Chapter 20

“What the hell do you mean, he isn’t living there anymore?” David boomed through the phone.

It had been his wish to rid Natalia of Justin. He hated that bastard, he wanted to ruin him… and he would.

One step at a time.

“Sir, I went by the Timberlake house and it was empty. I even watched it for a few days. There was no activity there.”

“How could that be?!”

“I don’t know, Mr. Boreanaz.”

“You better find that asshole. This divorce is going to go through, and if it doesn’t it will be on your head!” David angrily slammed his phone down.

If Justin thought he was going to win, he was so fucking wrong. Natalia was his now. David was going to make sure that Justin was going to be completely out of the picture.

Soon enough Natalia wouldn’t even think of Justin anymore. David would be the only thing on her mind.

**

“Maybe I shouldn’t go…” I said nervously. I was on the airplane phone, talking to Ricky. Soon, I would see Justin, who was probably on his deathbed.

It all felt like too much to bear. How did I let Ricky talk me into going back to Florida?!

“No, Natalia. You need to go and sort all this shit out. You can’t stay on the fence forever. You have to figure out if this is the end of you and Justin.”

“Rick… I’m so scared.”

“I know…” He sighed. In a strange way, his voice was comforting. It felt like Ricky was actually there and he was holding me.

It was nice to be comforted, especially when I had been acting crazy. I just wanted to be consoled. I wanted to wake up and find out that everything was all just a nightmare.

“I don’t think I’m going to know what to say when I see him…”

“How bout you start off with a hi?” Ricky said, he was so corny sometimes. I rolled my eyes as if he could see me and laughed.

“You know what I mean!!”

“Speak from the heart. Say what you feel and try to do so without screaming or getting into a fight. Just settle things once and for all.”

I looked over at my two children, who were sleeping next to me. I definitely didn’t want to put them through anymore of this craziness. Ricky had been right all along, I needed to be mature about this and either end it with Justin or try to fix things.

“Why didn’t I listen to you in the first place?” I asked with a giggle.

“Because you, Natalia, are a stubborn bitch.” He replied.

He had such a lovely way with words.

I ran my hand over Nikolas’ face, taking note in how much he looked like his father. I would never be able to escape looking at Justin everyday; he was truly there in my two twins.

Sure, I loved Justin still, but could I ever really forgive him for sleeping with Paris in our bed? It made me sick to my stomach. I felt like there would be no trust in our relationship after that.

I mean, regardless I didn’t bother to listen to his side of the story, but I couldn’t handle it. It sounded like a bunch of bullshit to me.

“I’m afraid…”

“I know you are, but Natalia, know that you are the strongest person I’ve ever met. You’ve endured so much shit and yet you’ve managed to get through it. You were kidnapped, you had a child aborted without your consent, you were lead to believe Justin died, your family conspired against you and then he cheated on you. I admire you for making it through everything.”

“I don’t know how much more heartbreak I can take.”

“Where there is heartbreak there is love. You know he loves you and always will. Justin royally fucked up, and you have every right to walk away from him. But can you actually picture your life without him?”

“No… I can’t.”

“Then your heart has already made its choice. You can go along with it or you can deny yourself of true love.” Ricky’s words made me tear up.

            Placing my hands over my face, I knew that Ricky was giving me the best advice I could ever ask for. But he couldn’t make up my mind for me. I had to do that myself.

            **

            Hope was running through the Ryan Mansion. She was getting ready to go see Savannah, who hadn’t been doing to well, when the doorbell rang.

            She groaned, mentally kicking herself for giving the butlers the day off, and sped down the stairs to the door.

            “One minute!”

            Adjusting her Gucci dress, Hope opened the door and was greeted by a woman and a child. The woman was dark haired and short, she stood at 5 foot 2 with brown eyes. She had an eerie resemblance to Hope.

            “Uh… Hi? Can I help you?”

            “Is Thomas Ryan avaliable?” The woman asked smugly.

            “No he isn’t. He is away on business… can I help you?”

            “I need you to give him a message for me…”

            “Of course.” Hope was staring at the woman, wondering what in hell she could have to say to her husband.

            “Tell him that Eva was here, he’ll remember the name… and tell him that his son, Anthony were here.”

            “SON?! EXCUSE ME?!”

            Hope was flipping out; she turned to stare at the little boy who appeared to be about 4 or 5 years old. She could see the resemblance between he and Tommy. Hope felt as if she might be sick.

            “There is no way he could have a child with you. Tommy is my husband.”

            “I’m sorry, but Tommy and I were seeing each other a few years back and I got pregnant. I wasn’t going to tell him about Anthony… but now I realize that was wrong.”

            Tommy had been with someone else… oh my God! He had never told her!!

            Hope was infuriated. She couldn’t believe that Tommy had made her feel like shit for dating Andrew when they broke up, but now she found out Tommy had possibly done the same thing. Could this affair have happened when she and Tommy were together?

            She felt as if her world was crumbling down.

            “Come in, Eva… I’ll call Tommy right now.” Hope had to keep her cool; she wasn’t going to freak out, at least not yet.

            Eva could just as well be someone looking to get money out of Tommy.

            Hope led them to one of the many living rooms and picked up the phone. She dialed Tommy’s number with her hands shaking.

            “Hello?” Tommy answered his cell phone on the third ring. Waiting so long for him to answer almost made her scream out loud.

            “Tommy baby, uhm… you have a guest.” Hope said as calmly as she could.

            “Really, who?”

            “Oh… just this woman… Eva and apparently your son, Anthony.”

            The line on the other end of the phone was dead. Tommy said nothing and Hope felt herself grow more certain that Tommy was with Eva, and Anthony could very well be his son.

            “I’ll be home in 5 minutes.” Tommy hung up the phone, leaving Esperanza standing in shock. It must have been true then, Tommy was a father to someone else’s child.

            **

            It was late in the afternoon when I arrived at the mansion Justin and I had once shared. I stepped out of my rental car, a BMW X 5, and helped my two twins out.

            Staring at the grounds was the only thing I could do to gather my strength and knock on the door. It felt like my heart might explode from all the emotions I was experiencing.

            I just needed to breathe.

            “Home, Momma!” Samantha looked up at me and smiled brightly.

            “Yes, baby girl, home.” I answered her, not wanting to explain the situation. I just let the conversation die, and headed over to the heavy oak doors in front of the huge house.

            I inhaled deeply and knocked on the door. This was it; this would be the moment of truth.

            I didn’t know what would happen, but I knew that this needed to happen. I knew that Justin and I needed to talk like adults, and I knew he needed his kids right now.

            “Excuse me… can I help you?” A blonde woman answered the door and knocked me out of my thoughts.

            Who the fuck was this woman in my house?! Had Justin already found a new bitch?

            “Is Justin available to speak?” I said coldly.

            “Justin? No one by that name lives here.”

            What the fuck was this bitch talking about?! I clenched my jaw and gave a dark glare to them woman before me.

            “This happens to be my home and Justin Timberlake happens to be my husband. So would you please go get him for me right now?”

            “Hun, no one by that name lives here! I own this house!!” The blonde exclaimed, frustrated.

            “Own this house?!”

            “I just bought it one week ago.”

            I felt a sense on nausea slip over me and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. How could he do that to me?! To our children?! How the fuck could he pick up and leave without a fucking trace?!

            At least when I left he knew the only place I would go to. How could he sell our home and not even try to contact me!

            I started to sob so hard that I was gasping for air. The woman at the door must have thought I was insane.

            “I-I’m…so sorry… to have tr-oubled…you.” I said through sobs.

            I don’t think the blonde knew what to say, she just stared at me and offered me some advice.

            “If he was going to pick up and leave you like that, then take my advice, he isn’t worth it. He’s a dog.”

            I just nodded and headed back toward the car, hysterically crying.

            “Momma, where is Daddy?!” Nikolas asked, fearfully.

            I couldn’t even answer him. I hurried and put my children in the car, who had started crying from seeing me that way. I placed my head on the steering wheel and tried my best to pull myself together.

            But I knew in my heart that Justin had walked away from me and this was the end of us.