John pressed his lips together.
“That’s okay,” I couldn't resist saying. “His silence is telling me everything.”
“Oh that’s great. You walked out of the hospital with some guy! Who is he? Huh? Who is he, Andrea?”
“He’s someone who’s not lying to me!”
“How do you know that? How do you know he’s trustworthy?”
“Because I didn’t remember him screwing my best friend over his desk!”
“I bet there’s something else you’re not remembering about him and you don’t know it yet.” His voice was as tight as his jaw, while his eyes were mixed with pleading and anger.
“Let’s please all take a step back.” The mediator finally walked into the room. With her hair gathered into a loose ponytail, she sat down at the head of the table. She was tall, with beautiful mocha skin, and had a pleasant smile. I guess she had to have one pasted on when dealing with these situations. “Calm down for a moment.” She opened the file and peered up at me and said, “Seeing as Mrs. Vasslor has limited memory of her past, we need to go a little slower on this.”
“No, please. I don’t want to go slower on this. I want to be divorced. From him. I don’t want to be married to you any longer, John.”
“You don’t mean that. Not to mention when our child is born you’ll have me in your life. Maybe you’ll want to still be married so you're not living at Sarina's studio.”
“Funny how you admit that now, but not when I woke up and needed to know that,” I snapped. My heart rate was at an all-time high, and I wanted it all to be done.
I noted John's eyes pinned on the mediator as he sat up straighter in his chair. I peered over to the envelope the mediator was holding in her hands. Her eyes passed between both me and John before she opened the sealed flap.
“As I understand, both parties have agreed to this paternity test, and the results of this test have bearing on the final divorce decree. Following the results of this test, we shall discuss the terms of the divorce. If both parties cannot come to an agreement, the divorce will move to a court to be decided upon by a judge. Do both parties agree to these terms?”
“Yes,” both John and I answered at the same time.
Dirk reached over and gave my hand a squeeze as the mediator pulled out the results. I held my breath, praying for the baby to be Cal’s. “The paternity test concludes that John Vasslor is 99.9% excluded as the biological father of Mrs. Vasslor's unborn child.”
I exhaled a huge sigh of relief and glanced across the table. While I was completely thrilled, I couldn't help but feel a small tug of sympathy for John. He had really been hoping it was his child. Was that so he could still have some sort of relationship with me, or because he really wanted to be a father?
I watched his jaw clench, and his face reddened right before his eyes met mine. Pure hatred stared at me, and if he was the one who had caused my accidents I wouldn’t have doubted it for a moment, seeing the look in his eyes.
“You fucking slut!” He was on his feet before his own attorney could grasp the moment. “I will take you for everything you have! You’ll be fucking penniless like the whore that you are! You cheated on me and you won’t get a fucking cent from me!”
I stood quickly. The anger rolled through me like a huge wave, and I was riding it fast as it came upon me. “Fine by me! I want nothing from you! Not one cent from you! And I hope you rot in jail when the cops come knocking on your door, because if you had anything to do with either of my accidents, you’ll rot there for all of eternity!” I had no idea what was spouting out of my mouth, but right then I knew he had to have been involved in my accidents. Somehow he had a hand in it. Before it had all been Mallory’s doing in my mind, but now…
“You think I did this? Why…”
“Mr. Vasslor, please not another word.” John’s attorney picked up his files and stared at my attorney.
“You’ll be hearing from us and I’m sure you’ll hear from the detectives on her case too,” Dirk stated as he stood, hovering over me like a protective father would. “We’ll be filing for a restraining order from your client, Mr. Jeffers. Make sure you keep your client away from Mrs. Vasslor.”
John’s attorney ushered him out of the room as he continued to spout out obscenities about me. The moment he left the room, it hit me all at once. While I was relieved that John wasn’t the father, what had transpired shook me to the core. Someone really had tried to hurt me. Why?
Thirty-Four
Andi
After exiting the building, I ran into Cal’s arms.
“You okay?”
I nodded into his shoulder but still couldn’t speak. I wanted to scream that he was the father of my baby, but I held back for some reason. It was huge news and not something that should have been done right after my mediation with John. Anger was still coursing through me. The need to prove he had tried to kill me. All I could think about was how Dirk was trying to gather evidence against John to bring him as a suspect. Right then, he had no proof—only suspicions; and those weren’t enough to do anything, especially to an “upstanding businessman in the community.” It seemed like bullshit to me, but then again, if I could remember more details from my past, it would help build a case against him. I squeezed Cal tighter, as if being in his arms might help bring back my memories.
“Was it that bad? Do you need to go to court?” He kissed the top of my head and I nuzzled closer to his chest.
“I’m pretty sure we’ll wind up in front of a judge. We had a huge fight in the middle of the mediation, and now the attorneys will have to proceed with their filings and motions.”
“It’ll all work out,” Cal whispered as he squeezed me, and then he turned me to walk toward the parking garage down the street.
His warm hand held mine as I stuffed my other one in my coat pocket to avoid the chill in the air. The quiet between us was comforting, since I knew Cal wanted to ask more questions, but I wasn’t ready to discuss anything about the divorce. My exciting news, now that was something else entirely, and I stifled a smile thinking about how I wanted to tell Cal he was going to be a father. Considering he didn’t know about the test, I was being slightly selfish by not letting him know but hoped that when I told him the way I felt he deserved to be told, he’d forgive me for holding back.
My phone rang out and I reached in my purse, stopping us in the middle of the sidewalk. Though there was no caller ID, I went ahead and answered just in case it was a detective—or maybe even Dirk using a different phone.
“Andi?” The voice—I knew it immediately and I couldn’t help but smile hugely. I could see her face in my mind. Her blonde hair, natural curls, and sweet, honest smile. All from hearing her voice. The feelings were so genuine and real my eyes teared up.
“Is…is this?”
A timid hand began to rub my back so lightly, I barely felt it. I glanced to a concerned expression and immediately relieved Cal by smiling even bigger, but that didn’t stop his curious expression.
“It’s Sarina! Andi! I miss you!” Her laugh immediately followed, and visions of a playful, goofy friend crossed through my mind. She almost sounded drunk, and maybe she really was.
“Where…where are you?” I couldn’t remember anything about her, exactly—only the vibes she gave me. And they were good. So good I wanted to cry, because I had at least one old friend who seemed trustworthy. At least that was what I hoped my instinct was telling me.
“Andi! You know where I am! Remember? The Peace Corps…Malawi?”
“Sarina. I…I had an accident and I have amnesia. I…”
“What? When? How…Are you all right?”
“Yes. I don’t remember much. I spoke with my attorney and the superintendent here. That’s how I found out it was actually your apartment.”
“Oh…God. Andi! You do remember you’re divorcing that asshole, right? Please tell me you’re not with him.”
“John brought me home…”
“He what
? No! Oh, Andi, you need to get out of there…”
“No. I know. I found out. Cal helped me…”
“Cal? Who’s Cal? Andi, do you need me to fly home? Are you safe?”
“Yes. No, I’m fine. Cal is…well…” I looked at him and smiled. “He’s my boyfriend.”
Laughter rang out on the other end of the line. “Boyfriend? Well, looks like my timid friend has finally come out of her shell.” I wanted to ask what that was about and tell her about my pregnancy, but before I could, she said, “Listen, I hate to cut this short, but I can’t talk very long, there’s a huge line behind me—but I wanted to call and check up on you. John was being such an ass about the attorney thing, I wanted to find out if you hired mine.”
“Yours? I had no idea how I’d found him, but…”
“John shopped all the other high-end attorneys! He basically stole them so you couldn’t use them! Shit. Is Dirk handling everything?”
“Yes! Everything is going to be fine.”
Muffled sounds crinkled in my ear. “Andi, I have to go. I’m so sorry! I’ll try to call back soon. Take care of yourself! I love you!”
“I love you too.” My words rushed out excitedly. I couldn’t help the feelings of happiness from hearing her voice and knowing it was familiar to me.
The secret inside me—well, besides our baby—was bursting to come out. There were so many ways to tell him he was the father, and while I wanted to sit him down, look him in the eye, and let him know, I needed it to be special. After all we’d both been through, it was something I wanted us both to remember for the rest of our lives. Something good. Something that solidified an exciting moment together.
While hanging with Cal at his office one day, I told him I was going for a stroll. I had been going through all the items and documents on my laptop, trying to search for the missing pieces of my life, and needed a break. There were shops walking distance from the worksite I noticed when we would head out for lunch. One store caught my eye, and when I went in, I couldn’t resist picking up the particular item I knew I had to have.
Beaming, I returned to his office and tried to conceal my excitement. He noticed, of course, and teased me relentlessly about why I was so thrilled.
“Come on, Andi.” He got up and strode over to me, his head peeking at the bag I had hidden behind me on the couch and me smacking his arm when he reached out for it.
“You are worse than a little kid! Are you like this at Christmas too?”
“You’ll find out soon enough. But yes, I love surprises.” He stopped for a moment as I quirked up my eyebrow. “Good ones,” he quickly added while laughing. Shaking his head, he returned to his desk and finally got back to work.
Thankful when it was time to head home, I stood quickly and made sure the small item was tucked away inside my bag.
The moment we got home, I ran to our bedroom and closed the door. A soft knock at the door startled me at first, but I had made sure to lock it.
“Um, you still want Chinese food? Or were you thinking something else?” Cal called.
“Yes! That’s fine,” I called out hurriedly as I began wrapping my present for him. It was all so rushed, I felt silly and wondered if I should have blurted it out earlier. No. This would be better, if just for a good laugh for both of us that I was acting like a crazy woman. Well, more so than usual.
I finished my wrapping, and went to leave the room and almost ran smack into Cal.
Abashedly, he held up a menu. “Uh, I wasn’t sure what you wanted to order.” His eyes flew to the wrapped box in my hand.
I pressed my lips together and grabbed his hand. I couldn’t stand it any longer, and I wondered how all our Christmases would be if we were both present-peekers.
I led him toward the small dining table, sat him down, and then pulled a chair right up to his and sat down. I couldn’t contain my smile or my excitement. I handed him the present and bit my lip to keep myself from bursting out and telling him the news.
Smiling as wide as I was, he stared at the box and then looked back up to me, his smile dropping. I nodded, urging him to open the box.
To my surprise, he pushed it away and grabbed my hand, pulling it to his chest.
“What are you doing?” I practically shouted. He needed to open that box or I would burst.
“I need to tell you something first. That box has something huge you want to tell me.” His lips brushed mine. “No matter what is in that box or whatever it is that you want to tell me, I need to tell you something first.”
I swallowed, unsure what he was going to say.
“We only knew each other for a short time before your accident. Before that, you had me completely taken and I didn’t think I could love someone so deeply.” His eyes darted around, and even though I was scared of what he had to tell me, I squeezed his hand, urging him to continue.
“I was married previously.”
My stomach churned and my heart raced. It was something I hadn’t ever considered. I was sure that both of us having an ex in our lives might be difficult, but immediately I knew that no matter what, as long as we were together, it would be okay.
“Andi.” He swallowed, and that’s when I noticed the glassiness to his eyes. “Laura died in a car accident two years ago. When I got to the hospital, I was also informed she had been carrying my baby.”
I gasped as tears sprang to my eyes with thoughts of everything that had happened to me and how he must have felt the entire time. “Oh God, Cal.” I hugged him tight. “I’m so sorry.”
“Andi, I wasn’t telling you that to bring you down. I was telling you that because no matter when you’re finally divorced, and if that is John’s baby you’re carrying, I will love both you and that child with everything I have. I—“
Immediately, I placed my index finger over his mouth and smiled and picked up the box. “Open it. Please.”
Timidly, he took the box from my hand and unwrapped the paper. Before opening it, he stole one last look at me, and of course, I nodded.
“What?” He picked up the frame, the box dropping to the floor as he inspected it closer. The distressed wooded frame had a hand painted “I” with a red heart followed by “Daddy.” The bottom read “You’re all mine.” The ultrasound picture fit perfectly inside of it, but of course, I noticed I had placed it slightly askew in my anxiousness.
He looked up at me and I shook my head, beaming. I grabbed his hand and placed it on my belly. “This baby is yours, Cal.”
“Oh, thank God,” he murmured right before he pressed his lips to mine. “I love you so much, Andi.”
“I love you too, Cal. Always.”
Thirty-Five
Cal
“Go look at the property. Please.”
Adding that “please” at the end really did help. I knew Andi was safe—she was at her routine doctor’s appointment. I had insisted I wanted to be at every appointment, but she’d insisted this visit was a simple, routine weight check. There would be no ultrasound or anything exciting.
It was time for her appointment to be over, and she had texted me she was done, everything was fine, and she was on her way home. My home. Well, our home now.
I pulled up to the building that Jay wanted me to scout. The whole area was shit but supposed to be some up-and-coming neighborhood. Looking around, I knew it’d take more than a couple of years. Hell, I didn’t really want to be in that area. I reached over to the passenger seat to get the building prints. Alex was supposed to be coming up behind me soon, but knowing he was always late, I decided to get started. The sooner I finished, the sooner I could head back to get my work done and be back at home with Andi.
It was only by some weird chance that I happened to look up from the plans and see Andi’s car, or one similar to hers, turn onto the street about fifty yards from where I was parked.
Fear shot through me, and I immediately picked up my phone and called Andi. She should have been home by then, and hopefully it was only a weird coincidence o
f a car looking like hers.
“H-hello?”
Relief shot through me and I inhaled a deep breath, hearing her voice. “Baby, are you home yet?”
“Yeah, I’m pulling up soon, actually.”
Her voice seemed strange, and I knew she was on speaker phone. Since buying her a new car, I’d had Alex set the whole thing up so that the moment she turned the car on, she wouldn’t have to touch her phone and could concentrate on the road. I knew she was still nervous about driving, but she was also so darn indignant that she do things herself, I had to back off so I wouldn’t smother her.
I immediately regretted not going to her appointment.
“Great,” I said, trying to think of some curveball to give me a sign. “Alex said he’d liked to go out with Lana tonight, like we talked about.”
“Oh, Okay.”
That was it. That wasn’t the answer I was looking for, and I started up my truck, following the car that I was now positive was hers. She should have asked me what the hell I was talking about, since Lana was with Kyle and Alex was still crushing the hell out of some new waitress over at The Freckled Maiden.
Something was wrong. Very wrong.
“I…I have to go, honey. I’m pulling up and need to go inside.”
There was a timid sound in her voice that put me back to worrying. Shit.
“Is someone in the car with you?”
“No!” She answered way too quickly, and yet I could see someone in the passenger seat as I pulled up closer behind. Dammit. If I had one of those stupid new phones, I could have and texted the detective. I cursed myself for not buying one of those and learning from Alex.
“Honey, I have to go. I’m…bathroom,” she blurted out and then the phone went dead. Quickly, I pulled out my wallet while trying to keep my eye on the road and her car. Finding the card for Detective Wilder, I dialed his number.
After I explained to the detective everything that happened, I was told to hang back. We both knew I wouldn’t. There was no way, especially when I watched them pull up to an even worse-looking building than the one I had just looked at.
Accidents Happen (Forever Happens Book 1) Page 21
