by Garnet Hart
The noise around him faded away, until all he heard was the furious voice of his father.
He turned around. Indeed, it was his father, storming into the locker room, quickly pacing towards him.
“You did it! You finally did it, son,” Stanly yelled in front of Troy’s face, ignoring the fact that all eyes were on him. “You just robbed me off my house. Now, I have to go beg on the street for a living. You happy?”
Troy kept his mouth closed. What else did he have to say to this old man? Stanly just showed everyone else what an ass of a father he was.
“You answer me, you son of a bitch!” Stanley demanded.
“What did you expect him to do? Lose?” Logan yelled in Troy’s defense. “You got the nerve to come in here wearing that jersey and scolding your son for winning the game? Shame on you.”
Stanly pushed Logan away. “Stay out of this. It’s a family matter.”
“I’m a part of this family. He’s my nephew.”
“I’m his father.”
“Are you? Are you acting like a father right now? You’re supposed to be by his side, you shithead! You don’t deserve to have a son like him. If you despise him, then stay away from him.”
“Shut the fuck up!”
“You shut the fuck up!” Logan turned to his team that had surrounded them. “Boys, carry this fucktard outside. He’s ruining our moment.”
Instantly, the men obeyed. Stanly cussed and tried to push everyone away, but the old man was no match against the strength of a herd of wild beasts.
“I was trying to win back your ball, you son of a bitch!” Stanly yelled before he was thrown out of the door.
Troy tried to make sense of what Stanly said. Ball? Did he mean the ball that he bet last season?
He sighed and sat under his locker. Such a stupid father he had. If he wanted to win back the ball, why didn’t he bet on his team instead? Oh, yes, that man he always bet with always bet against the Jets. But still, there were some other ways.
Logan tapped his shoulder. “We’re the champ. You did it. Cheer up.”
Troy forced himself to smile. His uncle was right. He should be celebrating.
Chapter 21
“Zoey, don’t leave me here, please!” Bessie cried as Jenna, tried to hold her down. “I’ll be good, I promise. I’ll do anything you say.”
Zoey wiped her tears dry and turned away. She could not stand the sight. All the while, Bessie thought she’d done something wrong that was why she had brought her back to the child care center. It was too complicated to explain to a little girl what was really happening.
Everyday, since Jenna took custody of Bessie once again, she’d been coming back here to visit, but Bessie wanted to come back to her, something that she could not do since the court had revoked her guardianship due to some controversies she had been involved with.
She saw a couple approaching as she stepped out of the building. She froze.
Beth and her asshole boyfriend, who happened to be Zoey’s cheater ex-boyfriend.
She waited, until Beth recognized her.
“Zoey?” Beth asked.
Zoey waited until Beth stood before her. She glanced at Brent who could not look directly into her eyes.
Funny. She didn’t feel hurt anymore. But she would never consider Beth her friend anymore. As for this man, he was history, just like what would eventually happen to Troy.
“You finally decided to visit your daughter,” Zoey said apathetically.
Beth nodded. “I miss her.”
Zoey chuckled. “She’s inside, crying. I do hope you’ll make her feel better.” She turned away and never looked back. She was honestly scared. What if Beth regained custody of Bessie? And what if Bessie would choose to go with her mother?
The competition was getting tougher. She didn’t think she’d have any chance of winning.
She heard her phone ringing. She grabbed it in her purse and checked who was calling. Jeremy.
“Yes?” she answered.
“Miss Graham, do you have time to drop by my office today?” he asked.
“What is it about?”
“About you and Troy, and something else that involves you both.”
She sighed. “Alright. I’m on my way.”
Half an hour later, she entered the law firm building. Jeremy was standing by the door of his office, waiting for her.
“Is it about the divorce?” she asked as she sat on the chair in front of his desk. Before Jeremy could answer, she saw the papers waiting on his desk. She was right.
“How did you know?” Jeremy teased and sat on his chair. “Troy had already signed it. All that’s missing is your signature.”
Her chest tightened. It still hurt her. But what could she do. Troy wanted a divorce. She might as well give it to him.
She picked up the papers. “I’ll take them with me. I’ll return it to you tomorrow.”
“I’ve attached an agreement with it.”
“What agreement?”
“A divorce settlement. Troy’s offering you a higher price if you give him custody of the baby.”
She slapped the paper back on the desk. “Remove it. I only want the application for divorce. We already agreed that he’d pay me four million if I married him, and that does not include custody of the baby. So far, he’d only given me a hundred thousand.”
“That’s why Troy amended your original agreement. You won’t get just four million. This time, it’s thirty million dollars. Just sign it and I’ll call Troy to wire you the money right away.”
“No,” she replied in a firm tone. “Just divorce. Nothing else.”
“Miss Graham, you won’t earn that much in your lifetime.”
“How do you know?” she returned sarcastically. “I may be unemployed for now, but I won’t stay this way forever. Soon, I will start earning my own money and I won’t even need your client’s financial support. Tell him that.”
Jeremy was quiet, and then he sighed. “All right.”
“Now, remove the attachment. I’m only interested with divorce.”
He shrugged and unstapled the papers. Just as she had requested, he pulled away the back pages and handed her the rest. “Nothing but divorce.”
“Thank you,” she said and stood up.
“By the way, I have photos here that you might want to see.”
“Not interested,” she said and walked out of the door.
“I think this is a relative of yours. You have a lot of similarities.”
She stopped. Relative?
She shrugged and continued to the elevator. It might be another trick again, something they could use to make her agree to Troy’s proposal. They knew she was dying for any information about her biological family, and they were planning to use that in their favor.
In her car, she read the papers that Jeremy handed her. At the end of the document, she saw Troy’s signature.
To her utmost surprise, she burst into tears. She didn’t want to cry, but she couldn’t help it.
*****
Stanly shut the door closed right on his nose.
Troy sighed. Snowflakes were pouring down on him. His fingers were numb even underneath two pairs of gloves. Still, he remained standing there.
He needed to speak with his parents. If his father didn’t like to see him, maybe his mother would.
Things turned out sour the last time he came here. He could not sleep. He could not focus on the upcoming big game. The Superbowl was only days away. He wanted his conscience cleared before he left for Arizona.
He knocked on the door again.
“Go away!” his father yelled.
“Who is that?” Troy heard his mother ask.
“Just a kid selling ice cream,” his father replied. “Ice cream on a snowy day? Stupid kid.”
Again, he knocked, but they ignored him.
He jumped down the porch and looked at the window upstairs. That was Bessie’s room before, where Zoey often slept whenever she was
there. It was empty now.
He was about to go back to his car when he noticed the curtain moving. Someone was there, probably looking at him, but the glass window was too misty he could not recognize who it was. He hoped it was his mother.
A moment later, the door suddenly opened.
“Jesus, Troy!” his mother exclaimed. “What are you doing under the storm? Come in here.”
“Dad won’t let me in,” he replied.
“Oh, fuck that old man. Come inside, quick.”
He did and Paula quickly closed the door. He looked around and noticed that his father was not there. He probably went upstairs.
He heard footsteps rushing down the stairs. When he turned to see who it was, he was stunned to see Zoey coming down with a blanket.
She, too, froze when their eyes met. For a moment, the world stopped turning, until Paula spoke.
“Take your coat off.”
He pulled his eyes off Zoey and removed his coat. Paula took the blanket from Zoey and wrapped it around his shoulders. At the corner of his eyes, he saw Zoey leaving, but he pretended not to notice.
“Is she staying here?” he quietly asked his mother as he sat on the couch.
“Just for a few days,” Paula replied. “She found a new apartment. She was supposed to move today, but… the weather’s bad.”
He nodded. “How is she?”
“Don’t ask me. You ask her,” she replied and headed for the kitchen. “I’ll make you a cup of chocolate.”
He looked at the stairs. Should he go talk to Zoey?
He stood up and followed his mother to the kitchen instead. He found her standing before the counter.
“I want to apologize about what I said the last time I was here,” he said. “I didn’t mean them.”
Paula chuckled. “We all say things we don’t mean when we’re emotional. Just like when I told you that I wished it was you who died instead.” She turned to look at him. “I didn’t mean that. I was just so devastated I’ve probably gone crazy.”
Tears welled in his eyes, but he fought them back. It was the first time his mother had opened up to him about that, and instantly, the pain inside him had faded away.
He nodded. “I understand how precious Ashton is to you. I can’t get him back, so I asked Zoey to give me a baby so I could name him Ashton. That might ease away your grief.”
Paula nodded. “You told me.”
Oh, yes. He did tell her that last time he was here.
He forced out a laugh. “Aside from that, I don’t know what else to do to make you happy.”
Paula was speechless.
“I always wonder,” he continued. “Have you ever been proud of me just as how proud you were with Ashton when he became the star player of his basketball team in college?”
Paula approached him, and then she hugged him. “I’m proud of you, Troy. I’m sorry if I never told you that, but I am proud of you.”
He wrapped his arms around his mother and felt her warm tears soaking his shirt wet. Somehow, that made him feel better, even if he never actually felt that she was ever proud of him.
Paula pulled away and wiped her tears. “Go upstairs and talk to her. She does not deserve what you’ve done.”
Reluctantly, he turned around and headed to the stairs. He had to force himself to take the first step up.
He knocked on her door and took a deep breath. It had been a while since the last time they even exchanged words. He wasn’t really sure what to say to her.
A minute later, she opened the door and handed him the divorce papers. Her eyes were swollen red. It looked like she’d been crying inside the room and just wiped her tears dry.
“You promised me four million,” she said in a soft voice. “I did not sign your proposal as to the baby, but I promise to give you visitation rights.” She closed the door gently before his face.
He was left there, paralyzed and speechless.
So… she finally accepted the money, huh?
He found himself going down the stairs, as if his feet had just moved on their own. He pulled the blanket off his shoulders and picked up his coat.
“Troy, where are you going?” his mother, who was still sitting on the couch while drinking hot chocolate, asked. “There’s a storm outside.”
He stared at his mother’s worried face for a moment or two. “I have to go,” he said quietly and opened the door.
A cold gush of wind instantly blew over him, but at that time, his senses were numb. He continued down the porch and toward his car, ignoring his mother calling for him to come back.
Inside his car, he looked at the papers again. There was her signature. She really did sign it.
Something hurt him inside. It hurt so bad it was like his heart was being ripped apart.
What is this? Didn’t he plan for this all along? He got the divorce he wanted. Why does it hurt him now?
*****
Troy threw the divorce papers and stretched his legs over the dining table, almost spilling up his cup of coffee. Cora was off for the day, so he shouldn’t make any mess.
Why does he keep looking at those papers anyway? He just kept hurting himself over and over. He wondered why it hurt him every time he looked at it.
Whatever the reason was, it didn’t matter anymore. His marriage was over, and right now, all he wanted was his baby. He didn’t want to have just visiting right. He wanted custody, and he’d get that at any cost.
The problem was, Jeremy had done all he could to convince Zoey to sign the agreement, to the point of threatening and harassing her, but Zoey was not the kind of woman who could be intimidated. She claimed that the four million divorce settlement was enough, and she wouldn’t even demand for child support.
Is that so? Is there really a person, in sound mind, who’d say no to thirty million dollars?
He doubted it. Zoey’s a smart bitch. She could be up to something.
He reached for his phone and called for his lawyer.
“Her answer is still no, Troy,” Jeremy promptly replied. It seemed he already knew what Troy was going to ask.
“I know that. What about you raise the deal to fifty.”
“Christ, Troy! You can’t give that much for an unborn child. Why not get another woman to make you another baby?”
“I chose that woman to make me a baby for some reasons.”
“Oh, Christ,” Jeremy uttered. “Alright. I’ll call her right away. Be back with you in a minute.”
He sighed and lowered his phone on the table. Perhaps she wouldn’t say no this time.
Five minutes later, his phone rang.
“Troy, she turned your offer down and hanged up on me.”
“Fuck,” Troy uttered, exasperated. “So how much does she want?”
“I suggest you stop it. She does not want your money.”
“Of course she does.” He hanged up and dialed Zoey’s number. As soon as she received the call, he made his offer. “Sixty million. Take it or leave it.”
He heard her gasp. “You think you can buy anything you want with your money?”
“If I have to give you everything I have to get that baby, I will.”
“You’re one pathetic creature, Troy Myers. Money is all you have in this world. Well, eat ‘em all up. Shove some in your ass.”
“I know you want it, Zoey. You’re playing with me. You want me to keep on raising the deal. Just name your price and let’s be done with this.”
“Fuck off and leave me alone. Don’t worry, I won’t ask for any child support from you, but I’ve changed my mind now. You won’t get any visiting right anymore.”
“You can’t support that child alone. You don’t even have a job.”
“I just got one, dickhead. They’re paying me twenty one dollars an hour. Eat that.”
She hanged up, and he cursed. This woman had just pushed his patience to its limit.
“Myers, you’re there?”
Troy turned in the direction of the voice—at t
he main door. That was Logan’s voice. He forgot they had a practice this afternoon.
“Here,” he replied.
Logan emerged at the entrance of the dining room and scowled upon seeing Troy sitting before the table with his feet raised up.
“What the fuck are you doing sitting your ass in that chair?” Logan yelled and picked up the cup of coffee. He took a sip before he spoke again. “The GM’s waiting for you.”
“That’s cold,” Troy said, pointing at the coffee.
“I’ll help myself. Go change your clothes. We’re leaving in five minutes.” Logan peered at the paper on the table. “What’s this?”
Troy lowered his feet on the floor and stood up. Logan looked up at him with wide opened eyes.
“You suggested that,” Troy said before his uncle could say anything.
“I suggested a marriage,” Logan defended. “I never said anything about divorce.”
“That’s a natural consequence. You knew I didn’t love her.”
“I think you do now.”
Troy chuckled and turned away. That can’t be true. How could he love a fierce tigress like Zoey? She was not his ideal woman. Not even close.
Chapter 22
Zoey tossed the paper on the floor and sank on the couch. She rubbed her forehead to relieve her headache. She just settled down in her new apartment, just two doors away from Franki’s, and the sheriff delivered her these summons from the court.
The investigator claimed he had found sufficient grounds and evidence to charge her and Troy with conspiracy to mislead investigation and obstruction of justice.
Things seemed to get worse as time passed by. If she knew this would eventually happen, she should have stayed away from Troy.
She pitied him. That was the very root of all these things. She shouldn’t have felt that.
“Zoey?”
That was Franki’s voice. Quickly, she stood up and opened the door.
“Mister Norris is looking for you,” Franki said and stepped away.
Zoey was stunned. Indeed, Logan was standing there.
“Good afternoon, Miss Graham,” he said.
She nodded. “Come in please. It’s cold in here. I thought you’re in Arizona already.”
