I don’t understand it - why can’t I get regular morning sickness like a normal woman? Instead, I’m forced to humiliate myself in front of Chase’s friends again. And what must Chase think? These meals with his friends are one of the few times we’ve been able to spend time together.
Since we returned to New York two weeks ago, Chase has locked himself in his office until the early hours, only coming out to wake me in the middle of the night and make sweet passionate love to me. Other than, our time together was exclusive to these dinners with his friends, and they were always so ecstatic to see him.
But their looks changed whenever they saw me.
Half of the time, part of me is grateful for the timeliness of my sickness. Anything to leave that table and retreat to the protection of the cubicle. Or in this case, the gutter. This wasn’t the first time, and I knew it wouldn’t be the last.
Chase had warned me about his friends but I didn’t believe him. Worse, I pressured him into setting up these dinners so I could prove to him how indispensable I am as his wife, to show him how much I’ve learned, by wooing the people who are un-wooable.
But all they’ve done is made me feel uncomfortable. All I want is Chase and for us to stay at home in his penthouse, and talk and laugh and make love. Where I could fuss inside the nursery, getting the cot ready and painting the walls whilst I sing to my child.
It’s yet another stupid decision I’ve made that’s come back to haunt me.
I should be used to it by now.
At least things can’t get much worse.
“Don’t worry about Miss Piggy, Chase’ll be done with the fat mess soon enough,” says a faint voice.
The whiff of tobacco rolls my stomach, but I fight it, forcing myself to look up.
Only a few feet away, Cordelia and Delilah are smoking, no idea how near I am.
“When’s Mercedes going to drop the bomb?” asks Cordelia.
“Soon as possible, I hope,” says Delilah. “That stupid porky bitch thinks she’s got Chase wrapped up tight with that little oinker in her belly. Probably isn’t even his, she’s got the look of a slut. See the way she dresses?”
“I know, fucking tragic. Probably thinks she’s flaunting her curves. Hah. Curves. Deluded money grubbing whore.”
My heart races - maybe I should make myself known. If they knew I was here, there’s no way they would say such disgusting things.
Or would they? Maybe they’re saying it on purpose because that’s how much they hate me.
Tears well in my eyes.
I feel like I want to die.
The heartache is too much. No, I want to crawl up into a ball and be left alone, but still they continue their horrible words.
“Good fucking riddance, I say. See how much she shovelled down her snout at brunch two days ago? Eating for two? She’s eating for fucking five.”
Cordelia drops her cigarette to the floor and stubs it with her high heel. “Come on,” she say, “let’s get back inside before she does. I don’t want to have to fight for the buffet.”
Delilah lets out a ghoulish cackle and the two of them retreat from view.
They hate me. They actually hate me. The passive aggressive remarks were one thing, but I had no idea that this is how they felt. God, how I long for the days of snide words.
I start crying again. I try to stop myself, but then I realise I don’t care. I don’t care at all - I’m alone in this world. I thought I could be the perfect wife to Chase but I was so very wrong. He doesn’t need me. He doesn’t even want me - not truly - not like I want and need him. I’m just an anchor weighing him down.
A fat stupid anchor.
I’ve never felt so alone.
Hush little baby, don’t say a word, mommas gonna buy you a mocking bird.
I lift my head at the sweet tender voice, but I see no one. Then, I realise the song is coming from my own mouth.
And if that mocking bird don’t sing, mommas gonna buy you a diamond ring.
Mom, I miss you so much. I need you now. Please, protect me, shield me. Please, I beg of you.
A tear trickles down my cheek.
There’s no protection coming, no shield. I’m alone.
“Miss, are you quite alright?” says a man’s voice.
“I’m fine,” I say, not even looking up.
“If you say so, but when someone says “I’m fine” through brutal sobs, it’s hard to actually believe them.”
“Please, just leave me be.”
“I can’t do that,” says the man. “Maybe it’s the way I was brought up, but when I see a pregnant lady crying in the street, I feel the need to offer assistance.”
“Thank you, but I don’t want to talk.”
“Perhaps you could sing instead?”
I glance up and see the man for the first time. He’s tall and handsome, maybe forty years of age with sprinkles of white in his otherwise black hair.
“Sing?”
“It’s why I came over. I was just over there by the valet, when I heard your voice. And I must say, it was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever heard.”
“I don’t believe this - are you trying to pick me up? I’m pregnant.”
“I noticed,” he says, “and no, I wasn’t trying to pick you up.”
“Then what?”
“I just happen to think you have a beautiful voice. Tell me, do you have representation?”
“You mean, like an agent?”
“Yes, and no. Perhaps I should introduce myself - my name’s Sidney Remington. I’m the CEO of Boomstick Pictures.”
“The movie studio?” I ask, heart racing.
“Yes. We’re expanding into the music industry, and we’re looking for new talent. Now, I can’t make any promises, but your voice is exactly what I’m after.”
I feel giddy, but not the bad giddy this time - the good light headed oh-wow-is-this-really-happening giddy.
He stretches his hand down and I grab it. He pulls me up with the grace of a Prince.
Blood rushes to my head, and the world dims. I sway back and forth, but Sidney catches me in his strong older arms.
“Easy, there,” he says, pulling me into an embrace. He holds me close, and I smell the warm oak musk of his aftershave. “You alright?”
A moment passes as I catch my breath. “Thank you,” I say, his arm still wrapped around me and keeping me steady.
“What the hell is this?” says a voice, and I turn.
Chase marches towards us, fury in his eyes.
I break from Sidney’s embrace.
“Nothing untoward, old chum,” says Sidney. “You’re other half here was just feeling a bit under the weather.”
“And I’m sure you were just trying to help,” says Chase with a hint of venom.
“It really was nothing, Chase,” I say.
He glares at me.
“I should be off,” says Sidney. “Nice meeting you. Think about what we discussed.” He hands me his business card and leaves.
“Chase, I was sick.”
“He’s the one who’s sick. Do you know who he is?”
“He told me he’s the CEO of Boomstick Pictures and they’re-“
“Trying to destroy me,” snaps Chase. “Along with that bastard Duncan Callaghan. Remington thinks he can enter my industry and push me out along with it. But he has no idea what it’s like - he’ll fail as soon as he tries. The man wouldn’t know good talent if it bit him in the ass.”
“He offered to represent me,” I say coldly.
Chase is silent for a moment. “I didn’t mean-“
“I know exactly what you meant.”
“Damn it, Melody, don’t you see? He wasn’t trying to help you - he was trying to bury me. That’s what they all do in this world - it’s full of hate filled kill or be killed types. And I refuse to be the killed.”
“It’s nice to know you think so highly of me.”
“I do, and that’s why I offer you the truth. This is the way th
e world works.”
“You’re just jealous.”
“Of that old man? Please.”
“I saw the look in your eyes. The fury that someone else could have something of your own.”
Chase grabs me and pushes me against the cold brickwork. “Is that what you want?” he asks. His hands trail up my hair and a burning want bellows deep inside me. “Is this?” He kisses my neck, and my skin prickles. I let out a low moan, the heat of his breath billowing in the air and pressing against me.
“And this?” His powerful hand runs down my side and to my thigh, and then disappears under my dress.
“Chase?” I whisper through muted breath.
His fingers curl around the elastic of my panties and he rolls them down my thighs. The cool air brushes against my sex and I jolt.
“You think another man can offer you this?”
His fingers tips trace my tender mound and a thrill rushes through me. His lips are on my own, biting and smothering, wet and warm. “Or this?”
His finger enters me, and I buck in response.
The pleasure is immense. I writhe on top of him, at the mercy of his touch.
I bring his head up and open my eyes, staring deeply into his fathomless ovals.
Wordlessly, my hands undo his fly, my eyes never leaving his piercing gaze. His length springs forth and I guide it into myself.
A wave of ecstasy grips me, my legs wrapped around his waist, as he pushes into me, deeper and deeper.
I yelp with every thrust, his hard muscular chest forcing me against the wall, making me his own. His fingers grip my hair and pull my head back, exposing my neck again to his soft lips.
He kisses and licks, his hands all over, and I’m powerless to resist, wave after wave building and building, threatening to crash and explode and empty me.
I want him. I need him. He’s everything to me. My world and my love and my pure desire.
I hear voices, but I don’t care. This moment is all that matters, nothing else. The feeling of him inside me. I can’t control myself.
My body bucks and writhes as the wave crashes on the shore, and I’m alight with pleasure. The thrill rushes through me and takes every inch of me, from my chest out into my legs and into my arms and feet and head and toes and fingers and hair.
He thrusts with one last full-bodied force and I feel his seed fill me.
Hearts racing, and breath quick and fast, he holds me. His hands caress my cheek with a sense of something I can’t quite place - something new.
“If a recording contract is what you want,” he says through heavy breaths, “then I want to be the one who gives it to you.”
My ears prick, sure they’ve been deceived. “Chase, what are you saying?”
“I want to sign you to Harmony Records. I want to make your dreams come true.”
“Oh Chase,” I say. “Thank you, thank you.” A gigantic smile breaks out on my lips. I can’t help it - I’m so happy. “You have no idea what this means to me.”
“I have some idea,” he says, and smiles back. “Melody, you and the baby, you mean so much to me.”
“I know Chase. I know.”
“Good. Because after tomorrow night, so will the rest of the world.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Chase
“Hurry up, Melody, or we’re going to be late.” I tap my fingers against the bannister. “How will it look if we’re not on time for your own signing party?”
“I’ll only be a minute,” says Melody, her disembodied voice drifting down the stairs.
“We don’t have a minute.”
“Look, I’ve never worn a dress like this before. It’s so exquisite. But the straps, I’m having trouble.”
“I could always come up there and offer some assistance.”
“Do that and we’ll never get there,” she calls down in a playful tone.
And she’s right. The worst thing to do now is get us in a position were she has the chance of being naked.
After Melody agreed to let me sign her to Harmony Records, I knew the most important thing to do was shout it to the world, and a party at the Wiltshire Ballrooms seemed the most apt location. There was the red carpet, access for reporters and a gigantic ballroom to host the biggest players in the business. After tonight, Melody would be a star. And she would be the one on my arm once again.
“You know, I don’t understand such fuss over a dress,” I say. “A dress is a dress. When you drink a fine wine, one doesn’t comment on the glass-.”
Melody appears at the top of the stairs and I shut up instantly.
She’s dressed in a beautiful scarlet ball gown that flows like water from her porcelain shoulders, all the way to the floor.
“Well,” she says. “How do I look?”
I pick up my jaw. “Like a princess.”
Her face lights up and I’m touched deep into my soul. There’s so much about such a visage that causes my heart to skip a beat; how the dress hugs her curves, her buxom breasts that threaten to spill out over the top, the way her skin glistens from the back begging me to kiss every inch. But all I can notice is the bump. There is nothing out there more beautiful and more mesmerising than the woman who caries your child.
She steps down the stairs and I take her hand.
“Come,” I say. “Time for us to make an entrance.”
The limo ride is deathly quiet. I look to Melody and she gives me a nervous smile. I take her hand and squeeze it in my own, but I can feel her shaking.
It’s hardly surprising - this is her own party. Her dream is finally coming true - how could someone not be frightened at a time like this? Especially my sweet Melody. She’s never been good with crowds, and after how my friends treated her, I’m not surprised.
I was livid when she told me. She begged me to not take revenge, but I could not stand back and listen to those bitches speak such vile things about the mother of my child. She is so much better than them. They do not deserve the mercy of such a kind woman.
Lucky for her, I lack such a sense of mercy, so I made a call to the Attorney General and let slip how Cedric and Archibald had been less than honest on their tax returns. They would be ruined within the week. Maybe next time they’ll keep their dogs on their leashes.
I squeeze Melody’s hand. “Don’t be frightened.”
“I’m not.”
“The press will be there.”
“I know.”
“And the shareholders. Other artists on my label, as well.”
“Chase...”
“I know these things make you nervous, but-“
“They’re necessary,” she says with a smile. “This isn’t my first rodeo. Smile, pose, greet, laugh, impress. That’s how things work in this world.”
I nod, making no attempt to hide how impressed I am. “It’s one thing to say these things, it’s another to do them.”
She leans in and gives me a kiss on the cheek. “I won’t let you down.”
“You never could.”
The limo breezes to a stop and the muffled voices of the press fill the air. I swing open the door and my vision is blanketed with the white sheet of flashbulbs.
Chase! Chase!
Mr. Strong!
Over here!
Chase!
I step out, and give my hand to Melody. She takes it like a princess and steps out on to the curb, and any worry I had about her instantly disappears.
She smiles and nods and even gives a curtsy. She’s calm, giving a regal wave to the press.
Melody! Over here!
How do you feel?
Mrs. Strong! This way!
Why singing? Why now?
Melody! Melody!
Her face beams in the adoration, and my heart melts. She’s come so far. This is not the scared little clerk I found hiding in my office all those months ago - this is Melody Strong. My wife. Mother of my child. A strong vibrant woman. And she’s so alive.
I take her hand and lead her across the red
carpet, all the way into the ballroom entrance. We stop at the top of the stairs as she stares blissfully at the crowd below. A silence descends as one by one, they notice us. Then, as if by magic, the air is filled with the thick thunderous sound of applause.
We drink it in, the moment washing over us, before walking arm in arm into the crowd.
Melody greets the guests, and with each other she curries their attention and love as if they’re under a spell. She laughs at the Mayor’s bawdy jokes, captivates the shareholders with a glance and a smile, and is lost in effortless and open conversation with the talent. She even gives heart felt and honest gratitude to the waiting staff, and chats with the bartender about his wife.
Everyone loves her.
And it fills me with such pride and admiration, and... something else. Something new - or maybe something old. Something I haven’t felt in so long. Something that threatens to tear me up inside.
“Melody?! Oh my God. Congratulations!”
Melody’s friends Liz and Richard approach us, champagne flutes in hand.
“What are you doing here?” asks Melody, taking Liz into a warm embrace.
“I invited them,” I say. “How can your dreams come true without being surrounded by the people you love?”
Melody looks like she’s about to cry. “I know I’ve said this a lot, hell, I’ve said nothing else, but thank you, Chase. Thank you so much. I know they’re only words, but I don’t know what else I can do to repay you.”
I touch the curve of her smiling lips. “This is all I want.”
“You’ve got a good one there, Mel,” says Liz. “Richard, why don’t you throw me lavish parties with society’s elite?”
“I think that’s my cue to get another drink,” jokes Richard. “Congratulations, Melody. I’m glad everything has worked out for you.”
Richard wanders towards the bar, leaving Liz alone with us.
“How are things with you two,” asks Melody.
“They’re really good. Great, actually. I mean, we haven’t been together long, but I really like him. And he really likes me. And I know life can throw a curve ball from time to time, but-,” Liz pauses for a moment, and stares at the both of us. “Seeing the two of you, it makes me know that sometimes, shit just works out, you know?”
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