If I stay here, I’m going to hate seeing her with someone new. My kids will get used to him, and one day she might claim that since I don’t spend enough time with them, maybe she should take them with her, which would be for the best.
“So, according to you, if I don’t sign today, I have to move with you and your brothers, right?” she confirms, and I nod. “Okay, then I’ll sign when you give me the exact amount that you will be receiving.”
“What are you talking about?” I ask, confused.
“The last time you asked me to sign, you said you’d give me anything I want,” she clarifies. “I want that. Whatever your father is leaving you.”
“Are you paying attention?” I question, upset. Is she playing with me? “I don’t get that until the eighteen months are over.”
She smiles, stands up, and heads to the door, opening it. “I don’t think I believe you. This is too…convenient.”
“Leyla, don’t be like this,” I beg her.
“Visiting hours are over.” She points toward the hallway. “Your invitation has been revoked.”
“We have to finish this conversation. You can’t just leave me hanging,” I insist.
“Well, figure out how you’ll solve this because I’m not going, and I won’t sign unless I’m ready or you give me the exact amount I requested.”
Since when did she become this infuriating, maddening, and obstinate woman? She was so easy to get along with, understanding, and sensitive.
You broke her, asshole.
“This isn’t a game,” I raise my voice, trying to grab her attention and shake some sense into her.
She glares at me and scolds me with that soft, angry voice I hate. “Never talk to me like that, Pierce Aldridge.”
“Well, don’t leave me hanging,” I protest.
“You left me hanging for years,” she retorts. “As always, everything has to be done Pierce’s way, doesn’t it? Figure out how to get out of this mess. I might not give you the divorce or go with you. What if this is a scam your mother created so I’d finally leave her little boy alone?”
“Don’t be like that,” I say, trying to calm the fuck down.
She smirks, “Well, you know what they say…you harvest what you plant. Text me when you’re ready to pick up the kids. If not, I can drop them off on Friday.”
I leave because there’s no point in continuing this conversation. Once I step on the elevator, I receive a text from Nyx and scream, “Fuck!”
We might be able to tweak some stipulations, but I should start packing my shit and make sure my brothers are on board. Shit, can this get any worse?
Chapter Eighteen
Pierce
I plan on fighting the will. However, that evening while I’m on the phone with my brothers, I warn them to get ready to move to Baker’s Creek. Technically, we’re fucked. They are extremely unhappy with the news. Henry is already frustrated with the state of The Lodge.
Our father stopped visiting the hotel a long time ago. The place is in the hands of an incompetent manager—Henry’s words.
No matter what happens with the will, we have to bring this place up to date. Henry plans on updating some of the equipment as early as this week. Sophia, his assistant, is going to help him assess the entire place to see how much we have to invest. He plans on driving to Aldry’s Sweets, the factory in Happy Springs, to do a quick audit. There are a lot of moving pieces around the businesses that I have to figure out too.
We are in charge, but there are limitations. We have access to Dad’s money, but Parrish has to authorize the withdrawals. Henry can’t absorb The Lodge into Merkel Hotels and Spas. It’s a slippery road to navigate. I have to study the will and learn it by heart before we fuck up and lose everything.
Henry is mad. He’s never cared about anyone but himself. I bet he’s just minutes away from leaving Baker’s Creek. I hope that Hayes and the rest of the guys can convince him to stay. Hayes says what I’ve been thinking all along, “This is bigger than us.”
I don’t want to go, but there aren’t many options. The next day, I go back to work, not that I plan on doing much of that. My priority is my father’s testament. As usual, Mom is in my office waiting for me. I’m not sure if it’s to chastise me for not calling her yesterday, as she made me promise, or—and I think this is the reason—she wants to find out more about my father’s will.
“If he left everything to Hayes, we could contest the will,” she says instead of greeting me. “I bet we can get Henry on board. After all, he’s the firstborn. We could even help him get the fortune in exchange for a hefty percentage.”
“I wouldn’t need to involve the firm if I wanted to do that,” I offer. “After all, I can represent myself. Why would I let the firm benefit from something that doesn’t belong to the Bryants?”
Her features harden, “We are your family.”
“You are my mother,” I correct her and hand her a copy of the will. “His assets will be divided into equal parts after we meet his stipulations. If you or your minions find a way to get rid of those stipulations, I’ll be happy to pay you for your services.”
She huffs, grabs the file I handed her, and starts reading it silently.
“You can’t move to Baker’s Creek,” she complains, her voice is so loud my assistant comes over.
“Is everything okay?” she asks, looking at my mother. “Should I call 9-1-1?”
“We’re fine,” I say and wave my hand dismissively.
Mom glares at her before she continues ranting, “This is arbitrary and doesn’t affect you. There has to be another way to get part of his fortune without following these ridiculous requests. Has the gold digger signed the divorce?”
“Her name is Leyla,” I clarify. “No, she hasn’t.”
“Push her to do it, and make sure to file it before you receive your father’s assets or she might try to keep part of what is rightfully yours,” she advises. I don’t tell her that Leyla has plenty of money and that’s the least of her worries—because she might try to push me to take that away from her. “We will find a way to get you out of this without you losing a cent of the inheritance, but…maybe moving into the town might help you get rid of that woman. It’ll be a fresh start.”
Mom and I haven’t seen eye to eye in a while, but today we agree on one thing. This is my chance to start anew.
“So, can I trust you with this?” I ask, making sure I heard her right. She has handled wills and trusts for a long time. “This is important, Mom.”
“When have I failed, Pierce?” she asks. There’s hurt in her voice. “I’m one of the best attorneys in the country, and this is a favor for you. I’ll see to it personally. In the meantime, get rid of your wife.”
There is no point in telling her that I’m working on getting the divorce because she’ll suggest I force it. She wouldn’t understand that I owe too much to Leyla, and the least I can do is give her the time she requested.
Even though Mom is trying to find a way to get rid of the stipulations, Nyx and I spend one hour a day studying the will. She can recite it by now, and if anything fails, she already has a few ideas on how to tweak it so we aren’t stranded in Baker’s Creek forever.
For so long I stayed away from my brothers, and now I’m on the phone at least three times a day with Hayes and a couple more with Henry. If I quit the firm, I won’t be retiring. They’ll have plenty of work for me, and I can handle all the legal parts of our father’s assets. Well, maybe just Henry will. Hayes only needs me to help him sell his practice in San Francisco and buy the one in Baker’s Creek. He’s not only trying to win Blaire back, but he’s moving his entire life to Oregon.
At first, Hayes’s radical change seems like a frivolous idea. A little unorthodox and extreme to say the least. However, as the days pass and I spend more time focusing on cases outside the firm, I realize that my older brother is onto something important. The life I’ve been leading is depressing. Moving out isn’t about getting the divor
ce but putting some distance between my toxic family and myself.
It’s because of them that I lost Leyla. The woman I avoid seeing but text daily, reminding her that she has to sign the divorce papers. If she comes to visit the kids, I don’t know. After our last fight, I turned off the security cameras and the alarm system. Their primary purpose was to keep her safe when she lived with me. Once she left, they became a way to spy on her when she was visiting the kids.
These days, unless I happen to come into the house and I spot her car, I don’t know her whereabouts.
It’s been two weeks and a few days since the last time I saw her. Every morning, I sound like an alcoholic in the middle of a meeting counting how many days have passed since I’ve seen her and feeling like I’m dying because I miss her so fucking much.
It’s not just the sex but her presence—everything. It’ll get better once I’m living a couple of states away from her.
When Hayes sends me a message that according to his GPS he should be here shortly, I go out to check if the gate is open. I notice her outside playing with the dogs. In our last text exchange, I blamed her for not letting me go and be happy. I regretted it right away and waited for her to lash out, but she didn’t.
It’s infuriating to handle her vicious comebacks, but it hurts me when she goes radio silent. That’s when I feel as if I’ve lost another piece of her forever.
I have almost nothing left.
Now that I’m leaving, who is going to take care of her?
I have no idea what is going to happen with the kids. Should I take them? The barn is ready for them, but she needs them with her, doesn’t she?
Would she sign today and accept to move back into the house so she can be close to them? Probably not. She might just commute to see them. She doesn’t think about her safety, though. I have a week and a few days to find a way to get her to sign and figure out our kids’ future.
Maybe I can finally convince her to do it today. I go inside the house and print yet another copy of the divorce papers, sign it, and leave it on top of the coffee table.
When I come back out, I realize she’s close to Hayes, which is weird because she avoids strangers. She studies him and finally says, “It is true. There are more like him around the world.”
“Hayes Aldridge,” he introduces himself.
She tells him that we could be twins. There’s an edge to her voice, and I interrupt them before she confuses him with me and claws him with her words. I clear my throat and lie as I tell Leyla, “I didn’t know you were here.”
“I was just about to leave,” she answers, barely acknowledging me, and I hate the thickness in her voice.
What the fuck did I do to her now?
Ignore her and just get this over with.
“The papers are on top of the table,” I state. “You could just sign them and be done with it.”
“Do you have the money?” Her irritated voice makes me want to scream at her, but I try my best to keep the tone in place.
But I lose my cool when she gives me a challenging glare. “For fuck’s sake, Leyla, I already told you that I wouldn’t receive the inheritance until after next year. Either you sign, or you have to move with me to Baker’s Creek.”
“My price is half of the assets—deposited in my account.”
She lowered it, but it’s still impossible to meet, and I remind her of that. “You know I don’t have that much money, but I’ll sign the trust over to you. Ten billion dollars plus whatever the trust has made in interest. If not, you have to join us—or we all lose everything.”
Hayes takes a deep breath and stops the fight by saying, “I don’t want to interrupt you guys, but I came to discuss the move. Someone tipped the town off, and they know what’s at stake. They’re concerned about their future and what’s going to happen since none of us are there yet.”
“Small towns, they are always getting into your business,” she grunts.
“If you hate them, why don’t you just give me the fucking divorce,” I push one more time.
“Maybe I won’t go.” And when did my sweet wife become this vindictive woman?
“Listen, I don’t know anything about your relationship. I’m sorry things are rocky between the two of you,” Hayes interrupts the glaring match, and I almost burst into laughter with his poor way to describe what’s happening between Leyla and me.
Rocky...it’s the fucking Grand Canyon filled with boulders, cliffs, and even rapid rivers.
“I really hope you can come to some amicable agreement soon. In the meantime,” he continues, “I need you two to work together. Leyla, our father added you into the stipulations. You have to live with us for eighteen months. If one of us doesn’t move in by next week or moves out before the eighteen-month period, a lot of people are going to suffer. It’s not about us, but the future of the town and the people who worked for my father and still depend on his companies. My father wasn’t a very nice person. He’s toying with us, and if we were the only ones affected, I wouldn’t be uprooting my life or begging you to rethink your position. I’m hoping that you can get past your differences and help the town.”
She looks at me and says, “Ha, you’re just like daddy. And here I thought you were like all the Bryants.”
I’m tempted to tell her, which is why I’m trying to get rid of you, to protect you from us. These assholes are going to eat you alive.
Well, maybe not Hayes. He’s cool and mature. Henry could be the one, but perhaps he’s not. He’s demanding, and fuck if I don’t want to tell him to start controlling his tone of voice, but overall, he’s not that bad.
Hayes pulls me back into the conversation when he says, “The bottom line is that if we don’t move, thousands of people will lose their jobs and their homes. We can prevent it. If you give him the divorce, you don’t have to come, but if you don’t, I beg you to join us.”
“So, it’s true?”
I nod instead of saying, “Are you fucking kidding me? Did you really think this was some elaborate scam to get rid of you?” Then, I’m reminded of everything I hid from her, and well, how can I expect her to trust me?
My heart completely stops when I hear her say, “Okay, I’ll do it.”
Just like that, she is doing it, but what the fuck is she going to do? “You’re signing the divorce papers?” I swallow hard and realize that I’m struggling with her decision. But this is good, right? “That’s good.”
“No. I told you that if I do it, it’ll be when I’m ready.”
But can’t she understand this means uprooting her life? I can’t let her do that, and I now understand how crazy she’s making me feel and sound. We should just let each other go.
“What the fuck do you need from me?” I pull my hair, upset at her and myself because I should be happy with her decision. I want her with me. However, this is so bad for her that she should leave me now.
I am bad for her.
“Take everything. Just give me my freedom.”
She ignores me and asks Hayes, “When can I move the animals? I already chose a company that can do it and scheduled it in case this wasn’t some scheme he cooked up to get rid of me.”
That sounds insane, but it makes sense. She doesn’t trust me. Is this why she has been asking for so much money? To piss me off and to see if I’ll budge. Would I give her the money if I had it?
Probably, and I bet she still wouldn’t give me the divorce.
“I think the barn is ready,” Hayes answers. “Let me give you my girlfriend’s number. You can text her, and she’ll give you all the details.”
“Make sure that whoever you hire sends the bills to my office,” I remind her. “Do you want me to hire the moving truck?”
“You should if you need to move your things. I have everything I need with me,” she responds, and her attention is back to her phone and Hayes. “What’s your girlfriend’s name?”
After she gets Blaire’s details, she leaves without saying another word.
“Actually, if I’m not around, she is lovely,” I answer without going into much detail because she is a sweet person.
“What happened between you two?”
I fucked up, but he doesn’t need to know that. We aren’t those kinds of brothers, are we? “She was hot, I was infatuated, and now I can’t get rid of her.”
My answer is vague and pretty cold. I don’t think he’d like me very much if I tell him what happened between us. Does it even matter?
Chapter Nineteen
Leyla
During my drive back home, I keep waiting for Pierce to call me to demand I sign the divorce one more time. He doesn’t. I brace myself for when he threatens to force it, which I know he can do. Nyx explained that to me a couple of times. He hasn’t done it, and I hope he doesn’t do it. I have to call the adoption agencies to check on my applications. They keep losing them.
Fostering a kid has been another challenge. I went through all the training they requested and even volunteered in their offices so they could get to know me better. They came to my apartment twelve times, and they could see it’s ready to receive a baby. The nursery is teal and grey with farm animals. I have clothes from preemie to two years old for boys and girls.
I swear, if that man hadn’t told me that we’d filled that house with children, I wouldn’t be this desperate for a baby.
When I arrive home, I feed the kids and then take them for a walk before calling Blaire. I take a deep breath and greet her when she answers, “Blaire Wilson.”
“Hi, this is Leyla Aldridge. Hayes gave me your number,” I say with a bit of hesitation.
What did Pierce tell them about me? He mentioned she’s nice and told me about her charity. I made an anonymous donation last week. She seems nice in her pictures, but so many people these days look lovely on social media, and they are anything but.
“He said you could give me more details about the barn,” I continue, reminding myself that I’m almost thirty and not a child. “I’m not sure if Pierce mentioned it, but we have two horses, an alpaca, two dogs, and chickens. Is it big enough to fit them, or do I need to find somewhere to board them until we can build a bigger place for them?”
Defying Our Forever (The Baker’s Creek Billionaire Brothers Book 3) Page 12
