CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

SHONDRA:

Six years ago…

I should have known he was up to something devious. By the way he was talking—he had it in for Axel. Maybe William wanted me to doubt Axel, so I'd leave him.

Hurt him.

Had I really wasted time we could have shared over a lie?

That night I'd called him appalling three times because of shaky hands. I clutched my growing stomach when the correct number rang. The baby kicked in a series of fast flutters. A calm built from perseverance floated from the top of my head to the tips of my toes.

All was fine. I'd made it through the first step. I could make it a little far—

"Hello," said a female voice slurred with sleep.

I sat in near darkness at the kitchen table with the only light coming from my cell. The clock above the microwave had already struck midnight. Yeah, it was late. Too late for a friendly date to still be over for anything but hot and heavy sex.

Thank God I used the "unknown number" feature.

The baby kicked again. My all-consuming love for him gave me the wherewithal to continue. "Um. Is Axel there?"

"He's sleep. Shall I wake him? Wait... who is this?"

I had no right to bristle at her tone; I had woken her up after all. But why had she answered his phone in the first place? Axel never let me near his cell during those days we spent together.

"Who is this?" I countered, swiveling my neck in agitation.

"This is his fiancé."

Shut down, Sho. Way down.

"He's engaged?" I asked, my tone coming out flatter than a ruined crepe full of holes and bubbles.

"Yes, since the end of June." The woman sighed. "Look, he's off the market. I'm sorry about it. I really am. Get over him, okay? Goodnight."

The line went dead and so did my heart.

As much as I wanted to, I gave his fiancé props for the sincere sympathy I'd heard in her voice. Had it been me, I would've cussed a bitch out.

I sat at the table, filtering through the mistakes I had made and the regret and anguish it would cost me and my unborn child. The seat grew hard like a brick and my tailbone throbbed, but still I sat until light slanted through the blinds and the coffee pot started its morning percolation. All night I thought of every scenario of how to come out on top with my baby in my arms and my man by my side. In the end, just as the pot steamed the last of the water. I booked a ticket for Boston.

***

Late October in Boston was everything I expected. The weather, crisp and cool, had a hint of a sea breeze in the air. It helped to clear my senses. The blinding sun dappled through the colorful foliage of the trees, making the city come alive with color.

Despite my errand, confronting Axel and his unsuspecting fiancé with the news of his impending fatherhood, excitement coursed through me. I'd made the right step forward. I'd swallowed my fears and put it all on the line. By the end of the day, best-case scenario, Axel and I would have an amicable plan to raise our child in place.

I gave up on the hope of us being together. As I's sat on that hard chair, reasoning took over and the knowledge hurt like hell. He never loved me as much as I' loved him. How could he when he'd gotten engaged within two weeks after my departure?

Maybe William had a point after all?

That thought, above all others, convinced me not to fight for Axel. I carried the best part of him, and that was all that mattered. I loved my little boy. I would be the mother to him mine had never been to me. One who freely gave hugs and lots of kisses and smiles that lit up my face at everything he did.

Given the father and the stories Paul had told me of his younger years, I would probably be a haggard mess by the time the terrible twos were over, but hell, I didn't care. I welcomed the opportunity to hold my baby in my arms, comforting him and keeping him from the evils of the world until he was strong enough to face them on his own.

But I had to not only get through to Axel, but I also had to face the baby's grandfather as well.

I dreaded the thought of confronting Paul. I'd promised him to stay away from Axel, and less than six months later, I planned on breaking that promise with life-changing news.

Yes, my company was skyrocketing with Randy's mentor ship and investment. She was not only my role model in business, but in motherhood as well. Her little daughter, A ja, was adorable, and the way Randy managed not only one but two kids under five, and a company three times the size of mine, I knew I could have it all too.

Paul could react any type of way to the pregnancy news, I didn't care. I was more worried about how to pay him back for the money he'd given the She-Witch to drop Venus's custody case. I had some money in the bank, but the six figures Paul had laid out for Venus would take more than that chunk of change.

Billionaire status eluded me, but becoming a millionaire within a few years, hovered on the horizon. Still, I owed Paul something for helping me, I just wondered how he would make me pay for it? 

I'd find out soon enough.

With my influx of funds, I could have afforded any hotel, but I booked the Airborne room I'd stayed in for Axel's graduation, hoping it would bring me luck.

This time the owner was home. She handed over the key with minimal fuss, unlike the previous time when the chatty neighbor almost made me miss Axel's name being called.

I headed toward the room in the basement, careful to take one stone stair at a time. The wind had picked up, and the air had turned cooler since my ride from the airport. As I opened the door, a gust nearly knocked it from my hand.

It was a sign. A foul wind on the horizon...one filled with evil.

"Shondra!" William appeared at the top of the stairs, and the sun filtering around his outline, hid his face in shadows.

I was too shocked to speak. I should have expected Paul Hammerstein getting in contact with me once I called his son. 

I put it down to a pregnant woman's forgetfulness.

William bounded down the steps and I envied his lithe movements. "Mr. Hammerstein wants to see you, Shondra."

"Well, I don't want to see him. Not this time." I turned to close the door in his face, but he inserted his foot, poking his head in to give me a sweet smile.

"Come, on Shondra. It won't be as rough as the last time. He really just wants to say 'hello' and besides, I'll be there to hold your hand." William gave me such a cheeky grin I had to laugh.

There was always something so familiar about William. Even when he acted like a dick and slandered Axel, I couldn't help but like him. 

William waited inside the door while I debated the pros and cons. I finally reasoned that at least this time, I knew what I was up against and I had to meet him eventually, I might as well do it now, rather than later.

"Okay, William. I'll meet him. But I warn you, when I've heard enough, I'm leaving."

He grinned. "I'll escort you myself... anytime you're ready to go."

He walked up the steps ahead of me, his feet heavy on the concrete.

I was just placing my left foot on the top stair and my right on the one below it when William turned...

 and pushed me.