Chapter 19

            “Excuse me, Sir, are you Justin Timberlake?” A man in a uniform walked up to Justin as he was exiting his mansion for what would probably be one of the last times.

            He couldn’t wait to put it up for sale, he wanted no reminders of the past and he wanted no one to find him.

            “Who wants to know?” Justin cocked an eyebrow at the man standing before him. He was clad in a pair of baggy black shorts and a white Lacoste polo shirt.

            Justin turned around and glanced at his guards, who slowly came closer to the man confronting him. Since the attempt on his life was made, Justin made sure to take every precaution.

            “Well, I just need to deliver these to you.” The man pulled out a manila envelope and handed it to Justin. Wearily, Justin opened the envelope and came face to face with something he had been dreading, divorce papers.

            He was crushed for a moment, and his life seemed to go into slow motion. Natalia was not going to get a divorce, he didn’t care how much money he had to pay, but it wouldn’t happen.

            They were going to be together in the end. She was the one he was going to grow old with and have more children with. This piece of paper meant nothing.

            “I don’t want these.” Justin said, coldly.

            “My condolences, Mr. Timberlake.” The man began to walk away, but Justin went after him in a fury.

            “Take it back, I don’t want it.” Justin thrust the papers at the man who just shook his head.

            “I can’t take them, I’m sorry.”

            “Everyone has a price.” Justin said, gritting his teeth. This was not going to be his demise, he was not going to breakdown because Natalia was too stubborn to listen to reason or understand how much he loved her.

            Justin grabbed his wallet and pulled out a wad of hundred dollar bills.

            “Take them and when asked for conformation if you delivered them, I want you to say that Justin Timberlake does not live at this address any longer and you were not able to find me. Is that clear?”

            The man had no idea how much money was in his hand, but he knew that this was not something that he could pass up.

            “Yes, Mr. Timberlake. Thank you.”

            Angrily, Justin paced about his mansion grounds. He couldn’t wait to be out of that place.

            “I want you guys to double your pace!” Justin called to his workers who were loading his furniture into trucks. He was donating almost everything; he wanted a new, fresh start. “I want to be out of here in one hour!”

**

I waited anxiously in Ricky’s apartment, making small talk with Louis. I couldn’t wait for Ricky and the kids to get in. I couldn’t wait to hear about everything that had happened with Justin.

“I bet you can’t wait to see Ricky.”

“Yeah, I miss him.” Louis smiled at me.

“I’m sorry for taking him away from you.” I replied, sadly.

“Hey hey. Don’t worry about it. I understand what’s going on and I’m sure that everything isn’t easy for you.” Louis reached over and grabbed my hand and rubbed it softly.

“I know but maybe I should have gone to see him?”

“I know Ricky thought you should have gone, but I disagree. Justin put you through a lot and taking some space right now is the best solution. When you’re ready to face him you will.”

“At least someone understands!” I exclaimed. “I mean it feels like Ricky is forcing me to be with him and it feels like David just wants us apart.”

“David? Be careful with him, Nat.”

“Ricky said the same thing to me.”

“And he’s right on that one. Don’t rush into anything just yet. Don’t give your heart away when Justin still has claims on it.”

“There’s nothing I can do now… I mean I already committed myself… I slept with him…” I admitted with a deep sigh.

“Well, Nat, I can’t tell you what to do or how to feel. You have to figure that out yourself. But be careful, your decision isn’t going to be an easy one to make.”

“I know that… “

Just then, Ricky burst into the apartment with my two children. They looked happier then they had in the longest time. I hopped out of my seat and excitedly ran to my kids.

“Samantha! Nikolas!! Mommy missed you so much!!”

I hugged them tightly, inhaling their scents. I was relieved Justin didn’t take them away from me. That was one of my biggest fears, that he would use the twins as bait to get me back to Florida.

Maybe Justin didn’t care anymore. Maybe he realized that I was a lost cause and he had given up on me.

I didn’t know whether to be happy or cry at that thought.

“Mommy! We saw Daddy and Mickey Mouse!” My daughter exclaimed proudly. I giggled, remembering Ricky was going to take them to Disney.

I turned to look at him and smiled, he was busy hugging and kissing Louis so I turned back to the kids.

“Really?! Wow! What did Mickey say?”

“He said that he needed to find Minnie but he hugged me!” Nikolas said proudly.

“He hugged me too!!” Samantha exclaimed and I just laughed.

“Really?! I’m jealous!” I pouted, sticking my bottom lip out slightly.

“Momma, you’re silly!” They giggled and hugged me again.

“Hey… who wants ice cream?!” Louis exclaimed, probably wanting to leave Ricky and I alone so we could talk. I was grateful for that.

“ME!! ME!!!” The twins exclaimed in union and ran off to the kitchen with Louis.

Ricky walked over to me and embraced me tightly. We didn’t say a word to each other and it was fine. It was like we both just seriously needed a hug, no words could explain how we felt.

“How was it?” I asked finally.

“It was okay. A little shocking. I mean I never expected to see Justin like that… he was great with the kids though.”

“Is he going to be okay?”

“They really don’t know…” Ricky replied and pulled away from the hug. He sat down on the couch and looked up at me sadly. “He was released from the hospital but because he wanted to be. The poison really affected him, Nat.”

“Oh.”

“It’s all up to fate if he’ll survive.”

I wasn’t going to show Ricky or anyone else that the news of Justin’s possible death was upsetting me. So I held inside the sob that dared to erupt. The pain I felt was as if I had been dying instead of Justin.

“That’s too bad.”

“Do you not care, Natalia? Because I can shut up right now and not burden you with the details.”

“What am I supposed to say Ricky?! How am I supposed to react?! Because I haven’t the slightest idea! There’s a war going on inside me. My emotions are out of whack. I don’t know what to do!”

“Just admit how you feel. Admit that you want to forgive him and forgive him for your children’s sake.”

“It’s not that easy!” I wanted to scream, but I wouldn’t let myself. “I can’t just go back to him!”

“Visit him, Natalia! Let him know you care, because he needs you right now during one of the toughest times in his life!” Ricky probably wanted to beat the sense into me. He probably should have done so. “I’m not saying to get back together but don’t take everything away from him. He needs you around and his kids. From what everyone told me, when I brought the kids to him… he did a 180. He started to look and feel better.”

“I don’t know if I should go there, Ricky…”

“I think you should try something. But I’m not going to force you. Think about it and act.” Ricky shook his head at me and crossed his arms. “I know you better than most people, Natalia Solana. I know you are playing the victim right now and you need to stop. Stop being selfish and stubborn.”

“I’ll think about it, Ricky. “

Ricky just smiled at me, knowing that soon enough, I would be back in Florida.