by Jillian Dodd
Contents
Title Page
Copyright page
Saturday, October 11th
Sunday, October 12th
Books by Jillian
HOLLYWOOD LOVE
Book #8
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JILLIAN DODD
Copyright © 2014-2017 by Jillian Dodd
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Jillian Dodd Inc.
N. Redington Beach, FL
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Saturday, October 11th
Eastbrooke Academy - Connecticut
ARIELA
I suppose it’s sort of fitting that as I pull through Eastbrooke’s gates my dad calls me.
“Hi, Dad,” I say into my phone.
“Ariela! Collin just told me what you’re planning to do. I won’t stand for it. You need to come home now and make this right. I can’t even believe you would threaten both our livelihoods.”
“I threatened Collin, Dad, because he threatened me. Not only does he cheat on me, but he tries to control me. I used to let him, but I’m not anymore. That goes for you too. And there’s nothing either one of you can do about it.”
“I’ll side with Collin. Run your name through the mud. Disown you. You’ll come out of your marriage with nothing.”
“I don’t care, Dad. I don’t want anything from either one of you. I just want a divorce.”
“Collin will be contesting the divorce, Ariela. If freedom is what you want, know it’s the one thing you will never get.”
“The hell you will,” I hear my mother say loudly. “You will not take Collin’s side on this.”
I about drop the phone. I’ve never heard my mother raise her voice to my father.
“What the hell do you know?” my dad says to her. “It’s not like you can do anything about it.”
“Actually, I can. Ariela, dear, I’m putting you on speaker. I want you to hear this.”
“Uh, okay . . .”
“I know you are probably too busy chasing skirts to pay much attention to the business,” Mom says to my dad. “Luckily, I have been. And here’s what I know. For years, your accountant has been signing portions of the business over to me for tax purposes.”
“I’m fully aware of that,” my dad says flatly. “Don’t pretend like you know anything about my business.”
“Oh, but I do. Because just last month, you signed over more.”
“Yes, I know.”
“I now own fifty-four percent.”
“So?”
“So?” I hear papers slap his desk. “I’m divorcing you.”
“You what? We have an agreement.”
“Yes, but it’s just a verbal one. I’m afraid those things don’t stand up in court. I lied to you, darling. I’ve been lying through my teeth and looking the other way until I had control of your company. Just like you’ve lied to me about all the other women. Today is a happy day. Now, I need to get going soon. Going to meet a friend for a celebratory glass of champagne, but here’s the deal. As long as neither you nor Collin contest your divorces then I won’t fire either one of you. If you do, poof, you’re gone. And Ariela, dear, I’ve heard that a lot of mothers and daughters are getting matching tattoos these days. I think we should get one after we get our matching divorces. And if you need anything, money, to talk, please call me.”
“You can’t do that!” my dad says angrily. I hear his chair push across the floor. “I’ll fucking kill you first.”
“Oh, dear. You shouldn’t have said that. The police are waiting outside to escort you out of my house.”
“Your house? This is our house.”
“I’m afraid not. I also found out recently that the house has been in my name for the last seventeen years. You transferred it to me when the market tanked and you were worried you might lose your business. Apparently, you never bothered to transfer it back. You can pack up a few things while the nice policeman watches and then you will be escorted out. Have a nice life.”
I hear a door slam and deep voice say, “Sir, you need to do as she asks.”
Then click.
“Holy shit,” I say to myself as I park.
My phone rings, this time it’s my mom’s cell phone.
“Mom! Holy hell! I can’t believe you just did that. I’m so proud of you!”
“It’s been a long time coming, Ariela. And I’m proud of me too. Where are you?”
“Believe it or not, I’m at Eastbrooke. It’s Homecoming weekend.”
“Are you there with Riley?”
“No. It’s a long story, Mom.”
“Tell me. Tell me everything that’s happened since you left.”
So I do. All of it.
“I think it’s smart that you’re there,” she says. “You need to put the past behind you. It’s been ten years. Even if you feel the same way about him, you’re not the same girl you used to be.”
“I still feel like that girl when I’m with him.”
“Good luck, Ariela. I hope you work it out. And good luck with the event next week. I’m sure it will be amazing. If you’re up for it, I’d like to visit you sometime.”
“I’d like that too, Mom. Thanks for everything.”
I get out of the car and walk down the sidewalk leading to the Student Center.
It’s weird being back here.
As I walk by Hawthorne House, Riley’s dorm, I stop to touch a big red poster board megaphone that’s covered with glitter and has the number twelve on it. Riley’s number.
I remember how proud I was to wear his jersey before the big game. How it hung over my cheerleading skirt. How he said it was so sexy because it looked like it was all I had on.
Part of me wants to stop remembering. The memories both make me happy and make me hurt.
That’s what I came here for, right? To see it all again. To let myself remember all the things I’ve been trying so hard to forget.
I wander down to the lacrosse field, knowing it’s where I would end up.
Riley and I had come here together so many nights.
But one night, I came here alone.
I had just gotten back from a weekend at home.
My dad called me into his study, which was a shrine to the school we’d both worked so hard our
whole lives to get me into.
He takes a photo off a shelf and hands it to me. “Do you remember the first time we visited?”
I study the photo. I’m decked out in Tiger gear and waving a pompom. “It was the first college football game I had ever been to.”
“You were nine,” my dad says. “We watched Princeton play Brown. I walked you around the campus and told you about my dream for you. Your mom and I didn’t have much money when you were young, but we always put money into your college fund. And in a few weeks, you’ll graduate Eastbrooke and then this fall you’ll be there. Part of me can’t believe it. This picture seems like it was yesterday.”
“Um, Dad, I know you don’t want to hear it, but I want to go to USC with Riley. It’s a really good school too.”
“Ariela, I told you before, you’re not going to California. You need to get that ridiculous notion out of your head.”
A few months ago, I told my dad that I wanted to go to USC instead. He told me he wouldn’t pay for anywhere but Princeton. When I got back to school and told Riley about it, he was pissed to learn that I had accepted to both USC and Princeton. He yelled at me and sped off in his car. But later, he showed up at my dorm and apologized. He shocked me when he got down on one knee and said Ariela, will you marry me, go to California with me, and love me forever? I said yes and in a few weeks, I’ll be on the beach saying I do.
My dad takes the photo out of my hand and sits down next to me. “Are you really serious about not going to Princeton?” he asks.
“Yes, Dad. I’m sorry.”
“Ariela, I know you think you love this boy now, but he’s not worth ruining your future for. You have your whole life ahead of you. Princeton wasn’t just my dream, it’s been your goal. How many hours have you studied to maintain your grades just so you could get into Princeton?”
“A lot. I study a lot. But I love Riley.”
“Riley is a boy. He can’t take care of you. And if he promises you otherwise, he’s lying to you.”
“He has money. He said if you wouldn’t pay for my college, he would.”
“And what happens when you break up?”
“We’re not going to break up.”
My dad stares at me for a few seconds. Then he gets up and pulls a book off his shelf. “This is my high school yearbook.” He opens it and starts pointing. “This is my high school girlfriend. We dated for three years. That’s an eternity in high school relationships. We were voted most likely to get married. Best couple. We were prom king and queen. We broke up three months after graduation. Once high school was over, we had nothing in common anymore. No games or dances to go to. Our friends were off at different colleges. And our relationship died. And these two are Kelly and David, high school sweethearts who got married two weeks after graduation. They divorced a year later. And Patty and Bob. Couldn’t keep their hands off each other. Broke up a week after graduation. My point is, high school relationships are like high school. They teach you about life and love. You’re moving on to bigger and better things at Princeton. You’ll meet the man of your dreams there. You’ll go back there for Homecoming, not to Eastbrooke. Eastbrooke is just the stepping stone to the rest of your life. And so is Riley.”
“No, he’s not, Dad! He loves me and we’re going to get married next week! I’m going to California. I’m eighteen. I’m an adult. And you can’t stop me!”
“Getting married?” my dad says, sitting back in his chair, looking defeated. I’m sure my growing up is hard for him. I’ve always been such a Daddy’s girl.
My dad rubs his hands down his face then looks at me and speaks in a very deep and serious tone. “You’re right, Ariela. You are an adult. And you can choose whatever you want to do. But know your choices come with consequences. If you go to California, I know exactly what will happen. I know what boys like Riley are like. They’ve had life handed to them on a silver platter. They’ve never had to work a day in their life for anything. And when he gets to California, it’s going to be full of beautiful women. Temptation. A boy like Riley is used to getting what he wants. And he’ll take anything offered to him. And then, when he gets sick of you or moves on to the next thing, you’ll be alone. You’ll be broke and alone. And if that happens, don’t come to me. It pains me more than anything to say this, because I’ve loved you your whole life. Your whole life, I’ve had nothing but your best interests in my heart. But if you make that choice, I’ll disown you. Because I know in my heart that California is wrong for you. That you shouldn’t give up your dream for a boy. And I’m so sure of my conviction, I’m willing to risk my relationship with my daughter, who I love more than life itself, on it. So, adult Ariela, it’s up to you. Riley or your family.”
He takes another picture down and sets it in my lap. Tears fill his eyes. I’ve never seen my dad cry before, and I realize how deeply I’m hurting him.
I look at the photo. I’m about four, wearing a princess costume, and I’m snuggled into my dad’s arms asleep. You can see the love written all over my dad’s face.
I sat here and pondered my life. My relationship with Riley. My future. I knew in my heart my dad only wanted the best for me. I knew in my soul that Riley loved me.
How do you choose between the man you’ve loved forever, your hero, your daddy, and the boy you’re madly in love with?
I couldn’t decide.
And it tore me apart.
I would come down here by myself just to cry.
And as the days to graduation ticked closer, the more sick I felt.
I wanted to tell Riley about my dilemma, but I couldn’t bear to say the words. I couldn't admit to him that it was a difficult decision.
Just the thought of leaving him brought me to tears. I couldn't sleep, couldn't eat, couldn't study.
I’d look at my notebook, where I’d doodled Mrs. Riley Johnson across the top and start crying.
Riley consumed me. I’d never been in love like that before. Never loved someone so much. Never felt so much happiness. And, in my inexperience, I didn't understand that a love like that isn't replaceable. That if I left him, I'd never truly be happy again. Of course, I hoped he’d read my note and understand why I had to go to Princeton. But he never got my note. And I didn’t realize it until it was too late.
If there’s one moment in my life I wish I could take back and do over, it’s the moment I told him I was going to Princeton.
I tried to forget Riley.
I tried to move on, but spent most of my summer in tears.
If it weren't for Collin, I don't know that I would have made it. He was there. Told me everything I needed to hear and made me believe I did the right thing.
But I'd still cry myself to sleep. The ache in my heart so deep.
About six months later, I looked up Riley’s profile. His cover photo was all of them on the beach. Aiden and Keatyn, Brooklyn and his girlfriend, Maggie and Logan, Dallas and RiAnne, and Riley with his arm wrapped around a gorgeous blonde in a skimpy bikini. His profile picture was him under the Hollywood sign, wearing sunglasses and holding his arms out wide—like he had made it. He looked happy. He was fine without me. I started to wonder if my dad was right. If we wouldn’t have lasted anyway.
The next day I told Collin we could make it official. I would be his girlfriend.
But then when my wedding came . . .
“Ariela? Is that you?” I hear Riley’s voice.
“What are you doing here?”
“What are you doing here?” he asks me.
“I’m remembering, Riley.”
“Me too,” he says somberly. “I’m sorry.”
“You're sorry?”
“Yeah. Looking back, there are a lot of things I should have done differently. I shouldn't have expected you to give up your dream of going to Princeton. I shouldn't have assumed you could just ditch your family —go against their wishes—to come with me. I was cocky and selfish. But god, Ariela, I loved you. All I could think about was being with you. Always.
I thought we'd get married and live happily ever after. It all caught me so off guard. If you would've just talked to me.”
“I tried.”
“That’s the thing, Ariela. I don’t remember you trying. Did I just not want to hear it? Did I dismiss it?”
“No, I couldn’t do it. Couldn't even bring myself to say it.”
“I knew something was bothering you. I asked you if you were okay. You weren't eating.”
“I was a wreck inside. I was overwhelmed.”
“And I thought I had everything figured out.”
I smile at him and chuckle. “You've never lacked for confidence, Riley.”
“I didn’t tell you the complete truth before when you asked why I’m here. I’m not just remembering, Ariela. I think I'm healing.”
“You are? How? I thought I'd come here and get closure, but I'm not. It's not closing anything. It’s like it’s opening me back up. My heart. My mistakes. It all feels so fresh here.”
“And painful,” he says.
“Yes.”
He opens his arms and I fall into them.
He holds me close and whispers, “How long have you been here?”
“About an hour.”
“Where else have you been?”
“Just here, Riley. This is the first place I came. It’s where we'd dream. Remember how we’d lay on a blanket, look at the stars, and plan our future? The future I ruined.”
“I got here last night. The first place I went was the spot under the tree outside the auditorium.”
Tears fill my eyes. “Oh, Riley.”
“Yeah. But then we went to the game. And there was this cheerleader who had the number twelve on her face. And then, I don't know, something changed. I started remembering all the fun we had. Not just you and me, but all of us. At Stockton’s. At lunch. At The Cave. Dances. I had turned off all the good memories because they were too painful. But here, I was overloaded with them. Everywhere I turned, a memory. And tonight I realized something. It wasn't just your fault. So I’m letting it all go. I forgive you, Ariela.”
