Chapter 28

The afternoon sunlight filtered through the windows, bathing me in warmth as I sat on the couch, lost in my own thoughts as I prepared myself for when Walker got home in a little while.

And I told him he was going to be a daddy.

A sharp knock on the door startled me back to reality. Frowning, I rose from the couch and made my way to the door, thinking it was probably a package.

I glanced through the glass, seeing the outline of a woman. Freezing, I slowly peered through the peephole, panicking when I saw who it was.

Jolette.

“I can see you there. Open up the damn door, for fuck’s sake,” she snapped and I cringed, any gumption I carried with me rapidly shrinking at the idea of her presence.

I could do this though. I hadn’t seen her for months. It had given me time to build up a little armor. Right? This was probably just a check-in, a little reminder of who owned me.

I opened the door, resigning myself to misery for however long she decided to stay. Jolette stood on the doorstep, her coiffed hair and designer attire perfect as usual.

My stomach clenched as we took each other in.

‘Jolette,’ I greeted her tersely, my voice carefully blank of any emotion. ‘You should have called..’

Jolette’s lips curved into a sly smile, her gaze sweeping over me with a hint of disgust. ‘Just thought I’d drop by for a little in-person chat,’ she replied, pushing her way in. “Although I see I should have brought your dietician with me. You’re getting fat.”

Fuck you is what I wanted to say…but I kept quiet, knowing from experience that any pushback only made things worse.

And what if I made her mad and she decided to try and force me to leave?

I couldn’t leave Walker.

I wouldn’t.

Jolette sauntered in like she owned the place, her heels clicking against the hardwood floor as she took everything in.

I hated her here. I hated it even more than I’d hated it in L.A. This was my safe place. My sanctuary. Where Walker made love to me. She wasn’t supposed to be here. She would ruin it.

‘So, what’s this all about?’ I asked, still trying to keep my tone neutral.

She turned to face me, her expression unreadable as she fixed me with a piercing gaze. ‘I was thinking we should start talking about a tour,’ she began, her voice measured and controlled. ‘Between your little romance with Walker, and your performance at the Sounds of Us concert, our phones have been ringing off the hook. It’s the perfect time to resurrect your career.’

Panic spilled into my chest and I stared at the floor, not wanting her to see what I was thinking. As much as I’d enjoyed singing lately, as much fun as I’d had at the concert…there was no way I was ready to go back out on the road.

Especially considering…I was going to be a mom.

It took me a second to realize that Jolette had gone extremely quiet. Usually she’d already be screaming at me for not immediately agreeing with her. I glanced over to see what she was doing and…

She was staring at the table, where I’d laid the small plastic stick in preparation for Walker coming home. Recognition was dawning in her eyes, along with horror…and disgust.

Stupid. Stupid. Why hadn’t I hid it?

‘What’s this?’ she demanded, her voice rising in pitch as she reached for the pregnancy test.

I felt my cheeks flush with embarrassment as I struggled to come up with a response. ‘It’s…it’s nothing,’ I stammered, my voice barely above a whisper.

I reached for the test but before I could get to it, she snatched it up, holding it aloft like a damning piece of evidence.

‘You’re pregnant,’ she hissed, her eyes ablaze with fury. ‘How could you let this happen? How could you be so careless?’

I bristled at her accusatory tone, my own defensiveness rising to meet hers. ‘It’s none of your business,’ I shot back, my voice trembling with indignation.

“We’re leaving. Right now,” she growled.

“What?”

“We’ll make an appointment with the doctor. No one will know.” She reached for my arm like she was prepared to drag me out.

I backed out of reach.

“You think I’ve worked this hard to let you ruin everything! To let you have a baby? No!” she growled. “You’re getting rid of that thing…even if I have to stick a hanger in you and do it myself!”

“What? No!” My voice trembled as fear leached in. Staring at her, it wasn’t hard to believe she would do it. Knock me out and drag the baby out of me if it was the last thing she did. Her eyes were crazed, her cheeks red and pinched. I covered my stomach protectively and backed away.

“You need to leave. I’m going to call the police!” I told her, backing towards the kitchen, where I’d left my phone on the bar.

Her laughter sliced through the air like shards of glass, each cruel note piercing my ears and settling like a weight in the pit of my stomach. “Like anyone will believe anything you have to say,” she hissed, taking a step toward me.

Walker

”Liv?” I called out the second I opened the garage door and stepped inside the house, eager to see Olivia after a fucking grueling practice session.

I frowned as I walked down the hallway, hearing the murmur of voices. I’d checked the camera thirty minutes ago and no one had been here. No one was supposed to be here.

Turning the corner, I froze when I saw Jolette standing in the middle of the living room—Olivia a few feet away, cradling her stomach as she stared wide-eyed at her bitch of a mother.

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize I’d just stepped into a very tense conversation.

‘What’s going on here?’ I demanded, as I crossed the room to stand in front of Olivia, not wanting Jolette to even be able to look at her.

Jolette’s eyes narrowed, her face curling up in disgust, her tone laced with venom as she addressed me. ‘You know exactly what’s going on. How dare you, you fucking piece of shit.’

“Language,” I commented, still trying to figure out what was going on. My gaze dropped to her hand where she was clenching something…was that…?

I glanced behind me at Olivia who stared back at me with a wide-eyed pleading expression.

Guess the cat was out of the bag. She knew we were having a baby.

“This was not part of⁠—”

‘How are those frozen accounts doing, Jolette?’ I interjected before she could let another cat out of the bag—one I was not interested in my pregnant soulmate learning about.

I watched with satisfaction as her face paled in response.

‘They only left one open…right?’

Jolette’s face aged ten years in a matter of seconds, and she sputtered in disbelief. ‘How did you⁠—’

“How did I?” I repeated mockingly. “The details aren’t really that important. Only that the judge is going to find all sorts of proof of fraud and misuse of those accounts. And…since you decided to piss me off…I think I’ll just go ahead and make sure that last account is closed too.” I pulled out my phone and sent off a text for Jeff to send more evidence to the lawyer I’d hired for Olivia. Based on how good the guy was, I would have Marco and Jolette completely cut off from Olivia’s money before the day was gone.

Jolette was scrambling to the door. “I’m leaving,” she said hoarsely. “There’s no reason to do something stupid.”

“Maybe you should have thought about that today before you did something stupid,” I called after her with a smug smile.

She threw open the door and lurched through it.

“Oh, and Jolette,” I called after her, making sure my voice carried to her. “That’s only the beginning. There’s plenty more fun where that came from.”

She threw me a look of complete terror before she literally scrambled down the road, one of her ridiculous heels breaking as she went. I watched her crash to the ground with a grin. Hopefully a car would hit her.

I closed the door and turned towards my girl.

Because we had something to celebrate.