Inside me, joy, confusion, relief, and anxiety mix together in a cocktail that makes me dizzy.
Once Alex is in the car, he smiles at me. In his eyes, the love he feels for me is evident. “You okay?” he asks. “How about the baby?”
“We’re good.” I’m so grateful that nothing is wrong with the baby. Not long after I left the doctor’s office, the baby gave me a hard kick. The stress of the past few days will take a while to completely dissipate, but today is a good day.
Alex starts the car. For someone who had been behind bars, he looks relaxed and not traumatized at all. I was afraid he’d pull away from me for a couple of days to cope with the humiliation he had endured. It has always been his style.
“Where are we going?”
I peer through the window at the blur of cars whizzing by.Nashville is a beautiful city. I can see us living here, finding a little safe place, so we can hide from the world in plain sight.
Everyone is busy with their own lives. I doubt they would bother us. But on the other hand, I prefer a small town. It’s the kind of place I always imagined raising kids in, not a big city.
“I’m taking you to a nice hotel. We’ll stay there for the night.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Babe, did you win the lottery while in jail or something?”
He laughs out loud, the sound clear and untainted. It wraps itself around my heart, soothing me, washing away some of the pain and fear of the past few days.
He doesn’t say anything more, just reaches for my hand, lifts it to his mouth, and presses his lips to it. I shiver a little, unable to believe my husband is really here with me. I’m also secretly terrified they’ll take him away again.
But I’m tired of thinking and worrying, so I choose to follow his lead. He has always been the kind of person who has everything under control.
“We’re almost there,” he says after we’ve been driving for close to twenty minutes. “I’ll explain everything to you very soon.”
“Okay.” Allowing myself to relax, I sink deeper into the buttery leather seat and close my eyes. When I open them again, we’re pulling up in front of the LaChris Hotel, one of the most exclusive five-star hotels in the world.
“Alex, what’s going on?” I ask as he hands the car keys to the valet and ushers me into a marble lobby with the largest chandelier I’ve ever seen in my life. My fingers fan out against my breastbone and my mouth drops open when I spot the indoor waterfall sliding down an entire wall of glass.
“We’re staying here?” I breathe. “Who’s paying for all of this?”
“I am.” I smell her jasmine perfume before I swivel around to face her.
My stomach lurches when our eyes meet. Memories of the past crash over me like a dangerous wave. “Ma... Marcy?”
“Hi, Viola,” Alex’s mother says coolly. Then she glares at my belly.
Chapter 12
Istand frozen in the lobby, staring at the woman who told me fifteen years ago that I got pregnant on purpose so I could worm my way into her son’s life. The woman who told me that Alex deserved more than a miserable stuttering girl whose mother scrubbed her toilets for a living.
Standing in front of her, I’m back to being that girl again. I want to speak, but I’m tongue-tied. She still has the power to shut me up.
Her smile doesn’t fool me.Her eyes tell me that nothing has changed. The darkness, the accusations, the hate are still buried inside them.
I’ll never forget the day she stared at my stomach when Alex told her I was pregnant. You’d think something disgusting was growing inside me and not her grandchild.
After all these years, she still has the same expression on her Botox-filled face, which seems to have frozen in time. She has blue eyes like Alex, but hers resemble a stormy sea while Alex’s are a clear blue sky.
My own eyes are hot with rage when I look at Alex. He must know how I feel.
“What is she doing…” I swallow hard. “Why is she here?” It takes all my energy to keep from stuttering.
Marcy throws her head back and laughs. “I guess some things never change. After all these years and you still speak like a child?”
“Mom,” Alex cuts in. “Don’t.” He pulls me closer to his side, protecting me the way he did back then. “You promised to respect my wife. She is my wife now.”
“I promised no such thing. All I said was that I’ll do my best to tolerate her.”
