Candle In The Wind

Chapter One

Callum Oakes

Blood slowly trickled down my arm. Like it had all the time in the world, but I didn’t.

I barely had any time to get ready this morning even though I woke up on time, I’d been running behind all morning. I had a scheduled visit with the Oakes family in just twenty minutes. The drive to their fancy house alone was twenty minutes. They lived on the secluded side of town, where no one else was living, just them and the acres of land they owned.

Usually I’d have time to take care of myself, and look presentable, or even enough time to have a well-balanced breakfast but this morning, I only had time to shower—and showering grew harder and harder every month. My bladder wasn’t much of a help because I had to take a pee break many, many times while I touched up my face with some makeup. So, by the time I finished, it was time to head out and the accidental cut on my bicep had no shame and kept bleeding.

I cursed under my breath and started looking for a bandage—which I guess was like looking for a needle in the dark. My apartment was a mess. Lately every time I made time to clean up and organize, it only took one day for the place to go back to how it originally looked, so I gave up. I only cleaned the dishes and took out the trash regularly. As for dirty clothes, throw blankets, mail, newspapers, magazines, those were just everywhere.

Bad mistake on my end, my apartment was already shitty, construction wise. When I moved down here it was all I could afford. It still is. A semi studio apartment, the kitchen and living room was one and one, the only room with the closed door had the bathroom inside as well, it was a rare find really. I imagine I could be living somewhere worse. Besides, it was my fault the accident happened, I should’ve kept up with the cleaning otherwise I would’ve paid attention to small details, or I would have listened to Val.

When Val told me my apartment was a hazard, especially now that I’ve reached my third trimester I didn’t want to believe him, but now it’s all loose nails, loose floorboards and the loose furniture. I couldn’t go a step in this place without hearing a haunting creek, crack sound. I was starting to worry that I’d placed the baby’s life in danger—I was fine living the way I was when it was just me. I was always okay doing the bare minimum for myself—it was all I could afford anyways. But now that the baby’s due date was approaching it made me more aware of how recklessly I used to live.

The baby was more important than me.

Still, I made notes to fix a few of the issues once I got my first fat paycheck today.

So when I accidentally skinned my bicep with the loose nail that was planted on the railing of the door, I didn’t complain much, I just wiped the blood and put a bandage on it and showed myself out of my shitty apartment and into my shitty car.

I was late for the meeting with the Oakes, and I was definitely late for my job interview.

Here in Beaufort, North Carolina, everyone seemed to have something nice, and that’s probably because they were born into it, or it was handed down to them on a silver platter. Everything had already belonged to someone. A fetus had a job sooner than I did because his father was saving the manager position for him, and in order for him to get it, he had to start off as a cashier. That position was also his at the bakery, and his cousin Bailey was the placeholder until the fetus was old enough to take over. So every business in this small town was run and worked by an entire family alone.

Val and I refer to it as family cults, even though he’s got his own job here already. The family cults leave no room for outsiders. You’re lucky enough to make a living in this town.

The bakery that was tight on their staff had a change of mind and was willing to hire just about anyone, as long as they had a car and a driver’s license. The shop wanted to take things to the next level and start up a delivery system, ways to make more money. I was supposed to be interviewed today. I managed to secure a three p.m. appointment — being pregnant does have its perks.

But I think that opportunity was gone now, given the fact that it was currently two o’clock and I just got on the road to meet with the Oakes.

My shitty car was starting to make that expensive sound I couldn’t afford to hear so I turned the radio up and pulled down my windows because it was dead of summer and my AC was broken. Thunder by Lana Del Rey started to play. I sighed as I fixed my elbow on the window and rested my cheek against my palm. I focused on the road and the wind, the stinging sensation that it left—I felt alive. I couldn’t do anything but exist right now. I was already late for the meeting, for the interview…there wasn’t anything else I could do but get through today and do everything all over tomorrow.

It was easier if I thought about it that way—just exist, to somehow just exist.

When I pulled up to the Oakes family home, I realized that someone like me would never be able to have what they have. Not even if I worked really hard for it.

Ardley and Celeste Oakes are young and rich. From Ardley being part of a family that owned a successful winery, many lands in this town, and other side businesses I knew nothing about. Succeeding was always the goal for Ardley, even if he didn’t follow in his father’s footsteps and worked in the company. I learned that Ardley was smart with computers, and he was always out of town doing important work that kept his pockets stuffed. And Celeste is the most beautiful girl in town from what I’ve heard.

They were high school sweethearts. Married young and rich.

I’ve known them for almost a year and there’s nothing more important to them than starting a family. Something I could barely dream about right now. In fact I can’t remember the last time I dreamed about anything other than keeping up with my bills and worrying about food.

Even at night before I fell asleep, I prayed. I prayed to just sleep. I didn’t want to dream and have a restless night. I wanted to just…rest.

I got out of the crusty truck and closed the door. It really didn’t matter how many times I came here, I’d still be hopelessly in love with the place. I thought it was because I’d never be able to have something like this.

It was distracting to think about how it would feel to be able to live this kind of life and live in this kind of house.

The Oakes had a two-story country home, with a big front yard, there was a beautiful flower garden along with a semi-small water fountain and sweet, green grass covered their front yard. It looked like a place many girls dreamed of marrying into. The closer I walked down the paved pathway, the sweeter the air smelled.

Was that the smell of money?

Kind of like how rich people have a fancy toned-down laugh. This place smelled comfortable, it always made me feel warm. I always felt less worried. This place started to represent hope and I was starting to feel a little sad that I might never get to come back here once the baby arrived.

I didn’t see their car, but there was a car. A tall black truck that seemed like I’d have a very hard time trying to hop in it. I walked past the truck without a second thought.

I knocked on the door and glanced down at my sundress, it was long and fit me perfectly. I was still at that pregnancy stage where my baby bump was considered cute and not huge. I knew Celeste would love to see it. Though, I’m supposed to be getting bigger soon, because I’m due in just three months, but my doctors told me the baby was growing a lot smaller than we’d hoped for.

I looked presentable. I always did when it was time to visit the Oakes. My hair was in goddess braids, and I begged my braider to leave them almost unbraided so it really looked like wild, unfinished goddess braids.

It looked more natural, not that anyone in this town would care or even notice the difference. To them I was pregnant, and they would never see anything past that.

I dug through my bag last-minute, trying to find my perfume sample. I had a variety of the samples. I couldn’t afford expensive perfumes with names I couldn’t even pronounce.

Once I found the half empty tube of Chanel, I sprayed it around my neck and rubbed some of it on my wrists.

The door pulled open and I shoved the tiny tube back in my purse, immediately looking up with a wide smile on my face.

I expected Ardley to open the door, or his wife Celeste, hell, even their maid Sydney. Anyone but this tall, bearded stranger who stood in front of me. White shirt, muscular arms, dark hair, defined jawline, and a practiced frown.

Striking cold blue eyes burned me.

“Hi!”

I said in a cheerful voice, even though the look on his face was grim.

I was greeted with silence.

He looked at me with the same expression, like he was waiting for more explanation on who I was or what I could possibly be doing here. If the house wasn’t so huge and far away from town, I would’ve second guessed myself and assumed I was at the wrong place, but I knew this was the Oakes home.

“I’m here to see Ardley and Celeste.”

He didn’t say anything. His brows furrowed and his frown deepened.

His eyes dropped from my face to my stomach, to my face, back to my stomach. Like he couldn’t fathom why I—a pregnant woman—was standing in front of him asking about the married couple that lived here.

His jaw hardened but that only showed how good-looking he was.

“Who are you?”

he asked in a calm, yet sharp voice.

“Juliette Rhodes. The Oakes and I had this visit scheduled for a very long time,”

I said, hoping I could clear things up.

His expression changed for a split second. I blinked and it was gone. He lifted his head and looked ahead, over my head, probably watching the trees move as the wind picked up. He sighed as his lips tightened into a painful frown. I could feel how heavy the feeling seeping through him was. Looking at the moving trees over my head must have felt like a breather for him. The pause was long because he seemed deep in his thoughts, but I was patient.

His gaze dropped down to my face and our eyes connected. Instead of welcoming me in or offering a smile, he scowled. He held the door until his knuckles turned white.

“Well, I’m sorry. They’re not here,”

he said, voice monotone, and made a move to close the door. I stopped him before he slammed it shut.

“Hey, I drove for like a really long time in my shitty, hot car. I really don’t care how long they’ll be gone, I’ll wait.”

I nodded and stood up straight as I clutched my bag to show how determined I was.

Though, this was the first time they weren’t at that door ready to greet me. I hoped they didn’t change their minds. Well, even if they wanted to, they simply couldn’t. We signed a contract. Something must be going on because Celeste was always excited for our visits. In fact, she always wanted us to visit each other more often but her husband didn’t agree with that. He didn’t want her to get attached to me.

I was meant to be disposable.

The man sighed and for a brief second, I saw the painful expression on his face, but it was washed off with a tight-lipped smile. Well, it wasn’t a smile, he just pulled his lips upward.

He opened the door. “Come in.”

I walked into the familiar house and immediately felt the shift. The house smelled like baked apple pie, and there were flowers everywhere. Baskets of flowers on the floors, more bouquets in glass vases just hanging around, and there was a pattern, they were all white roses. This was highly unusual. The smell of baked apple pies was familiar but not the flowers, this didn’t seem like their taste.

I’d only been here a handful of times but the Oakes always made me feel welcomed and strangely I’d always felt warm and comfortable in their house, but with their absence I felt like an actual stranger, completely unwelcomed. The house that was usually very clean and always looked good and put together was starting to resemble a greenhouse.

“This is a new look.”

I awkwardly glanced at the stranger in the room. I was still racking my brain thinking of where Ardley and Celeste could possibly be right now. This has never happened before. They didn’t call me to reschedule, so I guessed they still planned on seeing me..

Right? It was the only thing that made sense.

The man looked at me carefully, and I am grateful he hadn’t asked me any complicated questions like, ‘why are you here’ or ‘how do you know them?’

But it was clear he wanted to.

“You want some tea?”

He was offering tea in the middle of summer.

His brows furrowed as his eyes dropped to my stomach again. “I’m sure coffee isn’t good for the baby.”

I slowly nodded. “Sure.”

I dropped to the couch after making some space for myself. There were papers everywhere, many charts, and what seemed to be building plans and other structures.

I pulled a paper from beneath my ass and placed it on the coffee table. “I know I said I’d wait forever, but how long do you think it’ll take?”

I spoke loudly because he had already disappeared into the kitchen.

He didn’t respond, only the sound of glass clinking spoke back to me, which at this point was predictable. He wasn’t much of a talker. He seemed to be the quiet brooding kind of guy. Which was fine by me, as long as he wasn’t an asshole, we’d get along just fine.

I looked around the place and like I expected, there were already a few subtle changes since the last time I visited them. The newly added throw blanket clashed perfectly with their warm oatmeal couch, the subtle summer decor, and the unused wood in the firepit were just gorgeous.

I glanced at the coffee table. All their decor was pushed to the side and was replaced by papers, lots and lots of papers scattered all over the coffee table with a closed MacBook in the middle of the chaos.

Clearly this…man has been here a lot longer than I thought.

“What’s your name, by the way?”

I shouted just as he came over with two warm mugs. He offered me one and sat on the couch opposite me.

“I’m Callum.”

In this town everyone knew everyone with just a drop of their name or a silly nickname. Since I moved here, I’ve been trying my best at throwing myself into the loop as a distraction, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard of any Callum, especially one associated with the richest, most beautiful couple in town.

I heard of a guy named Cal who owned his own construction business. Apart from Ardley, Cal was the talk of the town—young and well-established and incredibly single—every parent played matchmaker and every girl fell for him like a moth to flame. I’d not once seen the man. And honestly, this Callum looked attractive enough to receive all of that attention too. The only catch would be the fact that he sucked at making conversation, or smiling, or even looking friendly in general. You’d get as many expressions from a brick wall.

I almost made a wild guess and thought Callum could be Ardley’s father but he still looked too young, even with the well-manscaped beard — well it was more of a stubble.

I nodded with a shy smile. “Okay, Callum, how long did you say I’d have to wait again?”

“How do you know Ardley?”

His eyes dropped to my stomach. And I looked alarmed by his assumption already.

“I’m not his mistress if that’s what you’re wondering, and if I was, why would I be here in the middle of the day asking for both of them?”

I chuckled as I took a sip of my tea.

It was really warm and good.

My brows furrowed and my shoulders tensed. I really, really need them to come home soon, because I still wanted to try and make it to this job interview, and all this stress wasn’t good for the baby. He was already struggling as it is and he’s not even born yet.

I sipped my tea with a hard swallow. “I’m a…friend,”

I said in a calmer voice.

These days I didn’t apologize for being too emotional, or loud and crazy, or even being an asshole because everyone automatically blames my hormones. They take one look at my pregnant stomach and they forgive me and apologize for upsetting me. It works like a charm, especially when I cussed the owner of the bakery shop long before for not hiring me because he was saving the job for his family. Bailey, the cashier/placeholder person, was there too and I got away with calling them a couple of names. Which would come back full-circle for my interview this afternoon and hit me like icy water.

I sighed.

I think it might’ve actually been my hormones that day because after that Val ordered me a dozen cupcakes and I sat in the bakery and ate every single one of those cupcakes after causing such a scene.

Callum shuffled in his seat and moved his mug around in his hand. He hadn’t taken a single sip yet.

“Well, then I’m sorry you have to find out like this…”

This was the second time he mentioned he was sorry, and the words were heavy with so much pain and suffering.

“Find out what?”

“There was an accident,”

he finally said. “Celeste is in a coma, and Ardley is unresponsive, he’s been in a critical state for a while.” He ran a hand through his hair.

A while?

My throat felt like it closed entirely. I set the mug down. “How long…?”

“Two weeks ago.”

“Two weeks ago?”

I repeated as my voice cracked.

I gasped. Celeste so badly wanted to start a family of her own. She was so excited with the baby on the way, she was ready… she was prepared. This was her dream, the one thing she wanted the most. A family with her husband. I guess it was true what they said; bad things always happen to good people…and as selfish as it sounds, I couldn’t help but think of myself.

Where does this leave me? Where does this leave the baby?

I placed a hand over my stomach and my chest started falling and rising. I closed my eyes to catch my breath, but I only started imagining the chaos that was already looming over me. The kind of life that was waiting for me. Saying goodbye to my non-existent dreams and everything I planned and looked forward to. I imagined me without a job, completely alone, trying to find a way to provide for myself and the baby. It was definitely too late for me to leave town, and even if I wanted to I couldn’t. There was nowhere to go. The Oakes were my only hope.

My brows furrowed. “Two weeks and that fucking lawyer didn’t tell me shit,”

I grumbled under my breath.

I was tied here, in this town with the Oakes, for the rest of my life.

I tried to calm down and remind myself that I’d be alright, I had Val.

But the voices creeped in and reminded me that this was never part of the plan. Doing this alone had not been the plan since I found out I was pregnant.

I couldn’t.

I had nothing to offer.

I barely had anything for myself.

“Juliette?”

A soft hand rubbed my shoulder.

I flinched and Callum immediately pulled his hand away and kept a safe distance, but still, I saw the worried look in his eyes. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, starting to rub my stomach in the process.

“Are you alright?”

His voice was barely a whisper.

I nodded but my eyes were still closed.

“Is the baby coming?” he asked.

I scoffed a half-laugh softly and opened my eyes. Callum was in front of me now, he kneeled in front of me, paying attention to every detail.

The casual white shirt he wore lit up his face, and his blue eyes were more prominent. I saw how heavy his sadness truly was. He couldn’t have been a stranger to the couple that lived here—he had to be a close friend or something more—

His brows dipped. “That was a serious question.”

I shook my head. “No.”

“So you’re alright?”

I nodded slowly. “I’m alright.”

He nodded and stood straight. And I knew that if it wasn’t it for our conversation, he’d want to get back to work and keep himself busy. His exhaustion made sense now. I finally noticed that some of the papers on the table were hospital papers and charts.

They were right in front of me.

“Hey.”

Callum looked at me in the middle of fixing his papers.

I cleared my throat. “Is it possible to see them?”

“Sure,”

he answered immediately, “just give me your number and I’ll have you scheduled in for a visit.” He flipped one of the papers in his hand and handed me the blank side of it with a pen. I nodded and wrote down my number and said goodbye.

When he closed the front door after showing me out, I realized I never asked how he knew Ardley and Celeste, but I shrugged the question off my shoulder because it didn’t seem like we’d cross paths again.

I called Val when I started driving, it was almost five o’clock so I knew he’d be off work already and I was right because he picked up almost immediately.

“Juliette,”

he greeted, his voice booming through the car speaker.

“Valerian,”

I replied.

“What happened? I thought you’d be a lot more excited with fifty bands in the bank,” he said.

I frowned. So much happened today I forgot I was originally there to get paid. I was just focused on getting to this job interview so I could start having a steady income. The Oakes were practically taking care of me because I was pregnant. Now that I don’t know where they stand in the picture and the baby’s almost here, I could only rely on myself.

All I knew was the fact that it was definitely too late to back out of this pregnancy, so I’d have to beg them for that job if I have to.

“They got into a car accident, Val,”

I said. “Ardley’s unresponsive, and his wife’s in a coma.”

Silence filled the car for a couple minutes. In a sense I knew Val was grieving for me. Even he knew the many struggles that I’d have to face in the future. It was nothing like my apartment falling apart, this was something more serious. A child is nothing but moments—you have to do all the right things, say all the right things. And I wasn’t all worried about the kind of mother I’d be because I already knew I’d suck.

I have nothing to offer to begin with.

No money, not even a good place.

I’ve done wrong by the baby since I got pregnant. Right now, he’s malnourished. I couldn’t even carry a baby right, now me? A mom?

“We’ll be okay, Jules.”

His words offered me some sort of warmth. It didn’t last long, but feeling good for a second felt nice.

I was only thinking of preparing for the worst case scenarios. I prayed Ardley and Celeste pulled through. I knew they would, but I’d have to talk to that phony lawyer soon.

“Yeah,”

I replied, “I’m just headed to the job interview for the delivery position at the bakery. I’m confident if I start crying they’ll hire me.”

“The shop can still happen, Jules,”

he said after a beat, “I can always help out, we just have to buy a good place in town or even rent for a little while if we have to.”

“I know you’d help, Val, but that’s too much to ask. Besides the baby’s coming soon. I need steady income. I’ll be busy. I won’t have any time for a pottery shop, you know?”

I thought about buying a place or renting one just to spend more money I don’t have to rebuild and decorate the place, spend time working on my crafts just to sell them. Though that was always my dream. That was what I wanted since I figured out making things was my only skill in life. But reality was finally setting in. I had a baby on the way. My savings were running low, my apartment was not baby friendly, I didn’t own a single baby product. From now on, I wouldn’t have the kind of time to dream about opening a shop in town and taking care of a baby full-time by myself. All I could do right now was secure the job and start nesting to welcome the baby into the world without stressing too much.

My new dream was to be a good mom.

“Okay,”

he said reluctantly, and I knew he’d bring this up later. “Cry if you have to, make sure you get this job, and if you don’t I’ll make sure they wish they hired you.”

I chuckled as I made a turn and parked in front of the bakery.

Blueberry Lane Pastries.

“I’m here, talk to you later,”

I said as I grabbed my phone and turned off the car so now he was just on speakerphone.

“Okay, get home once you’re done, I brought you take out earlier, it was supposed to be for you to celebrate, but…”

“Yeah, thank you,”

I quickly finished.

“It’s in front of your door.”

“Talk to you soon,”

I said as I hung up the phone and grabbed my bag.

I walked inside of the place and the cashier, Bailey, immediately said, “Welcome to Blueberry Lane, what can I get you?”

I smiled sheepishly. “I’m here for a job interview.”

Bailey looked at me skeptically. “We were holding interviews two hour and a half ago.”

“I had a labor scare an hour and half ago, and as you can see the baby’s still here.”

I rubbed my belly. “Can you get the manager, please?”

He nodded and disappeared into the back. I sighed and walked to the chair to make myself feel comfortable, the place hadn’t changed one bit, they still had the same tacky cupcake posters hanging on the wall, the menu was still the same and the wall was still that annoying orange color that always seems to aggravate me. I slowly shook my head as I released a sigh, and it didn’t help the fact that this place was practically empty. It was dead because the place looked dead.

I placed a hand on my stomach and started to rub it as the baby moved. I was hungry so he was definitely hungry.

Before I could think of anything else, slow footsteps behind me and immediately I stood. The same old man I cussed out last time appeared in front of me. His head is full of mostly gray hair, a fully gray beard, dark brown eyes, and freckled tanned skin.

I smiled sheepishly.

“Oh, you can sit down,”

he said, and I sat back down. He took a seat in front of me, then offered me his hand. “I’m Marshall.”

I took his hand in mine and shook it. “Juliette Rhodes.”

“So, how are you? How’s everything? It’s been a while since I saw you.”

I swallowed and my stomach grumbled at the same time, “I’m really sorry about last time—”

“Are you hungry?”

he cut me off.

I shook my head. “No I’m fine, I just had a labor scare this morning,”

I said through a smile. “I’m fine.”

“Does labor induce stomach growling?”

I chuckled and pretended he cracked a joke instead of answering the question. “I’m not hungry,”

I said again, and as if my traitorous stomach didn’t hear me, it growled loudly.

“Bailey!”

Marshall shouted. “Could you please fix her a sandwich and a lemonade?”

Bailey answered after a beat. “On it,”

he said, his voice muffled and suppressed so I guessed he was already in the back.

I smiled sheepishly, completely embarrassed by the scene I was causing, I was here for an interview, not a meal.

“You don’t have to—”

“It’s on the house,”

he cut me off again. “Now,” he crossed his arms over his chest, “I like to be fair, so I’ll forget about our past history.”

I smiled, “oh, thank you!”

“The place has been really dead lately, and technology keeps evolving, and as you can see,”

he looked around the place, “we’re not doing a good job keeping up.”

I nodded, unsure of what to say.

“So, my son was telling me about how most people just order food nowadays and get it delivered, it saves time or whatever…like Amazon,”

he said, “and it seems like every other bakery in town has a order online thing, pick up in store, or getting it delivered such and such. Now, we just started that online system couple weeks ago and people keep asking for delivery. Bailey can’t run the shop, help us bake, and deliver as well,” he continued, “so then my wife was like, we have to get someone else to do the delivery. Now my son, who just got his license offered to help out because it’s still summer, school don’t start in a month or so, but he wanted us to pay him and take care of the gas money. Then we got into this stupid argument because I believe the gas money should be cut from his paycheck and not—”

“I have no problem with paying for my own gas,”

I cut him off mid-sentence.

Marshall looked at me as his brows shot up. Bailey came over with a plate and a tall, cold glass of lemonade. And in that moment I didn’t care that instead of doing an interview Marshall was giving me his whole life story. I decided that I’d listen through the whole thing. The second Bailey set the sandwich in front of me, my mouth watered.

I’m talking bacon, turkey, ham, melted cheese, freshly cut lettuce, tomato, toasted bread, black pepper, and a good mayonnaise spread. I swear I tasted everything in the first bite.

“You have a license and car?”

Marshall asked.

I nodded with my mouth full.

“When’s the baby due?”

I held the sandwich with one hand and lifted three fingers up with my free hand.

Marshall didn’t say anything else, he just waited for me to finish my sandwich and this whole time I’d been there, not one customer walked through the door.

As I chewed my last bite, Bailey handed Marshall a pen and a piece of paper. Marshall took them and handed them to me.

“Write your name and phone number, I’ll call you to let you know when you can start.”

I grinned, grabbing the pen from him and writing my name and phone number down.

I drank half of my lemonade in one go. “Thank you,”

I said with a smile, “for the sandwich and the job.”

He nodded then offered me his hand again.

I brushed my hand over my dress, then firmly shook his hand.

“Welcome to the business.”

I smiled, then I thought…

I made it. I made it to a family cult.

Val was right, the bag of food was still in front of my door.

I leaned down and grabbed it and quickly the scent of it overwhelmed me. It smelled good but I didn’t want to smell it for too long. I could tell it was steak and mash potatoes, probably from Molly’s. Val knew how much of a sucker I was for the mash potatoes from that place.

I hurried inside and closed the door behind me, locking it. I dropped the food on the table counter and quickly made my way to the bathroom in a rush. I struggled to lift my dress and pull down the underwear and I groaned in frustration, scared I wouldn’t make it in time, but I did, and the relief felt so good.

My stomach felt more at ease, and I took the opportunity to switch back into the sweats already laid out on the bed waiting for my arrival. I pulled my hair into a ponytail and grabbed the bag of food from the kitchen, getting comfortable in bed.

I could worry about what’s already done, or I could avoid stressing myself because it wasn’t good for the baby. So I decided to devote myself to working for the last three months of my pregnancy and use the last of my savings to baby-proof the place and finally buy baby stuff.

I sighed, it was a big decision but what else could I do? Cry about it?

I turned on the TV and pulled on a cooking show as I ate my food.

My phone rang, and I was contemplating answering because it was far away and I’d have to reach for it—I’d have to jeopardize my comfortable position.

It could be Callum calling because he’s supposed to let me know when I can visit the Oakes.

I groaned and reached for the phone and, like I expected, it was an unknown number. I picked up the phone, but it wasn’t Callum.

“Juliette Rhodes?”

the voice asked.

I licked my fingers as I pushed the plate of steak away from me. “Yes?”

“I’m Daniel, family lawyer of the Oakes.”

My brows furrowed. Good thing I didn’t leave town.

“I was supposed to call you two weeks ago, but I wanted to be sure about everything.”

“What are you talking about?”

I asked. I was on the edge of my seat. I couldn’t handle any more bad news today, I didn’t have it in me.

“The Oakes have been in an accident.”

He allowed me a few minutes to process I suppose, but I remained quiet.

“This afternoon I spoke with the doctors and it doesn’t seem like Celeste will ever wake up, and Ardley is hanging onto a thin thread.”

I let out a shaky breath. “Oh my God.”

My lips trembled.

I was a fool thinking I could do this by myself, that I’d get through this. Maybe I managed to let myself believe that because there was a chance that things could miraculously get better—Celeste would wake up, and Ardley would keep fighting to get better, but that was all fool’s gold.

“Don’t be too alarmed, Miss Rhodes, there’s a next of kin.”

“What?”

I whispered.

“The Oakes were always a few steps ahead, so they thought through this. They already planned something in case anything happened to them, everything would fall to Ardley’s older brother.”

“What?”

I repeated again.

“You’ll still go through everything like we planned, Miss Rhodes, I’ll get the paperwork ready because Cal Oakes is the baby’s new guardian.”