by C. M. Owens
She doesn’t get it. “You’re one to talk. You’re currently dating guys that you have zero interest in just to try and change yourself. Who’s fighting themselves here?”
She rolls her eyes. “I’m breaking bad habits. Wren isn’t a bad habit for you. You have no idea how much I envy you right now. It’s a damn good thing I love you so much, because I’d be all over him and trying to steal him away otherwise.”
I laugh, and she nudges me with her shoulder, grinning. She can tease all she wants, but she’d never touch Wren even if he was single. He’s Angel’s father. That marks him off-limits, and no one is more loyal than she is.
“Allie!” Jillian calls, running toward me. She’s a scrub tech like me, but we never really talk.
“Yeah?” I ask, confused as to why she’s literally running and out of breath.
She stops in front of me, trying to catch her breath. “I didn’t think you’d be here. Why didn’t you say Wren Prize was your daughter’s father? And what the hell are you doing? He’s an amazing guy! How can you be so vindictive as to keep his child away?!”
What the—
“Back the fuck up!” Bella barks at her. “You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
Jillian scowls at her. “Wren Prize has donated money to this hospital, paying for surgeries for children whose parents couldn’t afford it. He has been a part of so many charities that I can’t even count. He’s not someone you try and take advantage of.” Her eyes cut back toward me. “Shame on you!”
Shame on me? What is this—fifth grade?
“I haven’t ever taken advantage of Wren,” I say, more confused than offended. I think I’m more shocked than anything at all.
“I hope he takes custody of your little girl, because you sure as hell don’t deserve to be a moth—”
Her words are cut off, and my hand is falling down before I even realize what I’ve done. I just slapped her. Holy shit.
My hand burns from where my palm connected with her cheek, and her wide, furious eyes meet mine as she holds the affected area with her hand.
“Slut!”
Bella bursts out laughing. “That insult would be more suited for me than her. Damn, Jill, red’s a good color on you. Need a matching hue for the other cheek? I’ll help you out.”
She stumbles backwards, probably afraid Bella really is about to slap her. Bella wouldn’t slap—she’d punch. I’m wishing I’d punched her right now.
“What the hell was that about?” Bella asks as Jill storms off, spewing more immature insults over her shoulder. I’ve landed back in elementary school.
“Hell if I know,” I grumble, wincing when my hand throbs. I might not have punched her, but I sure as hell slapped the fuck out of her. My hand looks blistered.
“Allie!”
I look up to see Lisa, my boss, has just called my name. My body tenses when I see the fury in her face. I’m pretty sure they don’t allow employees to just go around hitting each other.
“Yes, Lisa?”
“Human Resources would like a word with you.”
Fuck.
***
ALLIE
WREN PRIZE CONNED
By Hershel Monstrel
Everyone knows the golden boy we call Wren Prize. He’s a pillar of the community, has a heart of gold, and always looks out for the little man. But who looks out for him? Apparently the answer to that is no one.
It’s painful to write this story, to know how easy it is for someone as loving, kind, and gentle as Prize is to be conned. But according to various sources, it appears that the richer you are, the bigger target you become.
Seven years ago, Wren Prize was vacationing in Cancun, letting off steam like young men do, when he was approached by a woman who took advantage of him in his drunken state. Prize was seduced, led to a bed, and then allowed to leave. However, he never saw the girl again.
Most people would speculate that the girl just wanted a good time. Prize assumed the same thing—until she showed up seven years later with a daughter, claiming it was his.
She moved to Sterling Shore and stalked him for a while—months, actually, according to sources. She finally approached him in a supermarket where she told him that he had a daughter. That’s when it all began—seven months ago.
He was married at the time, and everyone knew they had been together for ages. Their wedding was a love story of its own, and everyone flocked to witness it. But Allie Thrash showed up and turned his life upside down.
Her claim was that she couldn’t remember his last name, yet she happened to stumble upon a news article that held a picture of him. She happened to know someone in town to move in with. And she happened to bump into him at the supermarket that day. I’ve never heard such lunacy, and sadly, Thrash has actually managed to interject herself into Prize’s life using this tale.
“Wren was always happy with me. We’ve always loved each other. Everyone knows how long we were together. It’s heartbreaking to see him falling apart the way he is,” Erica Prize stated in an interview. “I refuse to change my name. I love him, and I’m not done holding out hope that he’ll find a way out of this mess. He’d be there for me if the tables were turned. I’m just hoping we can get it sorted out soon. He misses me so much, and if we could be together, we would. You’re right to refer to our love as a fairytale, because that’s how it’s always felt.”
In order for Prize to be a part of his daughter’s life, he had to give up Erica. According to the family source, Thrash is very jealous and doesn’t want other women around her daughter. She only offered him hours at a time to visit his alleged daughter, and Prize was afraid to spook her into running away with the little girl, so he complied.
No paternity tests were allowed. Prize had to take her word that the young child was his. And according to our source, everyone in his family has warned him that she’s conning him. The child might not even be his. But Prize refuses to hear reason.
“To be fair, he always wanted to be a father. I just wasn’t ready,” Erica told us. “I wanted to wait until we’d been married for a few years. I think she waited for this moment, this opportunity, and now he’s been targeted.”
Like so many people today, Thrash was a ward of the state. Her foster parents informed us that they asked her to move out when they lost control of her. She was six months pregnant before she confessed it to them, and when asked what the father’s name was, she claimed to not know. Yet she managed to find him all these years later.
Her foster mother—who wishes to keep her name private—said Thrash has always been quiet and calculating. They had hoped she would turn out better than some of the children who have crossed their threshold, but alas, they feel as though she has just resorted to conning wealthy men.
Afraid that this article might prompt Thrash to run and take off with Prize’s alleged daughter, we posted a picture of Thrash. It was recently taken at the Prize home during the Sterling Shore Christmas party after an altercation with Wren’s ex-wife.
Erica Prize assures us Wren Prize is handling the situation with the grace of a saint and the heart of a prince.
My tears continue to drip as I read the article for the hundredth time. I can’t believe this. I never… How can anyone write these lies and get away with it?
“Fuck them all,” Bella says while putting a cup of coffee in front of me.
“Angel is with Melanie, isn’t she?” I ask.
I had to pull my daughter out of school today to let her escape this, but I was afraid of the scene that might ensue if I had showed up. Melanie was irate when she heard about the article. But I was too numb to process anything.
“Yes. She just called to check on you. Angel hasn’t heard anything from the other kids or the teachers. That private school is used to dealing with bullshit rumors that explode like this in the media. Thank God Wren changed her school.”
Wren. I can’t even… I don’t think… There are no words. He’s called at least thirty t
imes, but I can’t answer my phone.
“How long did Tria say we could crash here?” Bella asks.
Tria’s house is massive, and she doesn’t use it since she lives with Kode. I don’t know why she doesn’t just sell it, but I’m thankful she called and told me to crash here until this dies down.
“She said indefinitely, and she’s not telling anyone I’m here, not even Kode. But I don’t think I can even stay in Sterling Shore. People are verbally attacking me around every corner. My heart is still in my throat like I’m waiting on a physical assault. I don’t think Angel is safe with me right now, because they posted my picture, Bella. They might attack me if they see her in the car with me out of fear I’m running away with her.”
She rubs my arm soothingly as she sits down next to me.
“It’ll be okay, Allie. Wren was furious this morning; now we know why. He’s going to handle this. I feel sorry for the dick who published this and even sorrier for the asshole who wrote it. Just let him handle it, and when it all dies down, we’ll resume life.”
I laugh bitterly. “In case you’ve forgotten, I got fired for hitting Jillian. Then you got fired for going crazy on the human resources department. We had security escorts to our cars. Life won’t resume. I’m finished here. You still have a shot at finding a private practice, as long as you let Wren use his pull. Not me. I’m done. I can’t stay in a town that will possibly ruin my daughter toward me. Wren and I will just have to work out a schedule so that he gets to see her as much as possible no matter where she and I go.”
My tears leak a little harder, and I curse while roughly wiping them away. I really hate crying, but my heart and mind are both breaking right now.
“Allie, don’t ruin this thing with you and Wren over Erica’s fucked up mouth and Billy’s eagerness to get at his brother. You know that’s got to be the family informant. Everyone loves you.”
I shake my head, curling my knees to my chest. Fired, flogged, and crushed all in one day. Normally I’m not into pity parties, but right now, I’m having one. I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t be.
“I can live with what people say about me, but I don’t want Angel exposed to that, Bella. Wren and I can’t work. People will always have something to say now. They’ll provoke him. He’ll end up in a fight, and it could ruin him the way it has ruined me. I won’t be the reason for his destruction. I love him. And you always do what’s best for the person you love, right?”
She groans while dropping her head. “This is so fucked up. But I think the right thing to do is give him a chance to fix this. He should have done an interview immediately to squash this possibility instead of trying to find a way to keep his image intact.”
My skin prickles upon hearing that. “What?”
Her eyes widen fractionally, but she looks about as defeated as I feel.
“I talked to Brin earlier, and she said Wren was trying to find a way to deal with the reporters without giving them all the sordid details because of how it might impact his business. He has an image to uphold, and he has a lot of people working for him that depend on that image. She believes that it wouldn’t have affected his business, Rye seems to think otherwise. But in the end, he should have gotten off his ass and done something sooner. That said, it doesn’t mean you need to give up what the two of you have. It’s rare, Allie. Very rare. You know that.”
He never told me they were hounding him that bad. He could have at least warned me this morning before running out and leaving me to fend for myself against the wolves.
“He tried calling, you know? Me, I mean. Brin said he’s called her a hundred times to see if I’ve spoken to her or if you have. He’s been to the house. He’s been to the hospital—which he caused a major scene at, by the way. I don’t have the details, but from what I hear, it was pretty bad. Corbin’s father owns that place, and I heard he was calling him as he was leaving. It’s bad, Allie. I think he needs to talk to you.”
I groan while rubbing my hands over my face.
“He’ll find out Angel’s at his mom’s soon enough,” she goes on. “And he’ll start stalking her house to find you if you don’t call him. Would you rather that happen?”
I sniffle, wiping away my tears. Stupid damn tears.
“No,” I admit. “Fine. I’ll call him. I do want to be with him, but everything is chaos right now. But maybe we can figure it out… unless…”
My voice trails off, and Bella narrows her eyes at me. “Unless what?”
“Do you think he’s really still in love with Erica? They do have a lot of history. I know he told me he never loved her, but that can’t be true, can it?”
She rolls her eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous, Allie. Wren doesn’t love her. He’s not staying with you out of fear of losing his daughter. That entire article was false. They were divorced before he knew about you. Seven months? It hasn’t been seven damn months; you haven’t even been in town that long. They were divorced before you even ran into him. It’s utter and complete bullshit mixed with enough truth to make it believable.”
Doubt nags me—doubt that wasn’t there before. Wren and Erica had something in order for him to stay that long. Years—that’s a long time. Marriage, that’s a big deal. What if I’m keeping him from what he wants out of obligation?
And was his image more important than me? He really should have talked to the reporters if I was more important.
I knew it was too good to be true. I’ve never been one to hope for anything the way I hoped for Wren. I should have known better. The first thing you learn when you’re put into the foster system—don’t get attached to anything you don’t know for sure that you can keep. People always come and go.
Chapter 32
WREN
“Calm the fuck down!” Tag barks, dodging the chair that breaks and scatters into pieces after I throw it.
“She’s running! I can’t fucking blame her. This is my fault. I thought I could have the shit taken down before she went into work. I had no idea how many social networks it had bled into. They fired her, Tag. She hit a woman. Allie doesn’t do that. That means she was attacked no matter what those sons of bitches say. And they fired Bella. She has nothing keeping her here.”
My chest heaves, and I’m standing in a room full of destruction made by my hands.
“She has you. And she has Angel. Angel won’t want to leave.”
My chest caves in on itself. What if I lose them both? Angel will hate me if her mother is hurt. She’s probably already hating me.
“Give her a second, Wren. It’s fresh. Let her digest it. We’ll find her. I doubt she’s driving around town, considering everyone is fucking crazy right now. That asshole needs to be shot.”
I snort. “I wanted to kill him, but Rye held me back. Billy must have called him to tell him where I was going. Did you read that shit? I thought it was bad when Rye was summarizing it. When I actually read it… I swear I thought I was going to kill him. But he’s gone. He’s nothing and no one now. They fired him and the chief editor who ran the story without evidence. A scorned ex and a never-included cousin don’t count as reliable sources.
“The entire paper is freaking out—and they should be. They’re printing a retraction story, but it’s not good enough. They’ve pulled it off the blogs, their website, and their social media sites, but that story has been shared so many times by individuals that it’s out there for good.”
I drop to the sofa, and he relaxes while sitting down beside me.
“We’ll get this worked out. You’re meeting Erica tomorrow, right? My assistant is going to be there with the camera. This shit will trump that story by far. Allie will be the victim instead of the villain. Just calm down.”
I nod slowly, trying to catch my breath. Where is she? Not at a hotel. I’ve checked. Not at any of my friends’ houses. I’ve checked. I drove door-to-door. Nothing.
My phone rings, and I almost drop it in my haste to answer. My heart thuds when I see Allie’s name flash across
the screen.
“Allie,” I say softly, trying to calm down so I don’t freak her out, “where are you? I’ve been looking—”
“I was afraid to be at the house. Bella doesn’t think anyone knows where we live, but I know my address is in records. After all, that’s how Roger found me. But I’m safe. And I’m still in Sterling Shore. Angel is with your mother if you want to go see her.”
I clutch the phone, biting my knuckle on my other hand to keep myself from exploding.
“I want to see both of you. But right now, it’s more important that I see you. Please. I can tell you’ve been crying. Let me come to you.”
She sniffles, and my chest tightens harder.
“You can’t. Wren, I… I was stupid to think this would be okay. I guess I wanted to live the fairytale while it lasted. But we… I think it’s best if we let things cool down for a while. Maybe revisit this later and see how we feel.”
Cold. Detached. She doesn’t sound like herself at all.
“Allie, what are you doing? This is ridiculous. I know I should have stopped this before it started, but I never fucking thought they’d print that complete made-up garbage. Let me come to you. I’ll fix this. I swear I’ve got something in the works. Tomorrow—”
“You kept taking Erica back,” she says suddenly, confusing the shit out of me.
“And? I told you it was stupid and shallow of me.”
She sighs long and hard, drawing in a breath as though she’s steeling her resolve.
“You and I have a daughter. It was risky for us to jump into such a serious relationship so soon. I… I’ve never done this. And I don’t trust many people, yet I trusted you.”
“But you don’t trust me now?”
She laughs under her breath. “I trust you, Wren. I really do. But I think you’re as confused as I am about us. I know what I want, but I don’t… I don’t know. This is a mess, isn’t it? I’m public enemy number one, and you’re the golden boy of Sterling Shore.”
