Chapter Thirty-Five
Cade
It’s been four days since I walked out of Serena’s house a crushed man. I haven’t slept well since. Truth is, I miss her. I miss her like hell, but I’m still hung up on the fact that she lied to me. I can't wrap my head around how the person I’ve gotten to know could also be the person who chose to keep the truth about Alan from me.
She left me another voicemail last night, and I’ve listened to it twice today. I’m sitting in my living room, lost in my thoughts as I re-read her apologetic text messages when the phone rings.
It’s Tyler. He’s been checking in on me every day. He even came by yesterday to hang out for a few hours to try to help me get my mind off it all. Thing is, no matter what we talked about, my thoughts always seemed to go immediately back to Serena. I appreciate that he tried, though. I answer the phone, expecting more of the same diverting conversation.
“Hey, man,” I answer.
“You call her yet?” he asks immediately.
“What? No small talk, we're just cutting straight to the point today?” I say with amusement.
“No use beating around the bush. So, have you called her yet?” he repeats.
“No. I haven't called her yet.”
“It’s been four days, Cade. What are you waiting on, man?”
“I don’t know,” I admit – because I really don’t.
“Call her and put both of you out of your misery already. Damn, man. You’re miserable and you know it. I bet she is, too. Just call her already.”
“She lied to me, Ty. I’m struggling with it,” I admit.
“I know, and I get that you’re angry and hurt, but she’s been raising that kid on her own for three years. Dude, she’s just been trying to protect him. You can’t blame her for that.”
“She told him,” I chime.
“She told who what?” he asks, clearly confused by my statement.
“She told Alan that I’m his dad.”
“I thought you said you didn’t call her?”
“I didn’t, but she left me a message last night, apologizing again, and she told me that she told him, but that he didn’t quite understand. He’s three, though, so I guess that isn’t all that surprising, right?”
“Umm, no. It’s not. But you are not three. So, when are you going to man up and call her?” Tyler asks me again.
I sigh. “You are such a girl sometimes, you know that?”
“Just because I’m in touch with my feelings doesn't make me a girl. That’s misogynistic; do you really want to teach that to your son?”
“No,” I say.
“You know I’m right. I’m always right,” he says matter-of-factly.
“And smug. Don’t forget smug.”
“Just call her.”
“I will.”
“When?” he asks.
Before I can answer, the sound of my front door swinging open and then closing warrants my attention. That’s when I hear Josephine's voice call out. “Hello! Cade, honey, where are you?”
“Is that-” Tyler starts in my ear.
“What the hell? I’ll call you later,” I say hastily as I hang up on him. I drop my phone on the couch and jump up, meeting Josephine in the hall. Her face lights up with a smile.
“Baby,” she coos as she approaches me. She flings herself at me and tries to kiss me, but I avert my face quickly, and her lips graze my cheek. She pouts as she pulls back. “Is that any way to say hello? Kiss me, Cade.”
“What the hell are you doing here?” I demand as I pry Josephine off me and push her away from me.
“I still have my key, and you didn’t change the alarm code,” she chimes like she knows I didn’t change it just so she could come over. She couldn’t be more wrong. I make a mental note to change both as soon as possible.
“You need to leave. Now,” I command.
“Cade, I came to check on you and make sure you’re okay.”
“Okay? Why wouldn’t I be okay?”
“Oh, you must be in denial. Poor baby,” she says, running her hand along my arm. I yank away from her touch. “I saw on XYZ about that lying bitch. Those commoners are never good enough for people like us, Cade.”
“People like us?” I question, studying her face, wondering what she’s really here for.
“Yes, you know. Famous. A-list. The elite. She was never like us, Cade. Never will be. She’s a lying whore, and you deserve so much better.”
“What, like you?” I laugh loudly, and Josephine frowns.
“Yes, like me. No one gets you better than I do.”
“You know that you liked having an attractive man take you out all over town, but you don’t know anything about me. You never cared about me, only yourself.”
“What, you think that slut cares about out? In your dreams. She cares about your money, parading that kid around and going after your fortune,” she spits.
“You don’t have a damn clue, Josephine. She’s not a whore,” I bite out.
“Maybe, maybe not,” she shrugs. “But she’s not in your league, Cade. She’s not even that pretty. And, she’s just some nerd scientist who teaches in a public school. What are you supposed to do with a woman like that? You certainly can't take her out in public. You’ll be a laughing stock, showing up places with someone that looks like her.”
“You know what, Jo? There’s only one laughing stock and it’s you. You’re so ugly inside that it’s starting to show on your outside.”
“Oh, Cade,” she laughs. “You silly, silly man. You don’t know what you need. That’s why I hired that private investigator. How else would you have ever known about your son if not for me? I’m prepared to take you back and forget all about this little episode. We can start fresh, me and you. Doesn’t that sound perfect? Just the two of us. We’ll never have to see that awful woman again.”
“Josephine?”
“Yes, baby?” she purrs as she sidles up to me.
“Give me back my fucking key,” I say from gritted teeth. She steps back flustered. “Give it to me!” I raise my voice, losing patience with her. She reaches into her purse and pulls it out, throwing it at me. It bounces off my chest and skitters across the floor.
“Now get the hell out of my house and my life,” I continue. “Don’t ever come back. I mean it. We are done. Over. Through. We are never getting back together. Not now, not in two weeks, not in five years. Not if you were the absolute last woman on Earth. Never. You are a bitch and hiring a private investigator to follow me around and dig into Serena’s life is the lowest you could stoop.
“You say Serena isn't in my league, but the truth is, you aren’t in her league. She’s better than you, and you can’t stand it because you’ll never be as good as her while she doesn't even have to try. She just is.”
“She kept your son from you. Who does that?”
“She had her reasons.” For the first time, I can see why Serena didn’t necessarily want to be part of my world back then.
“You're just going to justify her lies?” Josephine asks in complete shock.
“It’s really none of your damned business. Get out.” I point to the door.
“She’ll never understand you the way I do. She’s just an ugly ass scientist whore.”
“Do not ever speak about the mother of my child like that again,” I roar. Josephine’s eyes widen, and she steps back from me. I take several breaths to calm myself. “Get out of my house, and don't ever fucking come back. Do not speak to me. And don’t you even think about Serena. I do not love you, and I never did. I am in love with Serena, not you. Do I make myself clear?”
Her mouth falls open. “You can’t mean that, Cade. What we had was good.”
“What we had was toxic, Josephine. You never loved me.”
“I did,” she insists.
“You didn’t. You loved parading me around to prove something I’ll never understand. Serena doesn't need that. She doesn't need the world to think she’s perfect, like you do. She has character and layers to who she is, and I love getting to know each and every one of them.”
“She’s still ugly,” Josephine mutters.
“See, now I know that’s just your jealousy talking because Serena is sexy as hell. Every time I see her, I want to make her mine, I want to hear her cry out my name. I just want her. It’s exciting and passionate every time. It’s not lackluster, and I’m never just going through the motions like I did with you. Furthermore, she looks that good all on her own. No makeup, no tens of thousands of dollars spent on plastic surgery. She’s gorgeous without even trying – something you will never be.”
“I’m going to give you one last chance to reconsider, Cade,” Josephine says, stepping toward me again. “One last chance to tell me that you love me and don’t mean anything you just said.”
“How completely moronic can you be? I meant every word of it, Josephine. Now, you have exactly two minutes to get out of my house and off my property, or I call the cops, and you’re the next scandal splashed across XYZ.”
She inhales dramatically, and tears begin to form in her eyes as we stand there staring each other down. Thing is, as much as she’s a cold-hearted bitch, she’s a good actress, so I know it’s bullshit. “Thirty seconds,” I tell her, walking to the couch and grabbing my phone.
“Cade...” she tries one last time.
“I’m not messing around, Jo. Stop your fake tears and get the hell out. It’s over between us. It’s been over for months. Accept it and move on, because I have.”
“Fine, I’m leaving. Goodbye, Cade,” she huffs and stomps toward the door.
“Goodbye, Josephine,” I say gruffly as she swings the front door open with more dramatic flair than is necessary. I watch until her car pulls out of my driveway. Back inside, I close the door and pick up the phone to call my alarm company.
“Yes, hello, this is Cade Thomas. I need to change all the codes on my system, and do you maybe have the number to a good locksmith that you recommend?”