Total pages in book: 154
Estimated words: 142664 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 713(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142664 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 713(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Somehow, I ended up being the designated matron of these people by the end of that week. By that, I mean I was now the go-to girl. I had invitations coming out of the ass, and everyone was asking my opinion on shit that had nothing to do with me.
They were acting as if child abuse was something unheard of, and suddenly I was the voice for that shit. Meanwhile, I was side-eyeing all their asses because I’m not that stupid.
They were like a big monster machine that I wanted no part of. I wasn’t interested in joining their mean girl clique, especially since I knew that had it not been for my husband’s money, none of them would give me the time of day.
I wanted out of there and was headed back home by the next weekend because that place gave me the ick. Now that everyone knew what Natalie was really like, their mouths were moving.
All the lies she’d told about me and about her and Garrett since our wedding came out, and it was a doozy. How none of these people realized that she was out of her damn mind is beyond me, and they call themselves friends. It was obvious that she’d been spiraling right before their eyes, and they either didn’t see or didn’t care.
By the time we left California, I had gained a reputation for championing kids, which was not my intention, but it is what it is. Little Andrew was doing better since his paternal Grandparents had come to help watch him while his Dad worked.
They’d asked to meet me and had thanked me profusely for what I had done. Apparently, Natalie had been keeping the kid away from that side of his family for whatever reason, so I was sure they would do whatever it took to keep her away from him, at least for now.
I didn’t stop with Natalie, though; I was sure to let it be known that her parents were more than willing to let her get away with harming a child, which had some backlash against her Dad’s company.
Throughout all of this, Garrett never once tried to stop me. I kept waiting for him to say something after each new revelation, but he didn’t; he just let me do my thing. When I asked him that last night before we came home why he didn’t stop me or say anything, he said it was because he agreed with the way I handled things, and he wasn’t there to stifle my passionate nature.
I think he was still a bit shaken up himself because he didn’t realize that his friend was as far gone as she was. The nanny was in therapy because apparently Natalie was abusing the hell out of her as well, and the poor girl was too afraid to speak out until Natalie was no longer there.
I’m not sure how everything is going to turn out, with Natalie’s parents still doing their best to make it all go away, but Kevin knew that Garrett and I were on his side and there if he needed us.
I did get to learn a bit more about Natalie from her friends, who were only too happy to fill me in. Apparently, she was under the impression that she could win Garrett back up until we got married. In her eyes I was the usurper who had stepped in and taken her man, never mind that she was married with a kid.
That’s when it came out that she had contemplated getting rid of the baby, but her friends had talked her out of it. Kevin had walked around like a zombie for a few days before his family came to take care of him and the baby, and he was thinking of moving back home with them so they could help with the kid after the divorce that he was dead set on getting.
I already told Garrett that I would spend all of his money making sure Natalie’s parents never won custody of that kid, which is something they had threatened. My new in-laws hailed me as a hero, and I’m the new ‘it’ girl among their peers.
By the time we left, I had turned Natalie’s crew against her, exposed her for the delusional nut bag she is, and came out smelling like roses. I don’t think I’ll ever have to worry about her again, no matter how much she was still cursing my name.
In all the uproar, it was days before I realized that Jacks was gone, and when I asked Garrett what was going on, he hemmed and hawed so much that I started to get really suspicious.
He ended up telling me a little bit about her background and the things she was into before working for him, but I didn’t care; I wanted my Jacks back. It was selfish, I know, but that shit sounded dangerous, and she had already faced danger so bad that she’d gone into hiding.