Chapter 23
PHOEBE
“Holy shit. This can’t be happening.”
I sit on my sofa, staring at the plus sign on a pregnancy test. I have three men who swore they’d go through heaven and hell to keep me safe, pleased, and by their side.
I should be happy. But I’m scared.
Am I cut out to be a mother? What kind of mother will I be? I certainly don’t have the best role model. How do I tell the guys? How will we make this work?
The more I sit here, the more questions emerge, turning my brain to mush and building a storm of anxiety within my chest.
I pour myself a cup of tea and call my best friend. “Come on, Penny, pick up.”
Maybe she’s busy. Or in a meeting. I hang up and start to spiral. My pregnancy—if found out—will give my mother a whole new bag of ammunition to use against me in court.
A knock on the door cuts through my thoughts. I open it without checking first to see who it is and instantly regret my decision, a wave of anger and nausea quick to take over and drain the blood from my face.
“Matthew. What are you doing here?” My voice is flat, emotionless.
He stands in the doorway with a gigantic bouquet of white lilies. I don’t like white lilies, but it’s not like this is the first time he’s gotten something about me wrong.
“Hi, Phoebe. Can we talk?”
“About what?”
“Us.”
I shake my head. “No. There is no us. It turns out there never was. You picked my sister, remember?”
“So… funny story,” he chuckles nervously, then hands me the bouquet.
Before I can stop him, he walks right past me and into my living room. I take a deep breath and leave the door open with the assumption I’ll be kicking him out in less than a minute.
“Funny story?”
“Yeah. Turns out, Crystal never wanted to get serious with me. She told me I was only good for a few rolls in the hay while I was engaged to her sister. She’s no longer interested in me.”
I don’t even know how I’m supposed to feel about this or what I’m supposed to say. “Nothing Crystal says or does surprises me. Not anymore,” I tell him. “I’d like to say I’m sorry it didn’t work out between the two of you, Matthew, but in all honesty, I really don’t care.”
“We could get revenge,” he suggests, a playful twinkle in his eyes.
How in the world did I ever fall for this man? He is a walking red flag. It took the love of three decent men to lift the veil from my eyes. I can’t imagine going back to the previous version of myself.
The version that would’ve bought this boyish charm he’s trying to pull.
“Revenge?” I ask, raising an eyebrow as I set the flowers on the side table by the door.
“Yes. We could still get married. It’ll piss Crystal off, and it’ll get your mother off your back, too. Two birds, one stone,” he says with a pompous smirk.
“Matthew.”
“Yes?”
“I would rather carve my own eyeball out with a butter knife than to ever let you be a part of my life in any capacity again,” I calmly reply. “The trash took itself out, as far as I’m concerned. I’m not letting it back in.”
Matthew exhales sharply, the amusement fading from his eyes. “That’s harsh.”
“Nowhere near as harsh as your breakup. Nowhere near as cruel as the screenshots you posted online to humiliate me,” I reply. “How do you expect me to get over that? That’s not the kind of transgression you can just sweep under the rug. You hurt me.”
“I know, and I’m sorry.”
“But you didn’t stop there. You had to hurt me some more. When Dominic, August, Theo, and I got together, you were furious. Not because you had a change of heart, but because you couldn’t understand with that shallow mind of yours, why they’d be so into me when you were so quick to discard me.”
He thinks about it for a second. “I did wonder. I figured, you know, if they see something special in you, it’s got to be there. I’m willing to find it, as well. Doesn’t that count for something?”
I stare at him for a moment. “You had years to figure that out. You chose to belittle and humiliate me instead. Matthew, that ship sailed. Go find yourself another upgrade and leave me alone.”
And just like that, his mask falls off. I see him, the real him, for the very first time.
“You know, Phoebe, your mother was right about one thing,” he says, his voice low and cold. “You really should lower those standards. I doubt there’s anyone besides me who’s willing to take you, now that you were run through by three men at once.”
“They’ve already taken me, Matthew. I’m not interested in what you’re willing to accept because I’m off the market.
I’m unavailable,” I shoot back. “In fact, I’m the one who upgraded, whereas you couldn’t even lock down my sister.
Bat crazy Crystal Baldwin. It says more about you than it says about her. ”
That sets him off. He takes a few steps forward, his shoulders squared as he uses his large frame to try and intimidate me. I step back.
“What are you doing?” I ask, my voice wavering.
All I can think about is my unborn child, vulnerable in my womb against a man who looks like he’s itching to hurt me.
“I’ll change your mind, Phoebe,” he says. “One way or another, I’m walking out of here with a yes.”
“Don’t be stupid. You had your chance, and you blew it. Don’t make things worse for yourself.”
“I’m already in hot water with the banks. I need this marriage between us to happen.”
Frowning and confused, I ask, “Wait, what?”
“I’m trying to help you while I help myself!
” he snaps and takes another step closer.
“Let’s get married. No prenup. I’ll gain access to the Baldwin fortune and get the banks off my back, while you’ll recover your pristine reputation to keep your mother from getting her claws on your inheritance and company stock.
Come on, Phoebe, it won’t get better than this, not for you, anyway. ”
“Oh, my God,” I gasp, finally putting two and two together. “So, the rumors were true. You’re nowhere near as rich as you claimed to be.”
“I was. But you know, it’s a volatile market—”
“So many things make sense now.” I laugh, a tinge of bitterness deepening the sound.
“Why you came to me in the first place. Why you wanted to marry me. Mom said something about your financial situation being a little shady, but I chalked it up to rumors. I defended you. Turns out the rumors were true after all, and you really did squander your inheritance.”
“I made some bad investments,” Matthew replies. “Like I said, it’s a volatile market. But we can both make our lives better if we work together. Come on, be reasonable.”
“Then you thought you could marry Crystal instead?” I keep laughing. “You dumped me for the better-looking sister because you thought you could get the riches and the babe, two birds, one stone, right? Until the babe blew you off, and now, here you are. Oh, wow. This is rich.”
“Phoebe, please.”
“This is so fucking rich.” I shake my head. “The answer is still no. Hell no. Get out of my sight, Matthew. I can’t even look at you right now.”
Before I can register it, he closes the distance between us and grabs me by the shoulders. I wince as his fingers dig deep, hurting me.
“Phoebe, I told you, I’m not walking out of here without a yes.”
“Matthew, don’t do this.”
Fear paralyzes me for one too many seconds, and I don’t know what to do. I know I need to move, I need to react, but my body refuses to cooperate. Dread freezes my blood and kills my every thought as I wonder how I’ll survive whatever comes next.
Suddenly, Dominic emerges behind Matthew. I didn’t hear or see him come in through the open door. He towers over my ex-fiancé with a murderous glare.
“You shouldn’t have come here.” Dominic’s growl reverberates throughout the room.
“What the—”
Matthew doesn’t get a chance to finish before Dominic grabs him by the back of the neck and yanks him away from me. He hurls him toward the door with incredible strength, fueled by rage and adrenaline.
“Shit!” Matthew whimpers as he lands on his side, hitting the hardwood floor with an unceremonious thud.
Dominic doesn’t give him a second to recover. He’s immediately on top of Matthew, his hand clutching and tightening around his throat. He pulls Matthew up by his neck, the look on his face speaking of murderous intent.
“If you ever come near Phoebe again, I will finish what I started here. They will need dental records to identify you,” Dominic says.
“Okay, okay!” Matthew manages, his face twisted with fear and pain.
“Dom, don’t,” I mumble.
He lets Matthew go. A split second later, Matthew runs out of the apartment, the sound of his rushed footsteps receding down the stairs at the end of the hallway.
Dominic closes the door and reaches me in the blink of an eye. “Are you okay?”
“I am now,” I whisper and welcome his embrace. “Thanks to you.”
“What the hell was he doing here?”
“It’s a long and pathetic story. Just hold me, don’t let go,” I reply.
He doesn’t. He keeps me in his arms, and I bask in his strength and warmth, in the sweetness of his affection, in the safety he so effortlessly provides. I’m safe, and so is my baby, because Dominic, August, and Theo are the kind of men who keep their promises.
Always.
“Where are we going?” I ask, comfortably snug in the passenger seat of Dominic’s sterling silver Lexus.
We’re in Manhattan, on the business side of town. Steel, glass, and concrete giants rise on both sides of the street, casting a myriad of reflections of the blue sky against each other. Above, it’s all glimmers and sunlight while below on the street, a river of people flow in either direction.
Suits. Smart casual. The occasional flowy dress.
A pinch of hipster here and there. Everyone’s so busy.
Chasing money. Making money. Breathing money.
Meanwhile, I’m watching them, wondering what they must be like when money isn’t the only thing on their mind.
I used to play the same game with my dad, except I always knew he had his family first in his thoughts.
“We agreed to more transparency going forward,” Dominic says. “You need to know what we’ve been up to regarding your inheritance issue and your incredibly toxic family.”
“Okay. In that case, tell me what you’ve been up to.”
“A number of projects actually, but you’ll have to see for yourself.”
I nod and look out the window, lost in thought.
“Tell me about Matthew,” Dominic says. “What was he doing at your place?”
“He wanted us to get married after all,” I reply. “He’s in deep financial shit, and he wanted to get married without a prenup so he would have access to my money.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
I laugh. “My reaction precisely.”
“I think you need to start from the beginning.”
“Crystal only wanted him while he was with me. As soon as he dumped me, her interest in Matthew began to fade, whereas Matthew really thought he’d won and he and Crystal were going to be together.”
I tell him more about his financial crisis and the real motive behind marrying me or Crystal. The more I talk, the greater the amount of disgust settles across his face.
“And he didn’t take it kindly when I told him to fuck off. Said he wasn’t leaving without a yes.”
“He was never known for his capacity to take no for an answer, Phoebe. My only regret is that we didn’t see the signs sooner. I promise you, we would’ve stopped him from even proposing to you had we known.”
I shake my head slowly. “It’s fine. It was all part of a lesson I needed to learn on my own, and it was a lesson well learned, in the end. I’m grateful for the way things turned out. I just wish...”
“That your family was more supportive,” he finishes my thought.
“Yes.”
“You’ve yet to make your peace with that.”
“It’s hard,” I exhale sharply. “Matthew was one thing. A chapter of my life. He came and went. It was a different kind of attachment. But my own mother and sister… I don’t know, that’s a harder pill to swallow.”
We pull up outside a massive office building with black mirrored windows and black marble steps leading up to carousel glass doors. There’s a list etched into the glass beside the entrance, listing the many companies occupying units or entire floors.
“It’s about to get even harder,” Dominic says.
“Why are we at Penny’s firm?”
“There’s something you need to see.”
The way he says it sounds downright ominous. I’ve got a feeling that today is about to take a turn for the worse.
Dominic offers his hand and I take it. Whatever it is, we’ll deal with it together.