“Fuck him,” I hissed and reached for my phone. I dialed Garrett’s number.
“Hey, sis. Is everything okay?”
I frowned and it was only then that I noticed the time. It was after eleven, so it was unusual for me to call him so late. “No, not really,” I answered in a broken voice.
“What’s going on? Did something happen to you? Are you and the babies okay?”
But I couldn’t hold the truth from him anymore. “He lied to me, Garrett,” I said between the sobs.
“Who lied? Isaac?”
“Yes,” I said and wiped my face with my hand. “He lied about everything.”
“What do you mean? What happened?”
“He’s engaged to some hot woman called Amber. She was at his house.”
“How do you know? Were you at his house?”
“Maybe,” I cringed at the realization that I’d have to come clean completely.
“What were you doing at his house?”
“I went there to talk to him about what we’d discussed. About staying after the babies were born.”
“Okay. Was she there already?” he asked.
“No, she came later.”
“Oh my God. Greta, I am so sorry. I had no idea. Isaac never mentioned….” Garrett’s voice trailed. “What a minute. What did you say her name was?”
“Amber Lightheart. What kind of a name is that?”
Garrett was silent for a moment. “This all makes sense now.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“She was at his office a few weeks ago. He told me that she knew Uncle Anthony.”
“I don’t know what the story is and I didn’t stay to have Isaac explain things to me,” I muttered. “Garrett, I need to get away for a bit, just to figure out what I am going to do. Is that against the contract?”
“Where do you want to go?”
“I thought I’d visit Mom and Dad. Maybe they can give me some advice.”
“You know they’re going to freak out.”
“Yeah, I can deal with that. But I can’t deal with being in San Francisco right now. I can’t even deal with being in the same city as that lying asshole.”
“Okay. Go visit Mom and Dad. It won’t get you into trouble. If anyone asks, we’ll just say that you went to visit the parents. No one can keep you from doing that.”
“Thank, Garrett.”
“And please, look after yourself.”
“I will. And don’t tell Isaac that we spoke, or where I am going.”
“I won’t tell him where you are, but I’ll definitely have a word with him. No one messes with my sister, especially not him.”
I smiled sadly, proud of my brother. “Thanks, Garrett.”
“For you…anything, sis,” Garrett said. “Say hi to Mom and Dad for me.”
I promised Garrett that I’d pass on his wishes. Then, I quickly dialed Mad’s number.
“Greta, are you okay?” she answered.
I cringed, forgetting the time again. “I’m fine. I’m sorry to call so late.”
“As long as you’re fine, no worries.”
“Listen, I’ll be out of town for a bit. It’s a family emergency and I have to sort some things out.”
“Is everything okay? Do you want to talk about it?”
“I can’t really talk about it yet, but I will call you in a few days.”
“Okay. I’ll hold down the fort at work while you’re gone.”
I smiled gratefully at the fact that I did have someone trustworthy in my life after all – personally and professionally. “Thank you, Mad.”
“Just look after yourself, okay? And the babies.”
“Of course,” I said.
Disconnecting the call, I reached for my laptop on the coffee table. I searched for bus tickets to Tranquility and booked myself a one-way ticket. I didn’t know when I’d be alright to come back to San Francisco. As I stood up from the couch, I wondered what my parents would think when I showed up at their door, with an overnight bag and a big, pregnant belly. How was I going to explain my situation?
Luckily I had about three hours to think about it on the bus. As I walked to my bedroom, I placed my hand on my belly and said, “Come on, kids. We’re going on a trip.”
31
Isaac
I paced around my office, my mind swirling with panic and worry. I had been on edge ever since Amber had showed up at my house, completely unannounced. After I had watched her get into the taxi, making doubly sure that she’d left, I rushed back upstairs. But Greta was already gone.
Amber’s little visit had spooked her, and I had no clue what Amber had said to her. I had tried calling Greta multiple times for the last few days, but she didn’t answer. Or return my calls. I even called her office, but a woman called Cassie told me that she was not available, which I found annoying. I told her who I was, but it didn’t seem to faze her at all.
My texts went unanswered, and I could no longer hold in my frustration. There were so many things I had wanted to say to Greta that night. Thanks to Amber, I never got a chance to do that. Now, understandably so, Greta was ignoring me. It was worse than when she had asked to give her some space. At least, I knew what Greta was thinking of back then. Now, I had no clue.
The door swung open and I turned to see Garrett standing in the doorway.
“Hey! Have you heard from Greta at all? I’ve been—”
“You son of a bitch!” Garrett exclaimed.
I stopped in my tracks and glanced at him.
“What the hell is the matter with you?” he shouted.
I frowned and shook my head. I didn’t know what was up, but I figured it had to do with Greta.
“I can understand that you would keep things from Greta to protect yourself, but how can you lie to me like that?” he asked.
“What the hell are you talking about, Garrett?”
“I’m talking about you lying to my sister about the whole reason for the surrogacy.”
I paused for a moment, unable to comprehend the situation. From the beginning, Garrett had known the reason for wanting to use Greta as a surrogate. So, why was he accusing me of lying?
“You really fucked up this time, Isaac. Greta is ready to terminate the entire contract, and I don’t even blame her.”
“Wait a second. She want to terminate the contract? Why? What happened?” I asked in panic.
“Your fiancé happened,” Garrett said and crossed his arms. “That is a big chunk of information that you just conveniently left out.”
“What? I have no idea what you’re talking about, Garrett,” I insisted.
“Your fiancé, whom you failed to mention, spoke to Greta. She told Greta that you didn’t want to tell my sister about your engagement, so that Greta could be pitied into being your surrogate.”
This was an absolute shock! What crap was Garrett spewing? My fiancé? I couldn’t make sense of anything. “Garrett, where is Greta?”
“I am not telling you! You knew my sister’s always had a soft spot for you, and you used that against her. You should be ashamed of yourself!”
“No, you’ve got it all wrong. I would never do that to Greta. And I would never lie to you.”
“Stop lying, Isaac!”
“I am not engaged, Garrett. I swear to you,”
“You know, I’m quite impressed that you were able to keep so much from Greta, and from me, for that matter. I thought I knew you, but all I see in front of me is a stranger.”
“Garrett, listen to me. I am not engaged. The only person….” my voice trailed. “This is all just a big misunderstanding to get you to turn on me.”
“You lied to me, Isaac. That’s clear as day.”
“I never lied to you.”
“You told me that Amber was a friend of Uncle Anthony. You failed to mention that she’s your fiancé as well.”
I straightened my shoulders and glanced at him. “She is neither of those things.”
Garrett looked
at me curiously, pausing mid thought. But I could clearly see the pattern now.
“We’ve both been played. Taken for a fool by the same person I’ve suspected all along.”
“Oh God, Isaac! Not this again.”
“No, it’s true. Andrew wants me to lose control of the company, so he hides the will and makes it ‘reappear’ at the last moment, giving me a really short amount of time to meet Uncle Anthony’s criteria. Andrew, who clearly underestimated my abilities, didn’t anticipate that I’d find a surrogate so fast, or that she’d get pregnant so quickly. So, what does he do? He hires Amber to pose as someone who knew my uncle, to distract me. And if that didn’t work, she’d tell Greta that she was my fiancé, so that the contract could be broken and everything I did would be in jeopardy.”
“You can’t prove that,” Garrett pointed out.
“You’re right. But even if I can’t, it doesn’t matter,” I told him. “It doesn’t matter anymore. All of it. I don’t care about Andrew, or the Board anymore. All I care about is Greta and our babies.”
“Why should I believe a single word you say?” Garrett asked, his jaw clenched and arms crossed across his chest.
“Because you’re my best friend, Garrett, and I have never lied to you. Except once,” I answered.
“When was that?”
“When you asked me if there was something between me and Greta, I told you there wasn’t and that I wasn’t interested in her. Well…I lied. I love your sister. I always have and I always will,” I admitted. “I love her and I want to marry her. So, can you please tell me where she is, so I can finally tell her that and bring her home, please?”
Garrett narrowed his eyes and sighed, “I hope you are telling the truth, because if you’re not—”
“I swear to you, Garrett. I would never hurt Greta. I love her too much.”
Garrett looked at me, noticing the sincerity in my eyes, and his anger melted. “She’s back in Tranquility, visiting our parents.”
“Great,” I said and rushed past him, out of my office.
“Isaac, where are you going?” he called out.
“I have one last thing I need to deal with. You can tag along if you want,” I answered and Garrett followed me out of my office and into the floor below mine.
I headed to Andrew’s office, opening the door without a knock.
Andrew looked shocked to see us both. “You can’t just barge in here whenever you want to, just because you’re the CEO – for now at least.”
“Congratulations on a job well done, you son of a bitch,” I announced, and clapped sardonically.
He glanced at me with a frown. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I never thought you had the mental capacity to pull off something so devious. But then again, you are the king of manipulation.”
“What did you just call me?” He was seething with anger now. I had him completely riled up, which is what I wanted, after all.
I shrugged. “Did you really think that you could send one of your little whores to pretend to know my uncle and ruin my chances of regaining full control of the company? Amber was a nice touch though. But you clearly underestimated me.”
Andrew smirked and stood up to face me.
“I feel sorry for you, you know. All you care about is stealing this company from me. But there are more important things than business, money, and all this bullshit we’re chasing.”
“What can be more important than money, Isaac?”
“Family. Loyalty. Love.”
Andrew scoffed and shook his head. “Love can’t buy you a Mercedes.”
I shook my head at him in pity. “I didn’t expect you to understand anyway.”
I turned and left his office. When we were away from Andrew’s office, Garrett held out his arm to stop me.
I frowned at him. “Are you going to try and stop me from driving to Tranquility?” I asked.
“No, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for doubting you,” Garrett answered, placing his hand on my shoulder. “I know you’d never lie to me, or hurt my sister.”
I gave him a grateful nod and smiled.
“Go on,” he told me. “I’ll run that contract through my shredder.”
“Thank you, Garrett.”
“And good luck.”
“I’m not going to need it,” I said as I walked past him.
“I’m not talking about Greta. I’m talking about my parents,” Garrett said.
I stopped dead in my tracks and turned. “Right,” I muttered. “Does your mom like flowers?”
Garrett laughed. “It’s going to take more than flowers to make her not hate you.”
“She can’t hate me. I’m giving her grandkids,” I pointed out with a wink and ran to the elevator.
In a hurry, I rushed down to my SUV in the parking garage, climbed in, and sped off. I knew the road to Tranquility like the back of my hand. I had to get there as fast as I possibly could, with one quick pitstop. I needed to get something from home, along with a change of clothes.
I rushed into my house and quickly got out of my business suit, choosing a more comfortable attire. Grabbing my overnight bag, I stuffed a few items of clothing inside it, not knowing how many days it’d take me to convince Greta. From the top drawer of my chest of drawers, I took out a black box that I’d had in my possession for a few weeks now and stuffed it into my bag as well.
Within ten minutes, I was back in my SUV and on the way to Tranquility. To finally see Greta and the twins. And get my happily ever after, if I was lucky.
That is if Greta’s dad didn’t shoot me before I could make it through the front gate.
I could only imagine what their reactions would have been when they would have seen a pregnant Greta at their door, miserable and heartbroken. Yes, my life was possibly in danger, but I didn’t care. All I cared about was Greta and the twins.
32
Greta
I felt fifteen again, sitting on the balcony of my bedroom, my legs dangling over the edge, and my heart filled with sorrow. The surroundings were exactly the same as seven years ago – the view from the balcony, the trees around the house, and even the smells and the sounds.
But, I wasn’t fifteen anymore. I was twenty-five, five months pregnant, and felt even more lost than when I had been a teenager. My ankles were swollen and the heat outside wasn’t helping. Unlike in the Bay Area, Tranquility did not have cool ocean breezes blowing constantly.
And I haven’t even got to comprehending the miserable state of my heart! Dealing with my problems as a fifteen-year-old seemed like a breeze compared to how I was feeling right now.
Thankfully, the house was quiet as my parents were out for the evening, having dinner with their friends. They had insisted that I come along, but I did not want to intrude on their plans. And I wasn’t really in the mood to socialize anyway.
My parents reacted exactly the way I’d thought they would, when they saw me on their front porch. My mom nearly had a heart attack when she saw my bump, and my dad had immediately fetched his shotgun, ready to shoot “that little punk who got you pregnant and broke your heart.”
Despite his semi-hostile behavior, my dad was a sweetheart and I knew that he always had my back. His intentions were always good, but his method of execution needed some work.
It had taken me two whole hours to explain the entire situation to them. My dad kept reaching for his shotgun every time I mentioned Isaac’s name.
“That boy’s always been trouble,” he muttered.
“Oh, hush. You always liked him. He was a good friend to Garrett,” Mum reminded him.
“And to me, Daddy,” I added.
He constantly grumbled, but ultimately, both of them kind of understood my reasons for doing what I’d done. In the end, they weren’t upset with me, or Isaac. They just wished that had I told them sooner, and I apologized for that. This was a big shock to them, so their reactions were justified.
As I sat on the balcony, I s
tared at my bump and placed my hands on it. I didn’t know what to tell the babies, and I couldn’t think of a single good thing to say about Isaac. I didn’t need the twins to hear about Isaac’s horrible behavior. I couldn’t believe that he’d lied to me, slept with me despite being engaged to someone else, told me repeatedly that I mattered to him and he cared about me.
All the lies were really hurtful. I wiped a tear and drew in a deep breath. “We’re going to be okay. I promise,” I said softly and stared out the backyard, deep in thought.
Suddenly, I heard a car approaching the driveway and I frowned. I wasn’t expecting my parents to be back home so early. Knowing my mom, she would have probably insisted on leaving early to make sure that I wasn’t alone in the house for too long.
So, I stood up and headed inside because I didn’t want my parents to see me sitting on the edge, especially when I was pregnant. They never liked me sitting here, especially not at night.
As I made my way downstairs, I heard their car door open and slam shut. Rushed footsteps hurried up the driveway and I walked to the front door to open it.
My eyes widened as I saw Isaac running toward the front door.
“Greta!”
I clenched my jaw and reached for the handle to slam the door shut.
“Wait, please!” he called out.
“Why?”
“I need to explain.”
I pursed my lips, stepped out to the porch and crossed my arms. “Then, explain.”
“Can we talk about this inside?”
“If you want to get shot by my dad’s shotgun, sure,” I said. “Be my guest.”
He hesitated, as he knew my father and what he can be capable of. So, Isaac stayed exactly where he was, on the front lawn.
“How did you find me?” I asked, but I already knew the answer. “Garrett, of course.”
“He didn’t want to tell me at first.”
“I asked him not to because I knew you’d come here and tell me some sob story to get me to go back to San Francisco with you. But you’re wasting your time. I am not falling for your lies anymore, Isaac. Why don’t you just get back into your car, go home to San Francisco – to your fiancé – and leave me the hell alone!”
Twins for Brother's Best Friend Page 20