CHAPTER 9
"Chloe, I know you know where they went."
"Yeah, I know. I wouldn't tell you though. They're getting married Adam, so deal with it. Chelsea has moved on."
Adam wanted to put his fist through her face, but he didn't want to add striking females to his long list of transgressions- even females as repugnant and sanctimonious as Chloe.
Lowering his face even with hers he roguishly replied, "If she has moved on, she only decided it in the last eight hours because she was with me right before she 'moved on'."
"If that's true Adam, then what does that tell you?" She coolly responded, adopting a nasty smirk on her face as she flattened him with the truth.
Adam could only stare back in utter disbelief as Chloe finished doctoring her coffee, and flounced out of Crimson Lights. As much as he detested that little troll, he didn't have anything to counter her last statement. "What a bitch," he muttered under his breath.
He blew out a long breath contemplating his next move. In this moment, he absolutely hated Chelsea and hated himself even more for still wanting her. God, he was pathetic! How could she spread her legs for him one minute, and marry another man the next?! If she wanted to live a lie, then she would do it without his child.
….
"Mrs. McAvoy."
"Hmmm…?"
"Nothing, it just has a nice ring to it." Dylan smiled, stuffing his jeans into the suitcase before snapping it shut. "Get a hustle on Mrs. McAvoy! We've got a flight to catch."
Chelsea could only muster a weak smile as she finished packing the last of her belongings. Dylan seemed oblivious to her mood. She wanted to be over-the-moon happy, but she couldn't stop thinking about that constant thorn in her side- Adam. Sleeping with him again was a horrible lapse in judgment. She knew she would have to face him again, but this time as a married woman. He would be forced to back off.
"Ready?"
Smile woman, she inwardly commanded. "Ready!"
…..
"Well, well, well. I see daddy's little princess is perched in her ivory tower, surveying all the subjects in her vast kingdom."
"Good morning little brother! So nice of you to decide to come to work today," Victoria chided.
"Ouch!" Adam exclaimed, his lips curling up into a Grinch-like sneer. "By the way, how's that arm?"
"Excuse me?" Victoria frowned.
"I thought it might be sore from all the twisting daddy had to employ to get his little girl to return to the magic kingdom."
"My, but you're perky! Did you hit a bus full of school children on the way in?" Victoria smirked.
"Nah, but I did narrowly miss a little old lady being helped across the street by a Boy Scout."
"Don't you have an office or something?"
"Why, yes I do! I think I'll head there now, and lay the groundwork for my next Machiavellian plot for world domination," Adam grinned mischievously.
"You do that Adam," she replied impatiently, casting her eyes back down to the paperwork on her desk.
Adam directed one last smirk in her direction before turning on his heels and heading in the direction of his own office. He loved giving her shit. Oftentimes he longed to have a less acrimonious relationship with his big sister, but he had long since reconciled the reality of their relationship, and concluded that that was just not in the cards. So, fucking with her was the next best thing.
He plunked his briefcase down on the desk in his own expansive office and collapsed into the large, plush leather chair. World domination would have to wait, but his baby couldn't. If Chelsea wanted to play hardball, then batter up. Pulling his cell phone out of his jacket, he quickly speed dialed a trusted former associate.
"Hey Vance. Adam Newman here. I need your help."
….
Chelsea was exhausted from the last 48 hours. Between mind-blowing sex with the ex, to hopping on a plane and getting hitched to Dylan, she barely had time to catch her breath. It was sheer lunacy to think that she made love to one man, and less than 24 hours later, said vows to another. It wasn't ideal, but this was her fucked up world.
Time to sleep. Dylan had just left a few minutes earlier to go check on things at the coffee shop, so she dragged her weary body over to the sofa bed, and crawled between the sheets. Dylan's place was a dump, but he was proud of it. She didn't relish the idea of moving into his warehouse turned apartment because it was so depressing, but she would make do with what she had. Exhaustion kept her from contemplating her surroundings too much. At least the baby had settled down somewhat, most likely weary from the whirlwind she had just gone through.
Alone with her thoughts, they once again turned to the most obnoxious, insufferable man she had ever had the misfortune to meet. Well, that wasn't entirely true because without Adam she wouldn't be on the verge of motherhood, which was something she had longed for, ever since giving birth to Johnny. She should be anxiously awaiting the birth of this child with Adam, but nothing could change the fact that she was Mrs. Dylan McAvoy, and they were a family now. Adam could live his life, and she would live hers, and somehow put him and his Newman drama behind her.
Facing Adam for the first time after tying the knot was not going to be easy. She knew he would bluster and make idle threats, but in the end he would retreat, breathe a sigh of relief and finally wipe his hands of her. He was selfish to the core, so any notions he had about the baby were just momentary. His priorities were Newman Enterprises and his father. Sharon may or may not enter the equation at any opportunity, so she fell in behind his first two priorities.
The hardest part about all of this was getting her brain to tell her heart these hard truths. She still wanted him, and probably always would.
