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“Yes, abuse,” John says calmly. “I’ve done some digging on you. You’ve been living this life of luxury when it’s not your life to be living.”
I watch as Talia’s eyes widen before narrowing dangerously. “You, this is all because of you?” she accuses him, but I have no idea what she’s talking about. What has John done?
“Of course; you didn’t think that you’d get away with it forever, did you?”
I’m missing something. “What?”
“Reli, your father died leaving Talia with a house in New York, but all his money, this house, and everything else he owned was left to you and only you. She has been spending your money as though it’s her own. That has now stopped; she no longer has that power.”
“It was money I was owed.” Talia rises to her feet, anger pouring out of her. “I had to have her in my house, with my girls.”
“She had every right to be here. This is her house, it was on the conditions of you receiving your stipend along with a house in New York. You were to be Yoreli’s guardian.” She rolls her eyes, unimpressed by his words. “I will not get you arrested for the abuse of Yoreli. It would be her word against yours, and I would never put her through that; the fear of being branded a liar.”
I suck in a sharp breath; he never said this to me. I wouldn’t ever say anything to the police. I couldn’t. She’d tell them I enjoyed it, that I wanted it. They’d believe her.
Talia has a triumphant smirk on her face.
I turn in John’s arms and see that he too has a smirk, clearly saying that he’s won this. “But you will, however, be charged with grand larceny. You also didn’t carry out the full terms of the will. You were to have Yoreli in your care until her eighteenth birthday and you didn’t, so you and your daughters are no longer allowed to live here. You have one hour to remove your shit before I call men in to remove it for you.”
I gasp. “Is this for real?”
He glances down at me. “Yes, baby girl. She hurt you and now I’m going to hurt her.”
“You can’t do this!” Talia yells.
There’s a knock at the door and John squeezes my shoulders. “Reli, please let the officers in?” he asks and I nod.
“What is so special about her?” Talia’s voice follows me out of the living room and into the hall.
“She is fucking amazing. No matter how hard you tried to break her it didn’t work.” He has me on such a pedestal that I’m not sure if I’ll ever live up to it. The thought makes fear crawl into my belly. Will things change if he finds out just how broken I really am?
I open the door and two officers enter the house. I point toward the living room and they walk in. I stay back, not wanting to cause any more trouble. I never expected John to want to get her into trouble. I was happy knowing that I never had to come back here with her.
An hour later, Talia’s still yelling and throwing things in bags while the girls cry. I walk over to the stairs and sit down. It doesn’t take long for the officers to walk out of the living room with Talia in handcuffs. Zella and Anna have tears streaming down their faces as they follow behind the officers. John strolls over to me with a satisfied look, those green eyes of his filled with happiness. He reaches for me, pulling me into his
arms. “Why do you look so glum?”
I shrug. “I never wanted this. All I had hoped was that I could move on and never have to face her again.”
“I know. I, however, couldn’t sit back and allow her to get away with everything she’s done. This was my way of ensuring that she’ll never have the chance to hurt you again.” My eyes widen as I take everything he’s saying in.
“Thank you,” I whisper as I wrap my arms around him. “Are you really going to throw the girls out?”
He kisses the top of my head. “Yeah, baby girl, they’re leaving. It’s up to you what you want to do with this house.”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
“I mean,” he says, placing a soft kiss against my lips. “We can move in here together and I’ll sell my house, or you could rent it.”
I’m in shock. “I’m not sure. Do I have to decide now?”
He shakes his head, placing a kiss against my forehead. “No, baby girl, you don’t.”
Thank God. Today has been too much to deal with. I’m grateful that I don’t have to worry about Talia anymore. I can breathe easier.
Sixteen
John
