I hadn’t anticipated that becoming a father would be this breathtaking.
One thing I didn’t counted on the next morning was a visit from someone I would rather not see for as long as I lived. However, it was just my luck that she was standing right outside the office building, waiting for me to arrive. When she spotted me, she immediately perked up, appearing more conscious of her appearance, like I cared if a strand of hair was out of place or if she had bothered to shower. When would she understand that I didn’t give a damn if she was dead or alive? It was fucking harsh of me to admit that, but why lie even to myself? I fucking hated the woman. I only tolerated her because I didn’t want her to go crazy again, but damn, she was really pushing the wrong buttons by coming here uninvited.
“Shannon,” I said bitingly, but she didn’t regard my harsh greeting towards her. Instead, her smile got even bigger, perking up more at the sight of me acknowledging her sad existence.
“Drake, thank God!” she gushed, scurrying towards me with her ever too high heels. “The security wouldn’t let me in for some reason! It’s not like I’d steal staplers or any of that crap.”
“What are you doing here, Shannon?” I lowered my voice so the people rushing into the building wouldn’t see the spectacle that was Shannon. “You could have called me. There’s no need for you to ever show up here. Ever.” My rising temper hadn’t clued her in as to how pissed off I was. I wasn’t sure if she was merely acting stupid or if she truly was. The latter was more viable, although since it was obvious she wasn’t at all there in the head, I knew I had to calm my ass down, or I would regret doing something irrational.
“God, I’ve missed you so fucking much, Drake! You look the same in my dreams and memories of you. Nothing’s changed; you’re still so beautiful.” Her eyes gazed upon me with that look of awe, as if anything I had just harshly spouted off to her was of thin air and nothing could stomp what she was feeling inside.
Beautiful? She thought I was beautiful?
“Cut the crap, Shannon!” She was infuriating me to no end. I needed her out of her, stat, or I would drag her out myself. “You need to leave. I’ll speak to you later. Got it?”
She was shaking her head, comprehending yet still unmoving with those worshipping eyes trained on me like a weirdo. “I love you. I’m still so in love with you.”
“Shannon! I’m warning you, this is enough nonsense! I’m fucking married, for Pete’s sake! Get over yourself and snap out of it! Fuck!”
With that eerie expression, she appeared unfazed before giving me a slight warning look that raised the ends of my hair. “I’m not going anywhere. You should know that by now.”
“Fuck you!” I spat back, feeling fully frustrated that she wasn’t paying heed. “I’m going to call the cops again if you don’t fucking leave right the fuck now!” Well, if she couldn’t be persuaded to leave, I was sure the police force would be more than happy to oblige.
“Don’t be foolish, Drake. What are they going to do to me, hmmm?” She raised her brow, mocking me. “We both know a doctor’s diagnosis wouldn’t hold against that, not even in court. Heck, people kill and a doctor’s prognosis will thump all of that. But I’m sure you know that already, don’t you, Drake?”
What the fuck was she playing at?
“What do you want from me, Shannon?” I grated the question out, hating myself for succumbing to her tactics yet knowing deep down that it was the safer bet to let her focus on me instead of Lily and our baby.
Fuck, our baby.
If Shannon ever found out…
Fuck! Don’t go there. I tried to convince myself that she would never get the chance of finding out.
It was up to me to figure this out. It seemed she had smartened up a bit, and I had miscalculated her intentions. If I played my cards right, maybe I could have her dance to the beat of my music while I found a reasonable solution to rid her from our lives for good.
She had all of the intentions of fucking with my mind, whistling as she looked triumphant, as if she had outsmarted me in this battle.
“I asked for that drink, Drake, and anytime today is good for me.”
“I’m fucking busy!” My words ran out of my mouth before I had the chance to think it through. I wasn’t one to lose control of my temper, but whenever Lily was involved—and she and the baby were—I seemed to always lose it. “Fine! Fine.” I paused, swallowing down the bile that rose in my throat. “How does six p.m. sound?”
“Perfect … just perfect.”