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My shoulders sagged in relief. I hadn't been looking forward to figuring out which cupboards I could shove all of this in when I got home. Clutter drove me insane, and the thought of adding tons of stuff into an already small space had me feeling twitchy. "That would be perfect, at least until I talk to True. Thank you."
"Of course." She smiled brightly. "Ready to go?"
Nodding, I slipped my sunglasses onto my face as I gripped the handles of countless fancy paper shopping bags. We stepped into the afternoon sun, and I took a second to appreciate the warmth on my face when a body slammed into mine, and I dropped my bags. "Oh, my god, I'm so sorry!" I stammered.
Turning to apologize, I came face-to-face with the woman who'd been front and center in the drama that had become my life the past several weeks. The tiny brunette had her face buried in her phone, and truth be told, she was probably at least as much at fault for our collision as I was.
She stood a solid six inches shorter than me and was followed by a couple of what I was assuming were photographers. When she finally tore her annoyed gaze from her phone, she looked me up and down before her glare landed on my face, and her eyes widened before narrowing. "You." She bit out as if she knew who I was.
How would she know who I was?
"I'm sorry for running into you. Have a great day." I plastered on a fake smile and bent to pick up my bags off the sidewalk, but of course, she wouldn't make it that easy.
"Who the fuck do you think you are?" Her voice was pure venom, and the photographers trailing her were starting to take notice, snapping pictures and whispering to each other. My eyes darted between her and them, and all I wanted more was to get the fuck out of there.
"Uh, I'm no one. I'm just going to go." With my bags in my hands, I tried to step around her, but her hand caught my arm, and she pulled me back, squeezing until her dagger-like nails dug into my skin. I winced but refused to give her the satisfaction of seeing she'd caused me pain.
She laughed humorlessly. "Youareno one. At least you know where you stand. "You know you're just some plaything for him, right? You can't give him what he actually wants, what he actually needs. Only I can."
I stiffened. Oh, hell no. "You have no idea what you're talking about, Lexi."
Rebecca stepped out of the store, coming up behind me and taking in the scene. Her eyes narrowed on Lexi when she realized who she was, but the new addition to this little crowd we were gathering didn't stop Lexi's tirade.
"You're just a fat, ugly no one. Who do you think he's texting late at night? Who do you think he's seeing when he's supposedly working all day every day? That's right. Me."
Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I flattened my lips and yanked my arm out of her grip. Red lines ran across my skin, but I couldn't feel them right now. My heart was pounding, blood rushing in my ears as adrenaline coursed through my veins, preparing me for a fight. "Again, you have no idea what you're talking about. I'm leaving."
I tried to step around her, but she jumped in front of me again. If I wasn't pregnant, I would have punched her in the face, but I wouldn't put little P at risk like that. Plus, I didn't need to draw even more attention to myself than I was already getting. I'd avoided using True's name because I couldn't forget that this little altercation would probably end up on some gossip blog on the internet. I didn't want him and I connected publicly. That meant putting our daughter at risk, and I wouldn't do that no matter how tempted I was to shut this girl up.
I was shaking, and I knew I was supposed to avoid stress, but what could I do? She wouldn't let me leave. Instead, Rebecca swooped in and took Lexi on herself. "I suggest you move and let her by." Her voice came out low and threatening, and I got my first glimpse of the protective mama bear Rebecca was when someone threatened one of her kids.
Lexi scoffed. "Oh? And who are you to tell me what to do?"
Instead of answering, Rebecca pulled out her phone and placed a call. "Sweetheart, you need to get down to the baby boutique on Palmera street right now. It's an emergency."
I heard True's panicked voice, but I couldn't hear what he was saying. Rebecca nodded a few times before hanging up the phone. She glanced back at me with a small smile. "Now we wait. It'll be about ten minutes."
Having Rebecca on my side and True on his way left me feeling relieved as the adrenaline drained out of my body. I was shaky and exhausted, and despite the fact I knew Lexi spewed nothing but lies, her words still hurt. I knew I wasn't nothing, but I also wondered sometimes why True would ever give me the time of day. He waseverything. He could have anyone.
Why had he chosen me?
Lexi snapped her finger at me. "Who. Was. That." She stomped her high-heeled foot on the sidewalk, and I backed up until my knees hit a bench behind me. I didn't have the energy for her anymore.
She followed me but couldn't get as close as she wanted with Rebecca standing between us. "I've got something that'll show the world just how he feels about me. You should get out now while you can because if I have to go to the media with this, you'll never be able to show your face in public again."
Rebecca folded her arms across her chest. "What is the point of all of this? You know he doesn't feel anything for you."
Lexi laughed, and it honestly sounded like a cackle. I shuddered. "What would you know? You'll all see what I see soon enough. Tell him to come see me tomorrow, or I'm releasing proof." With that, she flipped her hair over her shoulder and stomped off as if nothing had happened.
I sagged against the bench as the tears finally spilled over and ran down my cheeks. Rebecca sat next to me, pulling me into her arms. "You weren't kidding when you said she was unpleasant."
I laughed a little through the tears before the smile fell off my face. "Is True really coming?"
She nodded. "He should be here any minute."
Holding in a sob, I willed the tears not to fall until I was at least in the privacy of a car. Hopefully, True would take me home.
My eyes locked onto the sidewalk following every crack until a door slammed, and I snapped my head up. True locked eyes with me, his wild and filled with fear as he jogged over to us. "Fuck, Amara. Are you okay?" He pulled me up into his arms, wrapping them around me as I buried my face in his chest, and I couldn't hold back the tears anymore. The dam burst and I sobbed, soaking his shirt with hot tears, my body shaking, and he held me and rubbed my back without saying anything. He didn't care that we're on the sidewalk or that his shirt was a mess. I was stupid to let Lexi's poisonous words get to me.
