by Eva Luxe
“Just because you want his money?” I lowered the knife a bit.
Morgan may’ve been crazy, but she was on a different level of crazy. She was the kind that wanted to butcher the mind, not the body.
Damn.
“Yes. When he divorced me, he took away my power. No one wanted me around anymore. I was cast out.” Morgan looked out the window brushing a piece of her dark red wavy hair behind her ear. That was all that mattered to her; money and power.
“That’s your fault for using him,” I said. “No one wanted you around because you’re a manipulative bitch.”
“And? That’s what rich people do.” She smiled, standing up straight again.
“That’s what bad people do.”
“Look, I don’t have all day. I want you gone, and I want to see it. So go, pack your shit and I’ll dump you off in the city. Go!” she demanded, pointing up to the stairs.
At first I hesitated. But that video… Darien would be humiliated. He was such a private person, and he’d kept his personal life out of the media for so long. But far worse, he might lose Ariel, and I could never, ever, be the cause of that.
And I was pregnant. If she found out about the baby, she’d do something crazy for sure, just to hurt Darien.
Even though the circumstances in which it was conceived were crazy, I knew I wanted this baby. I hadn’t ever thought I wanted to be a mother. But some natural maternal instinct came over me now that I was pregnant. And probably, now that I had spent so much time around Ariel, and fallen in love with her just as much as I had fallen in love with her father.
Oh, my God. How did I let myself go and fall in love with him? And his daughter too.
I would miss them so much. But there was a new life to think about now. I was going to be a mother.
I ran up the stairs, my stomach churning with sickness from Morgan’s threats and the changes my body was going through. Good thing I didn’t have too much. I stuffed what I could into my old duffle bag and struggled to the steps.
Morgan was waiting by the main door. I looked up and around.
“I’m sorry, Darien…” I said quietly to myself as I dragged my things down the steps.
“Good girl. Let’s go.”
Her car was a Rolls Royce Ghost. She slammed my things in the back and got in. I walked around to the other side of the car and glanced back up at the house for one final look.
“Good bye.”
Chapter 25 – Willow
Morgan drove me into the city, and neither one of us said anything the entire time. That was fine by me. I wanted her out of my life— my baby’s and my lives— for good. Once she was satisfied that she had driven far enough, she stopped at a street corner.
“Here we are. Get out. Remember what I said. Don’t want to see poor Mr. Thrilling suffering, do you?”
“No,” I mumbled as I got out.
I got my bag from the back of her car, and she sped off right as I closed her door.
“Nasty bitch,” I said, giving her the middle finger while she disappeared around a corner.
Sam was going to be gone. I was kidding myself that he was going to get better.
Ariel and Darien were gone.
What was next?
* * * *
I walked into the bar, an hour before it opened. It had been a while since I’d seen this place. The smell of cheap liquor made my stomach turn though. And even despite that, it was nice to be here.
I longed for a sense of normalcy. Something that reminded me of before I met Darien.
Mr. Brent saw me walking his way and his eyes lit up. All he probably saw was a huge pay check. I had been starting to be a favorite among the customers.
Mr. Brent stretched out his arms, and shouted, “Willow! Welcome back, I didn’t expect to see you so soon!” He gave me a slap on the back.
“Hey, Mr. Brent. Sorry about bailing out like that. But the nanny job was too good to pass up.”
“Nah, don’t worry about it. If you respect money, then I respect you.”
Good old blunt Mr. B.
“So, still got any space at the bar?” I asked. The happy expression on his face dropped into a frown.
“You want to work in the bar? Not dancing? Come on, Willow, you were bringing in a lot of money.”
“I know, but I can’t dance anymore.”
“Why?”
“I’m pregnant.”
I rubbed my stomach. It wouldn’t be long until I really started showing.
“Oh shit. You left here as an innocent girl, now you’re all knocked up? Congratulations. All right, all right. The bar it is. You’ll still snap up lots of tips due to the sexy memories. Guys come in here asking for you all the time.”
“Thanks, Mr. Brent.”
“Yeah yeah, go ahead and get ready for opening.”
I headed over to the bar, already feeling a bit heavier than I was used to. It wasn’t long until Stacy hopped over for her nightly routine; a shot of whiskey.
“Hey Willow! You working behind the bar again?” she asked, hopping onto a stool.
She liked to get a shot before everyone crowded in. It was enough to loosen her up, but not make her sloppy.
“Yeah. No more pole dancing for me.” I said, dipping down to get her favorite brand of tequila.
“Aww. Say, you can come back anytime. You know Mr. B would love to have ya.”
“Thanks. It was fun being up there once I got used to it.”
Maybe in like 15 months, after I have the baby and lose the tummy.
I shuddered at the thought of having to plan that far in the future. I had no idea what I would be doing with my life. At this point, I could only think one day at a time. Just getting through a twenty four hour period without breaking down was hard enough.
I couldn’t believe I had to give up my one true love, and his cute little daughter too. My heart broke to think of her thinking I had just walked out on her without any reason. She had certainly been through enough, and I hated that she had to deal with that on top of everything else.
I poured Stacy’s tequila in a clean shot glass and pushed it toward her. She snapped it up and swallowed it down in one gulp.
“Damn, I love this stuff. Good seeing ya back.”
She hopped off her stool and disappeared behind the black curtain.
A few hours later, the place was hopping. The music thumped, and the dancers put on a good show. I didn’t used to pay attention to them like I did now. I guess the experience of being up there still lingered. I found myself cheering them on, and some of the men gave me the side eye, obviously wondering if I’d be up there too.
Nevertheless, the tips were raining in, with Mr. B having been right about some of the guys happy to see me back in any capacity, and giving me even more money than they would probably tip me had I been dancing on stage. So, I found myself breathing a lot of sighs of relief, as all seemed normal, or even good.
Until he walked in.
“Willow? Is this where you’ve been?” Darien said, pushing his way up to the bar. I was too busy to stop and talk to him, and I was thankful for that. I had not been prepared to see him, and I really needed a minute to figure out what to say.
“D-Darien! I’m really busy—”
“I need to talk to you.”
“I really can’t.” I was juggling a lot of alcohol in my hands and whipped up some drinks for people that were waiting. Darien didn't like waiting though. So he jumped over the bar and scooped me up into his arms. “Wait, what’re you doing! Darien, I have a job to do!”
What had I thought, that he wasn’t going to come look here for me? I was so stupid. A part of me was happy he found me, another was scared to death.
“Put the girl down,” the bouncer warned.
“Willow, tell them to move. I need to talk to you in private.”
“Eric, he’s good. I’ll be back.” I glared at Darien. “But you need to put me down!”
“Fine.” He let me down reluctantly a
nd we went outside in the same alley where we’d met a couple of months ago.
I looked around and over my shoulder. Darien cleared his throat.
“Why are you back here? After everything—”
“Darien, just stop.” I held my hands up, stopping him mid-sentence. “I know what’s going on. I can’t be around you. I can’t be the reason you lose everything,” I cried, holding my arms.
I had to save the man that saved me.
“What’re you talking about?” Darien inched over toward me, his arms out.
“Look, I have to go.” I turned to the door and reached for the handle.
“No, Willow. Talk to me.” He grabbed my arm and pulled me close to him. There went that cologne again. So manly… so him.
“I can’t, it’s too dangerous.” Now I was letting on too much.
“Wait, is this because of Morgan? Did she threaten you? Tell you to stay away?”
“No, I just—”
“It was her.” Darien could see through all the lies.
Time to drop the bombshell. He did have the right to know. “I’m pregnant.”
“Pregnant?” He stared at me, then grabbed me by the shoulders. “Did you think I’d tell you to leave?”
“Of course not. But I can’t stay out here.”
“You’re not telling me the whole truth. I can’t just leave you here working in the bar if you’re pregnant. I don’t want you here at all. Ariel misses you. I miss you.”
I hung my head and rubbed my forehead. “She has a video of us…” I admitted.
“I know— hey, wait— how do you—”
“She came to the house when you took Ariel to school a few weeks ago. She wanted to make you suffer. I— I love you. I can’t let her do that to you. And how did you know? When did you find out?”
“She tried to make me get rid of you. But I wasn’t going to let go so easy… like you did.”
Ouch, right in the gut. Hey, I deserved some credit too. I glanced at the sky and saw the moon. A chilly breeze blew by and I shivered. There were a lot of thirsty people inside I needed to get to.
“Bye, Darien. Maybe when this is all over we can pick up where we left off. For now, I don’t—can’t see you suffer.”
“Willow, I’m already suffering without you.”
What was I supposed to say to that?
Chapter 26 – Darien
I was close to getting Willow to leave with me. I felt it. She knew damn well Morgan was nothing short of a liar and a manipulator. Willow was mine the moment I saw her.
“Come home, Willow. Tell me what’s been on your mind. Tell me the things I need to do to make you that vibrant, happy person I saved in this alley that day.”
“You really are a good man, Darien. But Morgan—” She glanced back over her shoulder.
“If you really think she’s going to hold to her promise, then you’re sorely mistaken.”
“But she hasn’t released the video yet,” Willow argued, trying to find some reasonable explanation to keep herself away from me.
“There is no video.”
The damn video was the reason she left? God, if only I’d known that was the problem, I wouldn’t have had to suffer, watch Ariel suffer, so long without her.
“Yes, there is!” she snapped in exasperation. “She showed me, I heard it. She said if I didn’t go away, she’d release it to the media!”
“She told me that too,” I said, “the day after you and I first made love. I went over there to tell her to leave Ariel and you alone, and she showed me.”
“But you─”
“I destroyed it. I destroyed her whole phone, and I’m completely sure there is no backup copy. She wouldn’t have thought of it, because she was fixated on gloating, but I had my security team check on it anyway.”
She crossed her arms in front of her. “I don’t understand.”
I shrugged. “Morgan is a liar. Did you actually see the video?”
She squished up her face, trying to remember. Damn, she was so cute, even in the midst of all this chaos. “I─ I guess not. I mean, she flashed it at me, and then I heard, you know, sex sounds.”
“Yeah.” I grinned at her. “The original was pretty hot, probably hotter than whatever junk she pulled off the Internet to trick you into believing she still had a tape. But she didn’t show you that original video, because she couldn’t.”
She shook her head and lowered herself down to sit on a crate. Damn, I should have thought of sitting her down first. “It doesn’t matter, though. She’ll use me to hurt you and Ariel, any way she can find. Now she’ll use this baby too, or even hurt it. I just need to stay away from you.”
She was pregnant with my child, like hell that was going to happen. If anything, I really needed her by my side. If Morgan was watching her like I thought she was, the only safe place for Willow would be with me. I wanted to protect her. Protect our baby. Protect our family, which included Ariel.
I still couldn’t believe Willow was going to have my second child. A feeling of pride and happiness welled up inside me before I remembered to stay focused on the issue at hand.
“I’m not saying that she’ll never be a problem again,” I conceded. “And she’s probably looking for some new way to hurt us. She definitely can’t be trusted— all the promises she ever made ended up being indicators that she’d do the exact opposite.”
“Huh, you know, you have a valid point right there,” she admitted, tapping her foot on the grimy ground of the alley.
“But I can handle her,” I insisted. “She’s got nothing to hurt us with if we stick together.”
Willow dropped her arms to her sides and smiled.
The door to the bar opened and out came a portly man with a thick mustache and heavy accent.
“Hey, Willow, there you are. We need you in here or else I have to give your shift to Bradley,” he said through his crackled up voice.
He must’ve been a cigar smoker. Jerry was too, and his voice sounded the same.
Willow smoothed out her apron and sighed. “You can do that, Mr. Brent. I’ve got to go home.” And I knew what she meant by that.
“All right, kiddo. Be careful, ya hear?”
“Yes, sir. Good night!” She turned to me. “I just have to run in and get my purse. Be right back!”
“Hurry. I’ve missed you. Ariel will be so excited to see you again.”
A few minutes later, she ran out the front doors and I seated her carefully in my car. Once I was in beside her, I held her hand that rested in her lap. She squeezed mine back.
“You don’t think Ariel will be mad at me when she finds out she might be getting a brother or sister, do you?”
“She’ll get used to it. Plus, that means you’ll be her mommy after all!”
“I guess so,” she chuckled.
Willow looked out the window and leaned back in her seat. I was thrilled that she was beginning to relax, and to remember that she could trust me.
“Did you know she just dumped me off in the middle of the city?” Willow said. “She was driving a Rolls Royce Ghost.” She rolled her eyes.
Yes, I did believe it. Surprised she didn’t do worse.
“She bought that with my credit card shortly before I initiated the divorce.”
Willow sucked in through her teeth. “Ouch. That’s a lot of cash.”
“Not really. But it did irk me that she didn’t tell me she was doing it. I thought someone hacked my account until I saw that gaudy thing sitting in the drive way.”
A terrible squeal filled the night, and then─bam!
A car rammed into us from the side, pushing my car yards past the intersection and spinning us halfway around. We came to a stop and I unbuckled my seatbelt and checked on Willow. Her side had taken the brunt of the hit.
“Willow! Damn it, open your eyes! Willow!” My head was still spinning, but Willow—she needed me.
“H-huh? Dar—”
“Don’t speak, you’re going to be fin
e.”
I looked around as I pulled my phone out of my pocket. The car that had hit us was speeding off, and was already too far away to get the plate number.
I called 911 and held Willow’s hand until the EMTs arrived.
Chapter 27 – Darien
I sat with Willow the whole time despite the nurses’ constant efforts to get me to lay down. I wasn’t going to fucking move until she opened her eyes again and said something.
The doctor walked in the room with his pen and tablet and surveyed her monitors. Dean had his wife go watch Ariel for me tonight, and I called her to let her know I’d be late.
I didn’t tell her why yet.
“Doctor, will she be okay? She’s pregnant, is the baby all right?”
“The baby is fine. She’s fortunate. All she suffered were a few bruises and cuts.” The doctor touched her wrist and checked her breathing. “Do you know what happened?”
“It was a hit and run,” I said.
And it was deliberate. Someone well trained knew how to hit us like that and still be able to keep going.
There was only one person I knew who had the anger and resources to do this.
“God. I’m sorry to hear that,” the doctor said, shaking his head.
He frowned and checked his tablet one more time.
“When can she go home?” I asked, rubbing the back of Willow’s hand.
“With a head injury, we’ll want to keep her overnight,” he said. “You also, since you got a pretty good whack on the head as well. But it’s just a precaution. Everything looks fine, really.”
Good news. For now.
Willow’s eyes fluttered open, and she turned her head on the pillow toward me.
“Darien, what h-happened?” she asked, her voice cracking from her deep sleep.
“Morgan happened,” I whispered.
“W-wait, I wasn’t dreaming?” Willow struggled to sit up. “She hit our car?”
“Yes, she hired someone to do it. Don’t worry, I’ll have her taken care of.”
