Love Defied, page 7
“Idiots.” I couldn’t help but feel a little tug at my heart. This was what we did before Anderson deceived me. And saying I missed it was an understatement. We ate, talked, and laughed some more about old memories. Suddenly a tall, well-dressed man came up to our table.
“Well, well, well. What do we have here?”
Chapter Seventeen
Anderson
“What the hell are you doing here?” I demanded, looking up at the one human being I loathed.
“I could ask you the same question,” he sneered. His eyes were full of amusement.
“That’s one cute baby you got there...” he ventured. I stood up, blocking him from my son. Before I could say anything else, I heard Brent speak.
“That’s my baby.” I turned to look at him standing next to me, sheltering Gracie and Isaiah.
“Oh, is that so?” Again sounding amused. He opened a brown envelope in which he dragged out a few big pictures. He slapped them to my chest as I grabbed them, not taking my eyes away from him.
“Could have fooled me.” I looked down at the large photos I was gripping to my chest. I felt my eyes narrow into thin slits. “You had me followed?” I whispered in bewilderment.
I glanced down at one picture—I was hugging Gracie outside the bank. My heart wrenched a little inside. He smiled at my discomfort. “Of course. Did you think I wouldn’t help my sister figure out your insane behavior and your disappearance these past few days?”
“I’ll act any way I want to act,” I declared, as I felt the anger rise from my stomach up to my throat. I thought I might vomit. “How fucking dare you! I’ll sue you for harassment!” I bellowed, which echoed off the walls of the small diner. People started whispering and looking in our direction.
“You won’t if you don’t want Aliyah finding out that she could be a mother...”
“That Bitch will never lay eyes on my son, Let alone be his mother!” Gracie yelled over my shoulder. I felt her push me to the side, but I didn’t budge. She continued to scream over my shoulder, “You and your sister are nothing but scum. Your entire family is scum! I swear to God if you—” I spun around to cover her mouth. I knew what Amal was capable of. Gracie did not. He would take her words and twist them because that’s the type of person he was.
“No, please let the lady finish her sentence. After all, she is entitled to her opinion.” He was smirking from ear to ear. I wanted to rip that smirk off and shove it down his throat. I looked back at Gracie.
“Say nothing else. He’s probably recording every word to use against you,” I warned Gracie. I removed my hand, and she slowly sat down. I turned back around to face Amal.
“Leave now before I call the police!”
“So, I see you don’t deny the fact that you have a child. Good to know. You should keep a close eye on him if you don’t want anything bad to happen.” I took a step forward as he took a step back.
“I suggest you don’t threaten an innocent child,” I said with fury. He laughed.
“I’ll be seeing you later. Watch your back.” He winked and then turned around and walked through the glass doors.
“I knew this was a mistake.” I heard a faint whisper from behind. I whipped around to see Gracie grabbing the diaper bag. Isaiah tucked under her arm, on her hip.
“Let me take you home.” I slapped some money on the table and reached for the diaper bag draped over her shoulder. She jerked away.
“No, Anderson, it’s over.” I frowned.
“What’s over?”
She pointed her finger between her and me. “This! God, I can’t believe I fell for this again. You’re not taking me home, and I won’t risk that asshole hurting Isaiah. I don’t want you to come near the house.” My heart skipped a beat before sinking to my feet.
“Gracie, please, he would never hurt Isaiah. I’ll make sure of that.”
“You can’t control that, Anderson, don’t be dumb. If you wish to keep our son safe, you will stay away. You know this is the only way.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing—two steps forward, one step back. I was going to rip Amal’s head off.
“You can’t do that. Isaiah is my son, too. And you can’t walk home. That’s more dangerous than me driving you.”
“Who said I was walking home? Brent will take me.” I had forgotten Brent was there through the chaos. I turned to look at him, his eyebrows raised in shock.
“Um yeah, I can do that?” He scratched the back of his head, clearly feeling awkward at the situation. Although I was relieved that my best friend was taking her home, I was also jealous. I wanted to protect her and my son, but for everyone’s sake, I pushed it aside.
“Fine. But I can’t just stop seeing my son.”
“Anderson Atwal, you will, whether you like it or not, and that’s final,” she snapped at me. Her once beautiful eyes blazing with fire. Without another word, she pushed past me toward the door. She didn’t even let me say goodbye to my son. Brent followed. I grabbed him by the shoulder to stop him.
“Please escort her to her apartment. Don’t let her out of your sight. I don’t know what Amal is planning.”
“No worries, dude. I got this. And don’t worry about Isaiah. She’ll come around when this is taken care of.”
“I hope you’re right.”
I helped remove all the baby things from my truck to his as Gracie sat in the front of Brent’s truck. She didn’t even look in my direction. I reluctantly let her store the things I had bought at her house for safety measures. I watched as my heart and soul drove away. I vowed that Amal and Aliyah would pay for this. I just had to figure out how. I jumped in my car with a plan in mind and headed to the house I had called home.
Chapter Eighteen
Gracie
Silence engulfed Brent’s Truck. My thoughts and emotions were going crazy. I foolishly imagined this would be good for Isaiah. I thought he would be safe. But I was so wrong. How could I have gotten caught up in those silly memories? How could Amal get away with this?
“You know Anderson would allow no one to lay a finger on you or Isaiah.”
I looked at Brent, who pretended to concentrate on the road. Both his hands were gripping the steering wheel. I forgot he was probably feeling awkward; I mean, we hadn’t talked in over a year. What could I say in response? Nothing. It was easier that way. I knew he was right, but I was too stubborn to agree. I simply looked away and continued to stare out the window.
“Gracie, I know you’re mad and all but give the guy some credit. I was there by his side at that awful wedding. He wasn’t happy. I’ve known Anderson forever and never saw him like that. And afterward, he was a mess—like a zombie. He went to work, came home, and sat in his office until bedtime. They don’t sleep in the same room,” he ventured and glanced at me.
“I don’t care.” I crossed my arms over my chest. So what if I was childish?
“You do care, or else you wouldn’t have gone with him to the diner.”
“Oh, lord, Brent! Seriously? He wasn’t the only one hurting, ok? I suffered worse. He had a choice, and he made it. End of story!”
More silence.
We pulled up to the front of my apartment building, and I sighed in relief. I didn’t want to have this conversation anymore. I got out, grabbed Isaiah while Brent gathered everything from Anderson, and followed me to the door. I dug in my jeans pocket for the keys and unlocked the door. As I entered the house, Sasha darted up from the couch.
“Girl, where have you been?” She grabbed Isaiah out of my arms and paused when Brent entered the door.
“Long story. I’ll explain later. Brent, you remember my friend Sasha?”
“Yes, I do. Hey Sasha, long time no see.”
Sasha blinked a couple times and nodded. She had always had a slight crush on Brent. We used to always laugh and make fun of the boys. We would do crazy things to get their attention. I didn’t know how Brent felt about Sasha. As I studied them now, you could tell the attraction was mutual.
“Ok, Brent, thanks for volunteering to take me home and all. It’s time for you to leave.”
He simply nodded at us and retreated out the door, shutting it softly behind him.
I grabbed the stuff and took it to my room.
“That’s it?” Sasha blankly asked. I gave her a confused look.
“You’re just going to pretend that nothing happened when Brent just brought you home even though you haven’t seen him, to my knowledge, since the wedding?”
I simply shrugged and dragged the things to my room.
“0h, no, girl, speak now!” she commanded. I rolled my eyes and sighed. I told her the entire story of what happened.
“You need a bodyguard asap!” She grabbed her phone and scrolled.
“First, you’re too dramatic! And second, what are you looking for on your phone?” She ignored me and placed the phone to her ear.
“Hi, asshole,” she said into the phone. “Yeah, I still have your number.” She glanced my way, and my heart sank. I mouthed the word ‘no,’ trying not to panic. Waving my hands at her, I tried to reach for the phone, but she dodged my advances, moving swiftly away from me.
“You need to hire a bodyguard immediately, or I will! I mean it! I can’t believe you let that man threaten your son,” she yelled into the phone. My mouth dropped open! Mortified, I tried again to grab the phone but was unsuccessful. “I don’t care how much—” She suddenly listened to whatever Anderson said on the other line, and my anxiety spiked through the roof.
Looking surprised, Sasha nodded her head and replied, “Good, I’ll wait until someone shows up.” Without saying goodbye, she hung up on him and stared at me. I loved her for being such a great friend, but sometimes she drove me nuts.
“Why did you do that?” I asked and placed my hands on my hips to stop them from shaking.
Sasha sighed. “Because I knew you wouldn’t.” She simply shrugged and walked out of my room.
“That’s not fair!” I yelled as I followed her retreating form. “You didn’t even give me a chance!” Sasha rolled her eyes and plopped down on the couch. I was mad and embarrassed. I headed back to my room and laid down.
A short time later, someone knocked on the door. Sasha yelled at me so we could answer it together. The bodyguard had arrived. He was tall, with bulging muscles in a black suit.
“Hi, I’m Max. The guard requested for this location,” he announced in a deep robotic voice. I tried not to laugh. He was straight out of an action movie.
“Hello. I’m Gracie. This is Sasha, and my son, Isaiah. My mom lives here too, but she’s at work. No one else except Sasha may enter this apartment without my approval.”
“Yes, ma’am, I shall do my best to protect you all from any harm.”
I thought briefly about telling him to allow Anderson in, but I kept quiet. This is about Isaiah. I scolded myself and my stupid heart. If Anderson wanted us to be safe, he would stay away. The thought made my heart ache, but I quickly pushed it away. Sasha said her goodbyes and left.
For once, I felt alone, and I hated the feeling. It was like I relived that horrible day repeatedly. I worked so hard to get past it. I sank onto the couch and decided it was time to spend some of that money. I needed a distraction.
An hour later, I heard the door open and slam, causing me to jump. “Gracie!” my mom yelled. I sighed, relieved.
“Who’s the big scary guy at the door?”
“He’s a bodyguard. Anderson hired him after Sasha insisted.”
“Why the hell do we need a bodyguard?” she asked incredulously.
Again I retold the story, which was now tasting bitter in my mouth. When I finished, my mom had collapsed on the kitchen chair with eyes as round as saucers.
“I knew it was a bad idea for Anderson to come back,” I said.
“Well, honey, it obviously isn’t his fault. He had no idea.”
I shrugged. What more could I say? I was exhausted, tired of the day’s events, and ready for bed. I felt sick to my stomach.
“I’m going to bed. I’m dead on my feet, tired.”
“And what about the bodyguard? Is he to stand there all night?”
“I don’t know, Mom. I’ll ask.”
I slowly opened the door. Max turned to look at me.
“What can I do for you?” Max asked.
“Will you be here all night?”
He nodded.
“Well, when will you sleep, eat, and use the bathroom?”
He gave me a sideways grin. “Someone will replace me. You will meet him tomorrow. We switch on and off.”
“Oh, ok,” I said, feeling dumb. “Well, have a good night, Max.”
“You too, Gracie.” He smiled as I closed the door, locking it tightly behind me.
Chapter Nineteen
Anderson
After Sasha called and ripped me a new one over Amal’s threats, I didn’t hesitate to contact a security firm—one that my family had used and trusted. Hiring a bodyguard to protect my son and Gracie would help me feel more at ease. I felt like an idiot! I should have thought of it first, but I appreciated Sasha had. I was glad but shocked she had kept my phone number. I wasn’t exactly her favorite person.
I pulled into our large driveway, only to find my dad and Amal’s vehicle parked. It made me grip my steering wheel so tight; I thought it would break. He beat me here. I bet he’s telling her about Isaiah, damn it. Now, what am I going to do? My thoughts consumed me as I cut the engine off. I took a deep breath and put my business face on. I slammed the car door and strode to the front door. I hesitated a moment before turning the knob. Slowly, I opened the door and walked into the kitchen, where everyone was gathered.
“Why haven’t you answered your phone?” Those were the first words out of my dad’s mouth.
“I was occupied and on other calls, sorry.” I shrugged and walked to the fridge, retrieving a bottle of water.
“We have an important meeting coming up with the Homeland Security department. They want us to help them with their Energy Management Program. Seems the other company they contracted didn’t do the job correctly.”
“Interesting,” I flatly replied.
“Anderson, this is an important client for our company. They will pay a substantial amount of money, and I expect perfection! So I am partnering you with Amal.”
“Excuse me?” I looked at Amal, who had a broad, cocky grin on his face. “I have proven repeatedly that I can handle it on my own.”
“That’s not the point. This is an enormous project, the biggest we’ve had yet, and I don’t intend to lose it. Frankly, you seem preoccupied with other issues on your mind. I need you to be alert and focused, Anderson. You screw this up, and you’re out. I’ll sign the company over to Amal.”
“This is insane! I run a multi-million dollar company with several accounts, but I’m not supposed to be ‘preoccupied,’ as you call it?” I could feel the anger slowly rising from my stomach. I refused to work with that imbecile who threatened my son and me.
“So, you admit you’re overwhelmed?”
“No, I never said that, but you can’t expect me to be stress-free and happy when I’m busy ninety percent of the time, Father.”
He nodded. “Fine. I’ll assign another assistant to take some of the workloads off. With a quick call, I can pull someone from another department to help you out. I need you to be one hundred percent on this new project. We leave tomorrow for Washington D.C. at nine a.m. I expect you at the airport at eight sharp.”
There was no arguing with this man. I simply nodded and took a sip of my water.
He rose from his chair and grabbed Amal’s hand, and shook it. He then slowly turned to me.
“Get your head out of the clouds, boy! I won’t hesitate to do what I said earlier.” He turned on his heel and walked out of the house. Once he left, Amal turned to me.
“Can’t wait to work together, partner,” he drawled with a sly grin.
“Wipe that grin off your face, Amal; it won’t work in the business world.”
“We shall see, now, won’t we?”
“Get out of my house,” I said through clenched teeth, anger biting every word. We were standing inches apart. I flexed my fingers so that I wouldn’t punch him in the face.
“Goodbye, Aliyah,” he said, without taking his eyes from mine. He then turned abruptly and headed out the front door.
I didn’t realize she had been sitting at the table the whole time. I stared at her for a minute before she spoke.
“Why must you be so mean to my family?”
“I don’t have time for this, Aliyah,” I announced, rubbing my forehead. I didn’t want to fight with her. I definitely didn’t want her to know about Gracie or Isaiah. I started walking toward my office, but she followed.
“You never have time, Anderson! You’re always giving me excuse after excuse, locking yourself away in that dumb office of yours!”
I whipped around. “Did you not hear my father’s threat?!” Now I was raging mad. “He’s planning to take my company away; I need to get to work!”
“It’s not your company yet!” That did it. I lost control. Flashes of Gracie, Isaiah, and Aliyah’s deceitful face at the wedding came flashing through my mind like lightning. I grabbed Aliyah’s arms and pushed her up against the wall. Her eyes went wide in fear.
“Listen to me. If you think you’re going to conspire against me with your pathetic excuse of a brother to pull the company out from under me, you are sadly mistaken!”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “Is that what you think of me?” My grip loosened, and she wiggled out of my hold. “You are stupid, like that woman who tried to ruin our wedding!” Aliyah walked to her room, slamming the door. It left me temporarily speechless, staring at the door. She had known! She knew Gracie would show up at our wedding! Aliyah must have hired the guards. But how? Damn that woman. Aliyah wanted to hurt Gracie, and she had succeeded. Well, no more. I wouldn’t allow it. Forcing myself toward my office, I slammed the door before plopping down into my desk chair with a plan in mind.
