by Alice Ward
He took a step toward my mother but seemed to force himself to stop. “I want you to know now that it wasn’t for you. It hasn’t been for some time. It was for this young lady who you see before you, and for the baby she’s holding in her arms. I wanted Auggie to have the best I could possibly provide for her. She’s my blood, Caren. You cannot ever take that away. You can withhold your affections from me and I’ll sleep in a separate room my entire life — but you can never take Auggie away from me.”
He spread his arms wide, indicating the room. “Now… I seem to remember that this house and all that is in it was paid for by my money. You had none and never did. If you remember, my parents insisted that if I was to marry you, you had to sign a prenuptial. Well, I’m calling in the marker, dear Caren. I want a divorce and I want you off this property within thirty days. I will give you a small bankroll so you can find somewhere to go, but then you’ll have to find a way to take care of yourself. Somehow, I don’t think you’ll have great difficulty doing that. It seems that eventually you manage to get off your back and up onto your feet. Even when they’re in the air.”
Mother was half sitting, half lying in her chair. She had completely collapsed and for a moment, I wondered whether she was having a stroke. Her arm was raised in the air, clawing at space as if trying to restore her grip on her life.
“Auggie, you go on home, dear. I’m going to stay here and keep an eye on things,” Dad said calmly. I knew he didn’t mean that he was looking after Mother, but after his own welfare and possessions. I’d never known about the prenuptial and couldn’t believe how stupid Mother was to have endangered her ability to live by treating my dad so badly.
I nodded, kissed Dad on the cheek and never looked back at the woman who gave me life. As far as I was concerned, she did not exist.
***
My hands were shaking on the drive back to town. I was, at first, appalled at my own behavior and language. That was totally unlike me. I had to do it, though. It had to be that kind of behavior. The kind of language that was irretrievably a part of our verbal history and could not be taken back. It was the only way it would work with Mother and me. A clean cut.
I pulled into the parking lot at the clinic and carried Ford with me into the lobby. “I need to see my husband,” I said to Patsy and there must have been a look on my face that worried her because she instantly came out from behind her desk and escorted me through the back entrance into Worth’s inner office.
“He’s in another part of the clinic just now, finishing a group session. I’ll have him in here in less than five minutes.” She patted me on the shoulder. “Anything I can get you or the baby?”
I shook my head. “Just my husband,” I said again and she hurried out.
True to her word, Worth was in front of me in four minutes. “What’s wrong?” His face showed alarm. He knew it wasn’t like me to show up here unannounced.
“I finally did it,” I started and sat down, crying.
“Auggie, what is it?” he asked me, sitting down next to me and taking Ford while putting his spare arm around me.
“I took Ford out to meet Mother for the first time,” I stuttered.
Worth nodded. “And I guess it didn’t go so well,” he commiserated.
“It couldn’t have gone worse. I totally lost it. She is evil, Worth… truly evil.”
“That doesn’t mean you have that trait, Auggie. You’re like your dad. You’re the best person possible, honey.”
“It’s not that, Worth. I just never thought she could really be as bad as I thought she was. I thought it was because I was her daughter and resented the way she raised me. She was always so strict, so uncaring. I never knew how horrible she was to Dad, though.”
“Well, Auggie, that’s up to him to take care of,” Worth said.
“Oh, he’s taking care of it, alright.” A sound came out of me that was half laugh, half sob. “He’s divorcing her. Worth, it was awful. She just kept on and on, saying things about your father and how it was everyone’s fault but hers. I lost it. She insulted my Dad, saying he wasn’t worth much and her life had been ruined, and I absolutely lost it.”
“Awww… it can’t be that bad,” Worth tried to comfort me.
“No, it really was that bad. I told her everything, Worth. All of it.”
Worth was silent. “I see. About Linc? Jervis?”
“All of it.”
“Jesus.”
“I know, I know. I said I wasn’t going to do it, but I got carried away when she attacked Dad. I just couldn’t seem to stop myself.” I was really confused by the way I’d behaved.
“Auggie, listen to me. I want you to stop feeling bad about this right now. I went through the same thing with my father. We were, for lack of a better word, abused, by one of our parents throughout our entire childhood. Yours was verbal. Mine was verbal and physical. They were not good parents, but we were lucky enough to have one good parent and that’s the person we have to focus on. You blew off some steam. You said the things you wanted to for a long time. It’s much better out there, said, than stored up inside yourself. I’m here for you and we are a family.” He bent and kissed the baby’s head. “This is our family. We have no need for your mother or my father. Ford doesn’t need those examples in his life, either.”
“Worth, you should have seen Dad. He took it and took it… defended her and then finally, when he found out about Jervis, that was it. He’s divorcing her and she signed a prenuptial. He’s keeping everything, throwing her out within a month, bag and baggage. It’s over for her.”
“Are you feeling regret?” he asked me.
I sat back and looked at him. With all honesty, the only thing I could think to say was, “Hell, no!”
“That’s my girl.” Worth smiled and hugged me with his free arm. “Now, what do you say I take this family out to dinner?”
“I would be honored,” I answered. “Oh, and Worth?”
“Yes, Auggie?”
“I love you, by the way. I’m proud to be your wife and you’ll be the finest father anyone could ever have. Ford is a lucky boy.”
“I love you too, Auggie,” he responded and kissed me.
It just can’t get much better than this.
EPILOGUE
Auggie
Mother left within the thirty days, just as Dad dictated. I think she went to live in an apartment on the west end of Louisville. Quite a comedown from where she had been, but she earned what she got. I didn’t make an effort to find her. She knew where I was and didn’t reach out to me, either. Dad divorced her and he and Worth’s mother have been keeping company lately. Who would have thought it?
Worth opened two more clinics and they’re doing very well, although it’s early. He was busier than ever and true to my word, I agreed to help him once Ford was old enough to be with a nanny. In the meantime, I was doing all the research I could to become more familiar with his industry.
Our life was idyllic, so much so that I’d begun to be suspicious of it. It didn’t feel natural for everything to go so well. That’s why I was perhaps not as shocked as I should have been when that day finally came.
Worth had already left for the clinic and I was looking after Ford in his nursery when I heard the doorbell ring.
“Betsy?” I called downstairs but she didn’t answer. I realized she was probably outdoors, taking out the garbage or hanging sheets. I loved the smell of line-dried sheets better than anything and had insisted on a series of clotheslines to accommodate the bedding.
I checked to see that Ford was fast asleep so I went down to answer the door myself. I was expecting Mr. McLean. We were going to discuss the offerings at the upcoming Keeneland sales. Beverly Dexter had completed our first set of barns and only Carlos had taken up residence to date.
I opened the door and there stood a man who looked vaguely familiar, although I couldn’t place why.
“May I help you?” I asked.
“I’m looking for Dr. Worth LaViere
,” he said solemnly. Again, I was searching my memory for where I could have met this man and it was making me feel quite discomfited. I was generally pretty good at remembering faces.
“I’m sorry, but he’s not at home at the moment. You can find him at the clinic, though. Can I help you with something?”
“I see. No, I won’t bother him at the clinic. This is a personal matter, you see.”
I nodded and expected to see him turn to leave, but he held his stance.
“I’ll be glad to tell him you stopped by,” I offered in the language that said it was time to leave. “What’s your name?”
“That would be fine. Tell him I’ll come back another day, but I’m staying at the Hilton in the meantime.”
“And your name?” I prompted him again.
“Linc LaViere.”
The End
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Alice Ward is the author of the Bestselling New Adult series, “Reckless.” Reading and Writing romance is her passion and she writes with her true heart. Living in Miami, the beach is her favorite place to relax with her laptop and write her next spicy romance. However, when she is not reading or writing romance, she also enjoys being with her beautiful family.
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Jessica Blake is the author of the hot alpha billionaire romance series, “The Billionaire Prisoner,” along with her friend Alice Ward. Since she was a young college girl reading and writing romance was what she loved the most and she enjoys entertaining her fans through her books. Living in Miami, she likes to sit by the pool with her laptop and write her next hot romance. However, when she is not reading or writing romance, she also enjoys being with her beautiful family.
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COPYRIGHT AND DISCLAIMER
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2016 Alice Ward and Jessica Blake
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.
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