My best friend had been there from the very first day when Ridge stalked me to the bar on his birthday after we met in the park. Tessa had moved to the West Coast and Duri had gone with her for a bit, but it hadn’t lasted a year before she came back to Georgia. She wasn’t made to be far away from family and friends, even if Tessa flourished there. We had since lost touch with Tessa beyond occasional updates we shared on social media. She hadn’t even reached out since everything became public about my divorce. Duri had always been there, though. I would have reveled in how blessed that made me in the friend department, but my heart was broken all over again.
“I had the slightest blip of hope that we could fix things today, DD. It lasted long enough for me to get home from the doctor and take a shower. Then it all crumbled out from underneath me again.”
“Let’s go sit down and you can tell me all about it, Vi.” We did just that and I told her what I’d learned today. “Fuck, I want to kill him again, and this time your protests aren’t going to stop me,” she angrily insisted.
“He’s not-” Crying induced hiccups interrupted, but once I got them under control, I finished my sentence, “worth it.” I shook my head and swiped the tears away as best I could even though fresh ones continued to soak my face. “I was going to go tell him at his work today. I’m so glad I got those texts from you and Gabby.”
“Why? He obviously wouldn’t have been there anyway.”
“No, but at least now I know why. What if I’d heard he went to Australia on business, so I texted or called to tell him the news?”
“I’m not following, sweetie.”
“Don’t you see? I can’t tell him. I can never tell him now.”
“Whoa. I understand you’re hurt, but he’s the father. I never thought you’d be one of those women who would use their child to hurt their ex.”
“Come on Duri, you know me better than that.”
“I thought I did. So, tell me why you think that you can’t let Ridge know he’s going to be a father because I still don’t get it.”
I pulled in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “He’s with her,” I said by way of explanation.
“Yes, I know. I saw the same pictures you did.”
“DD, she raped him. Maybe he has completely lost his fucking mind since then and decided that being with his rapist is okay, but I will NEVER be alright with allowing my child around a woman capable of drugging and raping her boss. Just think what she might do to our child when he has visitation.”
“Holy crap, Vi,” DD huffed. “That’s some fucked shit.”
“Tell me about it.”
“I see your point, though. Your secret is safe with me, but what about your families?”
I shrugged. “I’ll have to find a way to make them understand. My family won’t be the issue. The Westovers will find out eventually, and I don’t know what they’ll do. Who knows how long Ridge will be out of the country, but while he is, I have to get my legal ducks in a row to protect my child.”
“You’re also going to have to maintain a low profile and hide your body as it changes, otherwise the media will no doubt point out that you are with child.”
“I need to call my lawyer. I never thought I’d have to deal with her again after the divorce.”
“I’m so sorry he’s put you through all this. What the fuck is that idiot thinking even breathing the same air as that whore, let alone touching her and going to another country with her?”
“Those are things I will probably never have the answers to,” I whispered.
DD put her arms around me and refused to let go as we rocked back and forth on my couch until all my tears finally dried up. Then, I pulled my phone back out, ignored the multitude of texts that started to pile up and contacted Margaret Atwater again.
Chapter 15
Violet
“How is this my life right now, DD?” I sobbed the words into Duri’s shoulder.
The silky strands of her jet-black bobbed-style hair tickled my nose before I pulled away. Her almond-shaped brown eyes spilled warmth and understanding into my heart as she leaned back and wiped my eyes with the sleeve of her shirt.
We had been friends since our first day of college. I’d been Tessa’s dorm mate, but Duri Dae Lee had been a friend of Tessa’s from high school. Once we were introduced, it was like we just clicked in that special way that can’t be explained. Outside of Ridge, she had been my person for all these years. From the moment she first told me to call her DD because she was tired of assholes calling her Dori - after the forgetful fish from Finding Nemo - we had been inseparable. At first, Tessa had been included, but after she left for California, we became a twosome instead of a threesome.
No matter what, I knew she would have my back. She would be there to help pick me up, just as I’d done for her when she came back from California with what I suspected was a broken heart more than homesickness. I knew she’d be the perfect aunt for my baby - who would need as much family as possible, because as long as their dad was with Fiona, he would not be allowed in their life.
My lawyer was working on that.
