Chapter 7 #2
It started as a joke, then slowly turned into a plan… my plan.
Where Dottie’s stupidity came in was making us fix her coffee every morning.
So, every few days, I’d add a little something extra: a spoonful one morning, then a tiny sprinkle another day.
Never enough to raise suspicion, just enough to make her body start waving the white flag little by little… and it worked.
I was the mastermind behind all of it. Talia had nothing to do with actually killing her, but she still went along with the plan. That made her just guilty enough to keep her mouth shut too.
We watched her shrink right in front of us.
Dottie’s skin turned pale, her voice grew weaker, and her coughing worsened.
She blamed stress, age, even bad meat from the grocery store…
anything except the two girls standing right in front of her stirring her coffee every morning.
Then one day, she didn’t wake up. Neither of us panicked.
We just sat at the table eating breakfast in silence while the fat rat dragged a piece of bread across the floor as if he was celebrating too.
In that moment, we also made a vow to never tell another soul.
Eventually, we picked up the phone and called 911.
Our voices trembled just enough to sound believable.
Me and Talia put on our little performance draped in borrowed grief, forcing out sniffles, blank stares, and sad expressions we didn’t actually feel.
The tears never came, but apparently, neither did suspicion.
No one questioned a thing.
When the detectives asked about Dottie, we painted her into a saint. We stated that she was a loving, patient, and God-fearing kind of mom who’d give her last to help somebody.
The truth would’ve gotten us locked in separate rooms under bright lights answering questions we weren’t prepared to survive. And kids who poison their guardians don’t get sympathy, they get investigated… so, of course we lied.
The coroner ruled her death as natural causes, signed the paperwork, and everybody moved on with their lives.
By the end of the day, Talia and I were separated.
Two different homes… two different fates.
“Haelyn?”
Talia’s voice and the sound of somebody laughing two tables away yanked me back to the present.
“You okay?” she asked, brows furrowed.
I took a slow sip of water, forcing my smile to stay put. “Yeah. Just no talk about Dottie.”
Talia nodded softly, her expression full of understanding and sympathy. “Fair enough. You’ve been through hell, girl. I’m just glad you made it out.”
“Me too,” I murmured, fingers tracing circles on the rim of my glass.
But in my mind, another voice whispered, Hell ain’t somewhere you escape; it’s somewhere you carry.
“Let’s move on to another topic,” I suggested, to get the spotlight from me. “So, what about you? You got a man? Married, perhaps?”
Talia smirked. “Married? Girl, I can’t even get a boyfriend to text back consistently. I’ve been single for seven months and spiritually divorced for five. It’s just little ol’ me out here trying to survive this crazy-ass world.”
I exhaled slowly. “Sounds like peace to me. But what about work? You used to love doing my hair. I figured by now you’d be charging $300 for faux locs and a side of attitude,” I joked.
“Girl, I wish. I’m not gonna lie, I tried my hand at it doing hair.
But honestly? I think I was just going through one of them random broke-girl phases where you convince yourself you got a hidden talent because you watched three YouTube tutorials and borrowed somebody’s edge control.
And Haelyn, we’re grown now, so you can admit my parts were crooked and my hands slow. ”
“Okay, yeah… you did. And your braids did used to lean a little,” I admitted, laughing.
Talia snorted. “A little? Girl, one side of your head looked ready for school while the other side was still waiting on me to finish sectioning it.”
I giggled. “Facts! But you can’t say you didn’t have confidence, though. I have to give you that. You used to sit me in that chair like you had a booking site, a waitlist, and a strict cancellation policy.”
We both cracked up.
“So, if you’re not into hair, what are you doing these days?” I got serious.
“Keeping it real… I’m in between jobs. My last job laid off over fifty people with no real explanation. You know how that goes.”
“Damn.”
“But… hopefully, things will start turning around soon,” Talia said, eyes sparkling. “I have an interview in two days!”
“Okaaaaaay! Well, that’s good news. But an interview for what?”
Talia leaned across the table, dropping her voice to that excited tone she used whenever she thought she’d discovered a life-changing idea. “A surrogate position.”
I twisted my face up in confusion. “A what?”
“A surrogate, girl. You know… carrying a baby for someone else,” she explained, smiling proudly. “They want someone healthy, mentally stable, no kids, no family ties, and it just so happens, I fit their criteria like a glove.”
I stared at her like she’d just announced she was joining a cult.
Talia was always the one who swore she didn’t want kids… like ever. She used to say she didn’t even want a plant depending on her. So, to see her sitting there all excited about carrying someone else’s whole human? Yeah… that threw me.
“I thought you were the one who said you were never having kids.”
She shrugged, unbothered. “And I’m not… at least not for myself. But I’ll carry one for someone else… for the right price. What’s the saying? Desperate times call for desperate measures, and I’m there. Broke people can’t afford pride, sis.”
“You really wouldn’t mind carrying someone else’s child? What if you get attached to the baby?”
“Nope! I’m not thinking about attachment; I’m thinking about bills disappearing. I’m focused on the check, not the emotions. For the kinda money they’re offering, I’d be at every doctor appointment smiling and rubbing my stomach like it’s my dream career.”
“How much are they offering?” I asked out of curiosity.
“Half a million,” Talia revealed, sipping her drink. “Five hundred thousand dollars… tax free.”
I almost choked on my water. “Five hundred thousand?! Girl, two hundred and fifty I might halfway understand, but five hundred? You must be planning to carry for royalty or be Rihanna’s backup plan.”
Talia smirked. “Well… he is a billionaire.”
She strolled through her phone and then slid it across the table.
“That’s him… Mayzen Belvior, but the streets call him Merge. His fiancée reached out to me earlier this week.”
I picked up the phone.
After seeing the photo, I didn’t blink, breathe, or even hear Talia’s next words.
That strong jaw, those cold eyes, and that quiet power radiated even through a picture.
It’s him… Jace.
My fingers tightened around the phone.
He found me. Somehow, in some twisted, divine way, he came back.
It was the only explanation my mind allowed.
Here we go again, a voice drifted in like a sigh.
You know this ain’t real.
It’s just a look-alike.
Don’t get too ahead of yourself.
Look-alike my ass! That’s him!
Different body… same soul!
Jace could’ve been alive that whole time like I predicted and had been out there living under a different name while I rotted in Willowgate.
Mm-hmm.
New name, new money, same toxic energy.
The thought slammed through my skull so hard I had to grip the table to stay grounded.
My fingers went numb as the phone trembled in my hand.
“Haelyn?” Talia called out to me.
I couldn’t answer. My throat felt like it was closing up.
Breathe.
You’re staring too long!
Say something!
She’s gonna notice!
“Haelyn, girl, you good?”
I blinked hard, my vision snapping back into focus. Talia was staring at me with concern now, her head tilted.
“Huh? What did you say?”
“You good, girl? You zoned out like you knew him.”
I smiled faintly, sliding the phone back across the table. “Sorry. I do that every now and then.”
“Okay. You had me thinking I was introducing you to your long-lost husband or something.”
I playfully waved her off. “Girl, no. I barely know anyone these days.”
“Right,” Talia replied slowly, chuckling to fill the silence.
“He just… reminded me of someone. But it’s someone irrelevant from my past. I don’t know about you, but I need me a drink, and I don’t even drink.” I quickly changed the subject.
Talia raised an eyebrow, sipping her tea. “Mm-hmm. ‘Irrelevant’ got you ordering shots? Must’ve been real irrelevant.” She laughed, nudging my arm playfully. “But hey… who am I to judge? Let’s drink to forgetting the past and lying to ourselves in peace.”
We talked for a while longer, about nothing that mattered.
Two drinks in, I leaned back in my chair and let my words drag just enough to sell it. “Whew… okay, yeah. Those drinks don’ snuck up on me, girl. I might need a ride home, because walking this late, I’d probably end up on somebody’s crime documentary.”
Talia burst out laughing. “Not a crime documentary! But yeah, your pretty ass definitely looks kidnappable. So, you a lightweight, huh?”
I hunched my shoulders. “Apparently. One more sip and I might start telling strangers my social security number.”
She laughed harder. “Don’t do that. Identity theft is expensive.”
I grinned lazily. “See? Another reason I shouldn’t walk home.”
Talia shook her head, still smiling. “I got you, girl. Actually… just stay at my place tonight.”
“You sure?”
“Of course. What kind of sister would I be letting you stumble around tipsy at night? Plus, I could use the company. My walls are starting to know too much about my business.”
I laughed softly. “Thanks, Talia. You’ve always been solid.”
Talia’s place was warm and cozy in a way that made me relax the second I stepped inside. It was also a little too big for just her.