Page 83 of Rich Girl
“They can’t stop me from seeing him.”
The attorney rolls his eyes at me. “They can and they will. And if you throw a hissy fit like what I see you’re about to, you will only make things worse for Ray.”
That calms me down right away. The last thing I want to do is aggravate the situation.
I don’t protest when Carrie hands the baby over to James before stepping closer to me. With a bit of hesitation, she slides her hand under my arm and nudges me to start walking.
“We’ll go to Cal and Evie’s house. They’ll explain everything there, okay?”
Shocked to realize that I have tears running down my face, I nod in agreement and follow her prompts. Before long, I am sitting in the back of her car, next to her baby who is once again staring at me like I fell from the sky. He is chewing on some toy with so much passion, I am surprised his gums are not bleeding.
I don’t pay attention to the drive to where Call and Evie live. I don’t care where they live either, but I do have to admit that I am impressed with how beautiful their house is. After the last month of being cooped up in Ray’s small apartment, I expected all of them to have similar accommodations.
I sound extremely judgmental even only to my myself. Ray would tease me mercilessly about it. I miss his voice and everything about him. I need him to come home. The fact that I hate where he lives completely escapes my notice at the moment.
“I’ll get us some refreshments,” Evie announces as soon as I walk in with James and Carrie. She rode with Cal, and they got here a little before us. The car behind us is this attorney who came out of the woodwork, Dillon Hastings.
“Bottled water.”
The second the words are out of my mouth, I want to take them back. I’ve been doing so well with Ray, or maybe it’s the fact that he understood me, and he never blinked an eyelash atany of my demands. Now, as I hear my voice when I asked for bottled water, I sound like they are the help.
“I’m so sorry,” I try to apologize. “Only if you have it. Anything is fine, I promise.”
Evie gives me a gentle smile. “I have bottled water. I also have bottled sparkling water, if you prefer that. My mother likes it.”
My eyes fill with tears again. “That’d be great, thank you.”
She walks away, presumably to get me the bottle of water. I remain frozen in my spot, unsure of which way to go or what to do. I’ve never felt like this in any environment. But I’ve always been on my own territory, and this most definitely is not my territory.
My phone ringing in my hand saves me from the awkward situation. When I see the name on the caller ID, I about sob in relief.
“Go on in the front sitting room,” Carrie whispers to me. “We’ll stay back here.”
I walk in the direction she shows me, desperate to get to my call.
“Adeline,” I sob when I answer. “I’m so happy you called.”
She seems just as relieved to hear my voice. “Oh my God, Hayden, I’m so sorry! I heard what happened. I told them not to do anything,” she says, referring to Jeanine and Emma.
“Did you know Chase was involved, too?”
There’s a gasp of shock followed by complete silence.
“Hayden, please believe me when I tell you I had nothing to do with this mess. Jeanine got it into her head that you’d been kidnapped. She told us what you said. She refused to believe it. Or she just chose to ignore it.”
“Emma was there, too,” I cry out. “How could they do this to me?”
“I don’t know. I swear I don’t know.”
“I about died when I came face to face Chase,” I start explaining to her. “How did he even know to be there? It’s obvious they brought him, but why would they even talk to him after what he did to me? They’re the ones who convinced me that forgiving him for cheating was not an option!”
The more I talk, the more confused I am. Nothing makes sense.
“Derek’s been hesitant about me spending time with the group anymore,” Adeline confesses in a hushed tone. “Jeanine and Emma think he’s too controlling, but I think he’s right about them. He says they’re bad news, and after seeing what they did to you, I have to agree with him.”
I drop my face in my hand while I’m holding the phone with the other. My one stupid decision is now changing all of our lives.
“Who is this guy anyway?” Adeline asks. “Derek thought his name sounded familiar…”
