Chapter 08
1826 Words
BLAIR’S POV
The doorbell rings, and I open the door to let Jack in. He looks angry, pitiful, and sad all at once as our eyes meet.
“Done with work already?” I ask as he steps inside.
“I asked a board member to cover for me,” he says.
I close the door behind him, and before I can turn fully, he reaches for my hand and pulls me into a hug. I let myself stay there as he rubs my back, and my eyes burn with tears.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers. “I’m sorry I didn’t know what was happening.”
I pull back, wipe my eyes and force a small smile. “Come on, I didn’t tell anyone. How could you have known?”
“I should have noticed,” he says immediately. “Even Blaise did and I didn’t. He said you pulled away, that you became quieter.” He exhales. “All this time, I thought it was just motherhood. I should’ve known something was wrong with my sister.”
My lips tremble as I fight tears. I thought I’d hidden my pain well enough but apparently, I hadn’t...not from Blaise.
“It’s fine. I’ve finally stopped putting myself last.” I straighten, taking a breath. “He’s out of my life now.”
I gesture for him to sit and take the seat beside him.
“Has he signed the papers?” He asks.
I shake my head. “But I know he will. He has no choice but to accept the divorce.”
He glances around. “Where’s the bastard and where’s Hailey?”
“I don’t know where he is, and he hasn’t even come to get his things. Hailey’s sleeping.” I shake my head again. “I can’t believe all this is happening on her birthday.”
“She’ll forget it soon,” he responds. “She’s only five and in no time, she’ll remember only the good moments with you and forget about that man.”
I hope it’s as easy as he makes it sound. Hailey really loves Oliver, and I think it has everything to do with how neglected she feels. Starving her of his attention only made her cling to him more.
Honestly, I don’t know how I’m going to explain our divorce to her.
I pull myself together. “Should I get you something to eat or drink?”
Jack gives me a look. “How can I eat? I almost drove off to find that bastard and kill him with my bare hands if Blaise hadn’t stopped me.”
My eyes widen. “He did?”
He nods, sadness returning to his eyes. “He looked even angrier than I was and I have no idea how he managed to control himself.”
I clutch my dress. I don’t know how I’m going to face Blaise again. It’s one thing for him to hear about my divorce but it’s another thing entirely for him to have witnessed the shame of my marriage in that park. What am I supposed to say to him? That all those years of happiness were just pretense? That he and Jack were right all along?
I exhale and lean back against the sofa. Jack moves closer, gently guiding my head to rest on his shoulder.
“I’m here for you, Blair,” he whispers. “I know how you feel right now and I want you to know I’m not going anywhere. I’ll do everything I can to protect you and to take care of Hailey too. Just don’t hide things from me again.”
Tears stream down my face, and all the pain I’ve been bottling up finally erupts into a sob. Clutching my chest as it aches, Jack tries to console me, but everything hurts…it hurts so much because I tried my best. I loved Oliver, I loved our family and I did everything I could to do things right. So what went wrong?
Am I destined to never be happy? What will happen to my baby now? How can she grow up like this?
“I’m sorry,” Jack keeps whispering, patting my back.
Eventually, I pull myself together, wiping my tears, though the hollowness inside me remains.
“I just—”
My phone buzzes in my pocket, cutting me off. “Excuse me,” I say softly to Jack as I take it out.
“Hello?”
“Good day, Mrs. Du—Turner,” a voice says.
“Who is this?”
“My name is Nathaniel,” he replies. “I’m the head of internal audit at Turner Holdings.”
I sniffle. “Okay… umm. Why are you calling?”
He hesitates, and I hear the faint clicking of a keyboard in the background. “I hope this isn’t a bad time, but due to the recent change in management, I’m reviewing some files and noticed a few irregularities.”
My grip tightens around the phone. “Like what?”
There’s another pause. “Like someone siphoning funds from our revenue into a shell company.”
My blood runs cold. “What?”
“I’ve gone through a lot of paperwork,” he continues. “We’re talking millions, possibly billions of dollars.”
I blink, trying to process it. “Are you saying someone has been embezzling funds? Who?”
He pauses again. “Frankly, I haven’t completed the investigation yet, but most of the documents tied to these transactions were signed by Mr. Oliver.”
I slump back against the chair, and a short scoff escapes me. Because what are the odds?
“Mr. Nathaniel, thank you for bringing this to my attention,” I say. “Continue your investigation and come see me at the office later. I want to talk.”
“Of course, ma’am,” he replies, then adds, “Welcome back, Mrs. Turner.”
I end the call and toss the phone onto the sofa, burying my hands in my hair.
Oliver, you bastard.
Not only was he cheating, he was stealing from me too. Was that why he was so confident when he threatened me? He must have been doing this for years but no one noticed because I trusted him with everything.
“What is it?” Jack asks, concern etched across his face.
Where do I even begin? If I tell him everything, he might actually kill Oliver this time. But a huge part of me wants that too…to erase him, to never see his face again. How can someone be so heartless? So cruel?
“Oliver was siphoning revenue from the company,” I finally admit.
Jack’s expression shifts from soft to hard, hard to cold, cold to dangerous in seconds. “What?”
A small chuckle slips out of me. “I’m going to get everything back from him. Don’t worry.”
He jumps to his feet, buttoning his jacket. “You stay here,I’ll be back.”
“Jack,” I call after him, but he’s already at the door. He yanks it open and walks out without even looking back.
I sigh and bury my face in my palms. Why is this happening to me?
********************
I’m watching Hailey sleep when Marissa quietly pokes her head into the room and I lift a finger to my lips, motioning for her to be quiet.
She gestures for me to meet her outside, then creeps away. After kissing Hailey gently, I leave the room.
“Ma’am, a woman is at the gate,” she says. “She insists on seeing you.”
“A woman?” I ask.
“Yes.” She nods. “We told her you’re not receiving visitors, but she said she’ll wait, even until midnight.”
I frown, already irritated. “What’s her name? Or who is she?”
“She said her name is Skylar, ma’am.” Her voice lowers slightly. “She said to make sure you heard the name.”
My jaw locks, heat rushing up my throat.
Unbelievable.
Skylar had the nerve to show up at my house? Has she completely lost her mind?
“Ask the security men to drive her away,” I order Marissa, already turning to leave.
“She’s recording,” Marissa adds quickly, stopping me and I turn back to her. “She’s recording herself and says she’ll post it online if we try to harass her.”
My teeth grind together, rage burning hot in my chest.
With a grunt, I brush past Marissa and march outside. Maybe I should deal with Skylar first for daring to show up at my house.
I open the gate and step out, coming face to face with her. She’s standing confidently, a small smile playing on her lips, her phone raised and still recording.
With one swipe, I slap the phone out of her hand and it falls to the ground.
She doesn’t bother picking it up but just glares at me.
“Get out of here.” I lift my hand slightly. “Or I’ll ask my guards to break those legs.”
“You must be hurt,” she drawls, her eyes glistening with mockery. “Since you’re not acting like a butterfly or a princess, you must be really heartbroken.”
My hand connects with her chin and she staggers back, clutching her face.
“Do you think,” I ask coldly, stepping closer, “that I can’t kill you right now?”
“Slap me all you want,” she sneers, “but it won’t fix your marriage. All that money and pride, and you still couldn’t keep a man.”
“Keep a man?” I let out a short chuckle. “Between the two of us, who divorced within two years of marriage? And do you honestly think I want to keep a man like Oliver? He’s yours.”
I lean in. “You clearly have a type because he’s just as shrewd as your ex-husband.”
She lifts her hand to slap me but I knock it away quickly.
“Are you really saying all this,” she says coldly, “to the woman who’ll raise your daughter?”
Red flashes behind my eyes. “How dare you?”
She smiles. “Very soon, your helpless little daughter will be in my home and how I treat her depends on how much you beg me right now.”
I slap her. Before she can recover, I slap her again.
“Are you mad?” I screech, grabbing her by the shoulder and shaking her hard. “I’ll kill you if you touch her!”
She starts laughing. My security guards rush in, gripping my arms and pulling me away as she keeps laughing.
“Get her out of here!” I scream. “Get her out of my house!”
They drag her away, her laughter echoing.
- Writer
