AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Nova. He wanted me to tell you that he didn’t know about the baby and would not have kept something like that from you. He did admit to telling Allegra not to tell you they had sex when you first came back on the off chance you were willing to give him another chance. I don’t think that’s why she didn’t tell you; I think she had her own reasons, the biggest one being she didn’t want Nova to know.”
“I agree. It wouldn’t have taken a rocket scientist to figure out he was the father based on the timing of when everything happened.”
“He said she went into labor a month earlier than expected and he did ask her if the baby was his when she first gave birth and she said no, so he let it go.”
“Of course, he did.” I turned in his arms and looked into his eyes. “Am I a hypocrite?”
When he didn’t respond right away, I figured it was because he was going to say yes. I wouldn’t have blamed him. Here I was, lying in bed with him, like he wasn’t Nova’s best friend a year ago. True enough, their friendship was over when things turned physical between us, but still. Was what Allegra and Nova did that much different from Jeremiah and me? They had a baby, yes, and they hid it from me… but other than the timing… was it that much different?
“What do you mean?”
“They had sex. We have too. I—I hit her, Jeremiah. I think I may have overreacted.”
His head flinched as he sucked his teeth.
“The situations are different. What they did happened one month after you left. At that point, you and Allegra were still best friends. She went on to hide a pregnancy from you. If they weren’t ashamed of what they’d done, they wouldn’t have agreed to hide it.” That was true. “What you and I share…” He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it. “That’s pure love.” Our hands remained locked. “Nova and I didn’t have a personal relationship when this started, and we let them know upfront. You even went as far as to gain their approval before we got into a relationship. Out of respect, we didn’t let them know things have turned physical because you wanted to spare Nova’s feelings, when all this time, he’s been hiding the fact that he slept with your best friend.”
I rolled over onto my back as he continued. “Do I think it was wrong to get so angry that you lost control of yourself? In your place of business? Yes. But you’re human. A human that has dealt with blow after blow from people you love and trust. You snapped. It happens. But you and I… we’re nothing like them, Angel, and I won’t allow you to reduce what we have and put it on the same level as a drunken one-night stand.”
I heard what he was saying, but I wasn’t sure I agreed. I mean, I knew I was wrong. Fighting was beneath me. There was a time when I took great pride in my ability to crush people with only my words. The longer I thought over what they’d done, the fewer words seemed to be able to do me justice.
Did Allegra and Tiffany deserve to get their asses beat? Absolutely. But now, I hadn’t just stained my character, but I’d done so in our place of business. My anger had dug a hole that I wasn’t sure I’d be able to climb out of. At least with Jerry by my side, I knew I’d be able to try.
23
The Next Morning
I’d spentall morning looking for traces of Nova in the pictures of Ava that I’d taken since my return. She was her mother’s twin, and I’m sure Allegra was glad about that. There were so many things that I wanted to ask Allegra, but I couldn’t pull myself to call her. I knew eventually that we’d have to face each other. Even with me firing them all, they were protected by our bylaws. If I were to fire them without just cause, I’d have to offer up a hefty severance package along with a glowing recommendation.
Now that I’d calmed down some, guilt was sitting even heavier on my heart. My anger had potentially destroyed my reputation. How could I face my employees after this? What would our clients say if they found out? There was no doubt in my mind that there were people who wished I’d never come back.
My presence had surely disrupted the flow and peace at WCSF, no matter how much that wasn’t my intention. I could justify my behavior and excuse it by saying no one truly knows how a bear will react until it's poked but that wasn’t good enough. I had far more to lose than a friend in that moment. I wasn’t thinking about being arrested or potential clients that could have been on our floor.
The doorbell rang, pulling me out of my thoughts. I stared at the wall as if I could see who was at the door through it. When it rang again, I stood and went to go let whoever it was inside. At the sight of Nova, my eyes rolled. I tried to shut the door in his face, but he used his hand to stop me. Stepping inside, he closed the door behind himself and walked further into my home.
“I want you to leave,” I told him, not bothering to move.
The whole point of me not going to work was to avoid them and conversations about them. Something told me Nova would still go to work, even with me firing them all, and by the way he was dressed I could tell that’s where he was headed.
“Come sit down so we can talk,” he commanded, unbuttoning his suit jacket.
I crossed my arms over my chest, tilted my head, and crossed my ankles. If he wanted to talk, he could do so on his way out. Forgiving him for Tiffany was one thing; sleeping with my best friend was on a whole other level.
“I have nothing to say to you.”
Nova’s head bobbed as he sat on my sectional. “Okay, then come sit down so I can talk while you listen.”
The audacity.
“Get the fuck out of my home, Nova.Now.”
“It was a mistake, Chapel.”
“Aren’t you tired of making those? And cheating isn’t a mistake. It’s a choice. You chose to cheat with Tiffany, then you chose to cheat on her with Allegra. Then you chose to ask her to keep that secret from me. You’ve been making a hell of a lot of bad choices lately, Nova.”
His head hung as he chuckled. “I won’t argue with that.”
With a huff, I ran my fingers through my hair. God. I hated how pitiful he could look at times. Pitiful and sincere. Sincere and apologetic. But I was tired of apologies. I needed right behavior. Clearly, I wouldn’t be able to get that from Nova.
