Chapter Forty #2
It’s not about the money. I have more than enough to give her, but she’s barely come back into my life, and already—
“I just want to be near you,” she insists. “To get to know you. To be here as your mother—”
“I have a mother,” I snap. “And she would never ask me for something like this. Is this why you came to me? Because you need money?”
“No, of course not—”
“How am I supposed to believe that?”
Her expression changes in an instant. The softness disappears, replaced by something cold and hard. “So you’re not going to help me?” she asks, her tone flat.
“No.”
She lets out a sharp breath. “Well… that makes things a little more complicated.”
A flicker of unease runs through me. “I think you should leave.”
She ignores that, stepping closer instead. “You really won’t give me anything? Nothing to help me stay here and build a relationship with you?”
“No,” I repeat, firmer this time.
Her face twists, irritation flashing across her features. Then she moves closer, too damn close, until she’s right in front of me.
I fight the instinct to step back.
“You ungrateful little bitch,” she spits.
I blink, stunned. “What?”
“You heard me… ungrateful.” Her voice rises, venom spilling out.
“I gave birth to you. I’m the one who had to sit in a hospital detoxing while you struggled to breathe.
They should have been worried about me, but no…
everything was about you. You were born with drugs in your system.
You should have died!” Her words hit like a physical blow.
“Without me, you wouldn’t even exist,” she continues, her voice shaking with rage.
“So the least you could do is give me some money to make up for everything I had to go through for you.”
“Are you serious right now?” I whisper, disbelief cutting through the anger.
She laughs, a harsh, bitter sound right in my face.
“Deadly serious. So here’s what’s going to happen.
You give me the money, or I start talking.
To the papers. About everything.” A cold chill slides down my spine.
“Things you don’t even remember,” she adds.
“You were six months old when they took you from me. That first six months?” She leans in slightly.
“You don’t even want to know what happened to you, Annie. ”
My stomach churns. “What are you talking about?”
“Give me the money,” she snaps, her composure cracking completely.
I take a step back, my heart hammering now, anger finally catching up with the shock. “No. Get out of my life.”
Her eyes flare with rage. “Give. Me. The. Money.”
“No. Fuck off,” I yell.
Her hand comes out of nowhere.
The crack echoes as it connects with my cheek, snapping my head to the side. Pain explodes across my face, sharp and immediate.
“Hey!” Aston shouts, rushing toward me.
I bring my hand up to my cheek, the sting burning under my skin as he reaches my side.
“Give. Me. The. Money!” she screams.
Mum lunges forward, shoving Loretta back before grabbing her by the scruff of the neck. “If you ever, and I mean ever, lay a hand on my daughter again, I swear to God I will kill you myself,” Mum growls through gritted teeth.
Dad is there in an instant, pulling her back before she can do more damage.
I stand frozen, trying to reconcile the woman who smiled at me minutes ago with the one standing in front of us now.
She’s unhinged.
“Get the fuck out of here,” Dad snaps, holding Mum tightly at his side. “And if you ever come back, I won’t just call the police… I’ll get a goddamn restraining order. You will never see our daughter again. Do you hear me?”
Aston wraps his arm around me, pulling me into him. I lean into his side as the tears finally spill over, hot and unstoppable.
Loretta looks straight at me, her lip curling. “All you had to do was give me some money,” she says, her voice low and bitter. “Everything would’ve been fine. But now…” Her eyes narrow. “You might have won this battle, Annie, but you haven’t won the war. This isn’t over!”
A shiver runs through me at the intensity of her stare.
“This is over, Loretta. If you come near us again—”
“You’ll what, Deliah?” she cuts in with a sneer. “Kill me and spend the rest of your life in prison, away from your precious little angel? I don’t think so. Watch who you threaten, bitch.”
Dad steps forward, his presence sharp and dangerous, and for the first time, Loretta falters and takes a step back.
“Get. Out!” he says, his voice low and deadly. “Dee might hold back, but I won’t.”
Even I feel the weight of that.
Loretta swallows, her bravado slipping just a fraction. “Fine. I’m going,” she snaps, but her gaze locks onto mine again. “But don’t forget this, Annie… you’re the one who ruined this. You’re the one who ruined everything.”
The words hit hard, but not the way she wants them to.
Not anymore.
“Get off my property,” Dad growls.
Aston tightens his hold on me, his hand coming up to cradle the back of my head, pressing me into his chest.
“This isn’t over!” Loretta calls again, her voice laced with venom.
“You could never be my mother,” I fire back.
She laughs, cold and hollow. “Oh, honey,” she says, shaking her head. “I never wanted to be.”
Well fuck! That cuts deeper than the rest, but it doesn’t break me.
Not like it would have before.
Loretta turns, climbing into her car. The tires screech as she takes off, gravel spitting across the driveway.
The second she’s gone, everything crashes in, and I cover my face as sobs rip through me.
“Oh Annie, why was she here?” Mum asks, rushing to me and pulling me from Aston’s arms into hers.
I cling to her, my chest heaving, my heart racing so fast it makes me dizzy. I can’t get the words out, so she just holds me, steady and warm, while the rest of them gather close.
“It doesn’t matter, Dee,” Dad says firmly. “All that matters is she’s not coming back.”
I nod against Mum’s shoulder.
That woman, that thing is never coming back.
Not ever.
“I can’t believe she hit you,” Aston says quietly.
I pull back slightly and look at him. His fingers brush gently over my cheek where the sting still lingers.
Guilt twists in my chest.
“I’m sorry, Ast,” I whisper. “For everything I said. I was so caught up in the idea of her being my mother that I couldn’t see what she really was.”
“It’s fine,” he says softly. “You wanted to believe the best in her. There’s nothing wrong with that.” His gaze holds mine. “But now you see her clearly, yeah?”
I nod, stepping into him and wrapping my arms around his waist. “Yeah,” I murmur. “I do.”
“Come on,” Dad says after a moment. “Let’s get inside. I think we’ve all had enough for one day.”
I nod again as Aston keeps hold of me, steady and solid at my side, while we walk back inside together, the door closing firmly behind us.
And for the first time since that bitch showed up, it feels like I’m not just shutting her out,
I’m choosing where I belong.