Chapter Twenty-Six
RIA
The driver pulls up outside of my parents’ lush Hollywood Hills mansion. Half the furniture is out in the yard, ready to be packed into the containers that adorn the vast lawns of the garden. I tense up as we step out of the car, and Nate looks around, taking in the chaos.
“Wow! So they’re packing up everything?” he asks.
“Yeah. The bank foreclosed and is seizing assets. I told them I’d give them the money for this place and their stuff, but they’d rather have the money for their other properties. This one, they didn’t care about so much,” I say.
Nate raises his brows in what can only be described as shock. “How many properties do they own?” he asks.
“Twenty-seven,” I reply.
He raises a brow and simply nods before he grabs my hand, threading his fingers tightly into mine. It sets my racing heart slightly at ease but not wholly.
“How are you doing?” he asks, looking at me lovingly with soft eyes.
“Not really sure I can answer that. I feel like I want to puke, and I’m not sure if that’s nerves or just from being… you know.”
He smiles his handsome smile that always manages to melt my heart, and it puts me even more at ease as he pulls me to his side, wrapping his arm around my waist for added support. “We got this. I’m by your side, babe. I’m not going anywhere.”
I take a deep breath and straighten as we step up the stairs to the front door.
It’s already open, as movers are coming and going, so we walk right through.
I know Nate’s looking around, taking in my famous movie producer stepfather’s home, or what his home was, but we don’t have time to check it out now.
“Nate, focus,” I whisper, and he chuckles.
“I’m with you, Dove.”
I smile as we walk through the kitchen to the back and out on the patio, where Patrick and Mom are lounging by the pool while everyone packs up things around them.
I roll my eyes while Nate smirks.
“Mom, Patrick, we thought we’d drop in unannounced to say hello,” I call out, and they both look up through their shades and sunhats at us.
“Oh, Ria, darling! You look…” She stands, pulling her shades down from her face, and frowns.
“Well, frankly, my dear, you look terrible. Have you been drinking? You’re pale, and your stomach is bloated.
Gosh, Ria, too many carbs, girl. It would help if you lay off the eat-whatever-you-want diet you’re on.
You’re a celebrity. Please remember that!
You need glitz and glamour, and right now, darling, you look like trailer trash. ”
I scoff. “Nice, Mom!”
Nate’s grip on my hand tightens supportively.
Patrick stands, waving his hand through the air.
“Ariella, my sweet darling wife, leave your daughter alone. She looks beautiful as always, don’t you, my Arabian Princess?
” Patrick utters his lifelong term of endearment for me as he walks over.
I smile at him as he reaches me and kisses both my cheeks.
“Thank you, Patrick.” I can’t help but look at the scar running down the length of his chest, and my heart squeezes in response.
This man, this loving, affectionate man, has done nothing but support my family since we met him.
Sure, he may have pushed me into a career I didn’t want to go into, but if I hadn’t, I would never have met Nate.
I wouldn’t be where I am right now because of this man.
I owe him a lot. On the other hand, Mom pushes and pushes, and right now, she’s making me crazy as usual.
“So, I see you have a rocker friend on your arm. Why don’t you listen to me like I told you to? Wait, Ria… are you doing drugs with him? Is this why you look so terrible?” Mom asks.
Nate stiffens beside me, and I squeeze his hand a little tighter.
“Mom, no. I’m not doing drugs. I’m eating just fine. I’m looking after myself. I’ve just been a little sick over the past few months.”
“Few months, Ria, and you haven’t told me? My God, Ria, it’s like I don’t even know you. Why is he here anyway? This… this… rock thing? He has no purpose here in my house!”
As I glance at Nate, I notice he’s doing an outstanding job of keeping his cool. “Mom, look… I love you, but I don’t like you very much right now.”
“What does that even mean, Ria? You don’t like me? What utter rubbish, Ria. You talk so foolishly. All you do is talk, talk, talk, and you never—”
“Mom, shut up!” I yell, and everyone straightens up, including Mom, who looks at me, raising her eyebrow with her mouth agape, and miraculously, she says nothing more.
I take a deep breath and bring my hand, holding Nate’s up to show her. “Nate and I… we’re a couple. We’re in love, and we’re going to be together for what I’m foreseeing as the rest of our lives.”
Patrick smiles as Mom scoffs, rolling her eyes.
She goes to speak, but I raise my free hand, halting her.
“That’s not all. Nate’s moving into my home.
We will be redecorating and making it feel more like a home than a house, because if there is one thing I’ve realized about my life, it’s that it’s so fucking bland.
Everything I do and have done is because you’ve told me it’s the right thing.
Do it this way, do it that way, because you said so.
Well, you know what? I wanna live my life my way. ”
I take a large breath and continue, “So, your company going bust means fewer acting roles for me, and you know what? That’s fine. Because now I’m going to do something for myself. I want to be a teacher. Teaching special needs childre—”
“Ria, what—”
“I’m not done! I want to help children who can’t read or write.
And with my fame, I can bring awareness to special needs children.
This is my new goal, my new aim, and I’m going to do it because I have a man by my side who’s going to help and support our baby and me through every stage of our new lives. ”
“Wait! What? Did you say… baby? Oh Lord, Ria, please tell me you did not say that word?” Mom says, and my hand instinctively moves to my stomach, and Nate moves in, embracing my hand on my tummy.
“Yes, Mom, I’m pregnant.”
“No-no, Ria, no. I won’t allow it! You having a baby to this… this sex-driven drug lord! I forbid it. You go to the hospital right now and have it taken care of. This fantasy you have of him taking care of you is ridiculous, ludicrous, preposterous, nonsensical, stupid—”
“Mom, just stop!” I glare at her and shake my head.
Nate steps forward quickly. “Mrs. Bloomfield, I know you have preconceived ideas of who I am and what I stand for, but I’m neither a drug lord nor sex-driven.
” He breaks free from me and walks up to Mom, who stands tall in defiance.
“With all due respect, I know you don’t like rock stars because of Kade and his history with Ria.
I get it, I do. I hate the motherfucker, too, for what he did to her.
But to be honest, I’m glad they broke up.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t have the most amazing, special gift I have, which is your daughter and our baby growing inside her.
Ria and our child mean everything… everything to me.
I won’t waste this opportunity. They’re my life.
I’m going to spend every second of every day making them happy.
I will give them everything they need, every time, without fail.
They will want for nothing.” His lips pull up in a smile.
“Trust me, I love your daughter more than life itself. Our baby will grow up with two parents who love each other and adore our child. We’d love your blessing, but either way, we’re doing this, with or without it.
There will be no termination, no breakup, and Ria and I will live happily ever after with you in our lives or without you. That choice is yours.”
I pull my lips in with my teeth, wanting to break out into a fit of applause at Nate’s speech, but knowing that would be highly inappropriate, I refrain and smile at him instead. I love that he stood up for me at just the right moment. He’s the pillar of strength I need, and I love him for it.
“Ria, I don’t support this. I can’t. You’re a superstar. You need to bring in the money and work as we taught you. This is your life, not some dream you want to create now somehow.”
“Ariella, that’s enough,” Patrick mutters, trying to rein her in.
I slump my body and sigh. “That life, the Zaria life, that’s the life you and Patrick wanted, not me. I was a puppet hanging from your strings. I didn’t know I was along for the ride until the strings were cut. If I’ve fallen from your grace, Mom, then I’m sorry, but I can’t be Zaria anymore.”
“My princess. Be happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you,” Patrick reassures me in support, and my heart warms. He may not be my dad, but he’s always been in my corner.
“But we need the money,” she yells, and I look to Patrick, who frowns and glances down at the ground in shame.
“And there it is. You don’t care about me, Mom.
You only care about your lifestyle. You only care about your worth.
You only care about how you feel. Well, how about this?
Keep in contact with Marcus, my manager.
He will allot you an allowance every month, but as for keeping in contact with me and your grandchild, you can count that out.
I’m done, Mom,” I say, grabbing Nate’s hand as he looks at me sternly.
I nod to him, and he winces, but I tighten my hand and pull him toward the door.
“Ria!”
“Goodbye, Mom,” I call out as we head for the living room.
“Zaria Shafir, you cannot do this to me,” she calls back.
My entire body riddles with goose bumps, not because I feel like I’m doing the wrong thing, but because I feel like I'm finally free for the first time since coming to America. I’m free to do what I want.
“Zaria!” her voice fades into the distance as we make it out the front door and down to the car.