabeth my son, who continues to smile and wiggle around in her arms.

  “Get the baby first,” I say.

  “Yes,” Elizabeth agrees.

  “Mr. Screamer over here needs to be picked up first. I forgot," she shakes her head.

  “You can go back to sleep if you want, I've got it," she offers.

  “No, it's fine,” I shake my head.

  Something seems strange about this whole scenario, but it’s natural, I don’t understand what is going on exactly.

  We stand in the kitchen in silence as Elizabeth feeds Sebastian from a bottle.

  “He'll fall back asleep in two minutes now," she coos to my son.

  “Yes, you will Sebby," she continues to make little noises, then she hands him back to me.

  Sebastian and I sit out on the balcony together, as Elizabeth pads off to the living room as quietly as she can.

  She doesn't want to make a fuss or a ruckus.

  She didn't even want to agree to come with us, but Tinsley begged her.

  I sit on the balcony overlooking the ocean; the gentle warm breeze lulls Sebastian back to sleep.

  “You're always so much trouble, Sebastian,” I whisper to my son.

  “Worth it. But, so much trouble,” I add.

  Years of IVF treatments lead us nowhere.

  We were sure we would never have children and were ready to adopt.
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  But then, one day, Tinsley took a test and suddenly she was pregnant.

  It was a miracle.

  Our miracle baby boy.

  After eight years of marriage, we finally have our family.

  “How is our little man?” Tinsley asks from behind me.

  She plants a kiss on my neck before she sits across from us.

  “Back asleep I believe,” I answer.

  Sure enough, Sebastian is asleep in my arms.

  “He's perfect," she whispers, the sound of her voice smooth, motherly.

  “Perfect," she repeats.

  “I thought you were going to sleep some more?” I ask my wife.

  “I didn't want to miss the sunrise,” Tinsley admits, looking down at the wedding ring on her finger.

  “I didn't want to miss a moment with you Noah," she adds.

  “Nor I you,” I confess, looking at her with a new lease on life.

  What I wouldn't do for this woman.

  She's everything to me.

  “Let's go for a walk,” Tinsley requests.

  It’s hard to believe that we ever thought our marriage wouldn’t work.

  Never in my wildest dreams, did I think I’d fall in love with a woman who was betrothed to me by her father.

  I was okay with the arrangement, at first.

  Then came the volatile fights.

  Everything steadied out over the years, and I realized pretty quickly how desperately in love with her I was.

  Tinsley takes the baby from me and disappears back inside.

  When she returns her ring glints in the sunlight.

  “Can you believe we almost didn’t happen?” She asks.

  “I can’t,” I shake my head.

  “To think I didn’t want to marry you because my father told me to," she gives me a severe look.

  “You wanted me,” I tease her as we get up.

  Hand in hand we walk towards the steps that lead down to the beach.

  “Oh did?” Tinsley asks as she bites her lip.

  “You were curious about getting me in bed, admit that much,” I tease her.

  “I was an innocent virgin before I met you, you know Stone,” Tinsley teases me back.

  The sun rises over the island as we take the steps two at a time before we step into the soft, white sand.

  “It's perfect, isn't it? Our life?” I ask her.

  “Noah, you know this isn't real,” Tinsley tells me quietly.

  “I wish that weren't the case, but it’s not real," she continues.

  Then she motions to a white light coming out of the ocean.

  “It's a dream?” I look at her.

  “It's not exactly a dream," she explains carefully.

  “If you stay, this is yours forever. But if you go, you'll get to be with the real Tinsley, your real son," she tells me with such urgency.

  “What exactly is going on here?” I implore her to answer me.

  “You're dead," her voice is quiet as she closes her eyes.

  Calm settles over me.

  “Noah you have to go back to them, you have to get me back. You can't live in bliss forever,” Tinsley begs.

  “Don't feel like that, don't feel calm. You're dead, do you get that!” She screams.

  “But?” I look around.

  “All of this is bliss,” I tell her.

  “But you need the real Tinsley. I'm not real!” Tinsley screams again.

  “None of this is real!” She continues to scream.

  That's right.

  I'm the man she loves.

  That's why I have to go back.

  “Go!” she urges me.

  “Swim! Don't look back!” Tinsley yells.

  I can't die.

  A wave of urgency overcomes me and I jump in the water, to swim towards the light but I can't quite get there.

  I swim for hours, but the light moves out of grasp.

  Then the sunny sky overhead turns to dark, and the waves are higher than the island.

  I'm sucked into the water, thinking that I can't breathe.

  Only I'm already dead.

  There's no breath here.

  Gently, I float towards a stream of light in the middle of the blue.

  The second I touch it the world goes black.

  36

  Tinsley

  November 1, 2017

  “Oh my god! Ava!” I gasp.

  The doctor and I both lunge to catch her together.

  “I should work on that,” The doctor apologizes.

  “His heart stopped, but we managed to get him back. His heart has been strong and steady ever since" he adds.

  A nurse wheels over a gurney and we lift Ava onto it.

  The doctor gives the nurse instructions to get some medication.

  “Is she alright?” I cry.

  Tears slip down my cheeks.

  Then I sob in relief because Noah is still alive.

  Ava comes to, and she’s immediately in panic mode.

  “Oh my God! He's dead isn't he!” Ava gasps.

  “Mrs. Stone, your father is fine. He's still alive,” The doctor reports.

  “I apologize if I scared you," he adds.

  “Oh, thank god!” Ava cries.

  She's dizzy and pregnant, and her father is in surgery.

  Her pain barely compares to what I feel.

  “Mrs. Stone, about your husband,” The doctor asks me.

  “Oh, I'm not Noah's wife,” I stutter the words out.

  I'm.

  Not.

  Noah's.

  Wife.

  “Well you're his in case of emergency, I have a couple questions for you,” His gentle tone makes me nod, and I pull out my phone.

  “Yes, we discussed that...,” I look down at my phone, and my words fade.

  I never thought it would come to this.

  “Can you come with me please?” He asks.

  “Oh, but Ava,” I protest.

  “Go,” Ava obliges.

  “I need to lay down for a bit. Evan will be back," she adds.

  She shakes with relief.

  When I turn to look over my shoulder, Ava is being wheeled into the elevator.

  November 5, 2017

  “So, this should wake him up?” Corban confirms.

  “Yes,” The female doctor gives him a salacious grin, wholly inappropriate.

  Ava glowers, then narrows her eyes at the doctor.

  “My husband wants to make sure this is going to work," she snaps.

  She reminds the doctor that Corban is hers.

  Corban smirks at me.

  “In theory, yes, but there are no guarantees,” The doctor says curtly.

  “Well can you get me someone, who can guarantee something? We've been in the dark for five days almost! This is ridiculous!” Ava yells from her chair.

  Then she hurls something at the doctor who scurries out of the room.

  “Whoa. We set something off there didn't we?” Corban snorts.

  “Sweetheart, she was polite," he adds.

  “Polite to my husband!” Ava yells again.

  “Who is taken by the way!” She yells out the door.

  “She's pregnant. Give her a moment,” I remind Corban politely.

  “I've got two little monsters eating my insides! How am I supposed to be polite! You did this to me! Bastard!” Ava yells at Corban now.

  She then attempts to cross her arms, which is difficult because she's pretty much all baby.

  Ava was thin, to begin with, but her belly is so large she looks very pregnant.

  “Hello everyone,” A chirpy female voice sings.

  “I'm Dr. Weaver,” the doctor introduces herself.

  I'm taken back by how beautiful Dr. Weaver is, with bright blue eyes and dark hair up in a ponytail.

  Suddenly I am worried Noah is going to fall in love with his doctor.

  I’ve lost my mind.

  “We're just going to wake up Noah here, and we'll go from there. Alright, everyone?
” Her chipper voice is somehow soothing to all of us.

  She doesn't even glance at Corban as she does something to Noah's IV.

  “We're going to wean him off the medication keeping him asleep. He should wake up in a few hours," she adds.

  Then we wait.

  And we wait.

  And we wait.

  November 8, 2017

  I've been sitting by Noah's bedside for days.

  Along with Ava, Evan, Corban, and Athena.

  We take turns.

  They sleep at my mother's house and return.

  They get food from the hospital cafeteria and return.

  We regularly return to Noah's beside.

  People pop in now and then to give their well-wishes.

  He's in a coma.

  The father of my child is in a coma.

  We are alone now, all the monitors beeping at a slow, steady pace.

  “He's not going to die, the old bastard,” Lauren appears in the doorway with a beautiful bouquet of white peonies.

  “You think?” I manage to vocalize words.

  Lauren sweeps a hand along Noah's arms, and then she sets the flowers down.

  She takes a seat and notices that I have his hand in mine.

  Lauren takes his other hand.

  “Noah, I demand that you wake-up. You've got children, you've got a family. You need to see your grandchildren," her authoritative voice demands of him.

  We both look at Noah.

  Nothing.

  “Well, it was worth a shot,” Lauren huffs.

  She sits back in her chair and twirls a piece of blonde hair around her finger.

  “I just wanted to see for myself," she tells me.

  Lauren's face contorts into an expression of malice.

  “You have no business being here. He's not your husband. Of course, it would look bad if I demand that you leave. I'll remember this," she smiles.

  “My husband knows where I am,” I tell her flatly.

  “Yes, your husband," she points out.

  “Not Noah," she adds.

  Then the doctor blissfully walks in with something.

  “We're going to try to wake him up with a new medication,” Dr. Weaver explains.

  The doctor announces.

  “Since it was a medically induced coma, and he still hasn't woken up since we weaned him off the medication, this should do the trick,” Dr. Weaver adds.