BAILEE SEVEN AND A HALF YEARS AGO (Seventeen Years Old)“You look beautiful!” My mother said as she looked over my shoulder to my reflection. I couldn’t remember the last time that we had ever spent so much time together. Yet, with each strand of my hair that she curled and pinned up, I felt my
BAILEE SEVEN AND A HALF YEARS AGO (Seventeen Years Old)My feet were aching as I stared down the main driveway leading to the resort. I figured if Alex were getting the limo, he would probably use the parking lot instead of my parent’s hidden driveway. Yet, there was no sign of him being there wai
BAILEE I was done. Absolutely and completely done. “Bailee,” My mother called after me, but I ignored her as I carried Brinley to my room to grab the bags I had already packed this morning. “Bailee, wait!” “What?” I snapped, making Brinley jump. I immediately pulled her closer and whispered an a
ALEXANDER It was evident that Bailee had never flown on a private jet before, and I enjoyed seeing her awe as she boarded. She had walked down the aisle and looked at everything, including the bedroom in the back, before returning to the seats with red cheeks. We had a slight delay as we had to g
ALEXANDER Bailee turned to Brinley, holding her hand and talking to her softly to keep her calm as we ascended. Once we were level, miles above the ground, and Brinley was distracted by her movie, Bailee finally turned back to me. “I didn’t just go to your house looking for you, Alex. I went t
BAILEE Alex didn’t have a car seat in his car. While he could afford someone to bring him one, he also seemed to understand my need for space after such an emotionally exhausting day. I was heartbroken over my parents, torn between a father who didn’t want to lose his daughter and a mother who se
BAILEE“Ow! Keep your hands off of me!” I exclaimed but instinctively grabbed the paper before it could fall. I glanced up at him every two seconds as I scanned the paper, refusing to let him get one up on me. It was a printout of an article titled ‘Is Alexander Kingston the biological father of
ALEXANDER “What took you so long?” I asked as I opened my front door to see Ben standing there. “I had to talk to my parents before I could leave.” Always the parent and never the child. Ben had cared for his parents for as long as I had known him. They didn’t realize it, but without him acting
EPILOGUE “Go, go, go!” Sebastian screamed from next to me, standing and leaning over the person in front of him as if Ben could hear him over the crowd and the glass. Then again, with how loud the man was, he just might. I had only known Bash in passing from when I worked for Ben as his assista
HAVEN ONE MONTH LATER My eyes kept moving from the woman before me to the clock on the wall behind her. I wanted to be here, but I had more important places to be. She had run over with her last client, which made us run over and caused me to be late for an important game. Ben had been stressin
BEN Haven was empty for the next few weeks as she flew back and forth, cleaning out the house her ex-husband had left her. It had been Cynthia’s home, too, and Haven had been taking extra care and devotion to ensuring things were handled and gone through properly. I had gone with her a few times,
HAVEN Her hand was cold, and I adjusted her blanket to cover her arm. The lawyers had come in and refused to admit any fault of the hospital, even though Cynthia had her ID on her and even knew one of the paramedics who brought her in for them to have given the hospital her name. They should ha
HAVEN Sitting in the airport in the middle of the night with a toddler who got angry each time the loudspeaker called for another flight and disturbed her sleep was not what I had been prepared for. My mind was a foggy mess. All I could picture was Cynthia falling down the stairs. How long had sh
BEN Being excited about an ex getting involved in my life might not have been the best thing when things were already tense, but fuck did it feel good to know I did indeed have friends in high places and they were watching my back. Was I still expecting them to hold it over me and try to get me t
BEN It was odd pulling up to the house and finding there wasn’t a single paparazzi in sight. After today’s news, I expected them to be ready to break down my gate for a story, but no one was there. Instead, a blacked-out SUV sat across the street, and my stomach twisted when I realized it was pro
HAVEN I needed to get out of the house. Staying inside was driving me crazy, and I couldn’t take it anymore. My last job interview was a week ago, and while I keep applying, no one wants to hire the woman all over the tabloids with a sex tape. Our PR team managed to get it taken down, but it stil
BEN “Rangers player Benjamin Evans is today’s hot topic. Now fans were petitioning for him to be traded for his performance last season. Even I wanted him gone, and I’ve followed his career since he was being scouted.” The reporters around him laughed, and I gritted my jaw. “I know. I remember hi