The Love of Lies

Angry

Cori's POV

At the end of my shift, I thought about making a run for it, but before I could even step out of the elevator, Julia was waiting for me with a bright smile.

Apparently, Ashton usually works at this hour, so being on the night shift acts in my favor.

"You should probably see if you can change your schedule. I read about pregnant women needing more sleep than they typically would." I nod at Julia, who doesn't know that I’ll likely be transferred as soon as I'm found out, assuming that HR doesn't consider my pregnancy a breach.

"The night shift pays more."

"But with the Lewis' taking care of you for now, you could use the time to save." Julia is right, but something feels odd about what she's suggesting, so I don't entertain it.

"Can we stop at a store?" I ask, wanting to buy my own food.

Surprisingly, the woman agrees, and we stop at the nearest grocery store where I pick up essentials and a few ingredients to meal prep.

We get back to the house, surprised to see Ashton's parents in the sitting room with Troy. Meredith pats the space beside her, and I sit, afraid that the dreaded fiancé conversation is about to happen.

“We got off on the wrong foot,” the woman says. “Troy told us what happened in your attorney's office, and to prevent something like that from happening again, it’s important that we open lines of communication between us.”

“I really didn’t know Ashton was named after his father, and I’m sorry that I wasn’t more careful.” I explain my logic to the woman, telling her that the lawsuit I wanted to file was for the future of my baby and nothing more.

This time, she believes me, and although I’m tired, I end up telling the woman some of my background story, wanting her to know that if I had the option to turn to family, I would have, but I don’t.

“You have us now, and we will help you with whatever you need.” I nod, waiting for the ‘but’ in the offer, but it never comes. “Get some rest, and we’ll talk more on your next day off.” I’m glad the woman is taking my work schedule into consideration, and I leave the room, wondering if I should ask about Ashton’s fiancé first, but I’m a coward, so I don’t.

—

Days pass, and I almost forgot that I’m in a hostage situation. Meredith is so nice that it's hard not to smile around her, and I’m fairly sure that she’s excited about being a grandmother. She visits often, and more recently, she’s been talking about where the baby will sleep, letting me know that she’s leaning toward the fact that Ashton is the father; he is.

My stomach doesn’t look like I’m carrying yet, however, it's not as flat as it once was, and if I’m being honest, it just looks like I need to poop. That doesn’t stop the woman from caressing my belly any chance she gets, nor has it stopped her from buying me maternity clothing.

I’ve told her several times that it’s not necessary, but she has straight up been ignoring me to the point that I had to seek out her husband for help.

“I’m going to be honest with you Cori. I have no control over my wife.” An involuntary chuckle escapes my lips, and I quickly apologize, feeling bad for the man. “I’m not embarrassed,” the man says. “My wife literally made me who I am today, and she’s earned the right to boss me around, so if you're looking for someone to help get her off your back, you might want to turn to Ashton.” I huff, and the man turns his laughter back on me. “What happened between you and my son?” He asks, but his wife, who I was hiding from, bursts into the office, asking why we aren't at the table.

“The boss is here,” I say mockingly, and the woman swats my shoulder while telling her husband not to corrupt me.

“I see you two are talking about me behind my back.” There’s no reason to lie, so I tell the truth.

“I just don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea about the gifts you’ve been buying me.” And by anyone, I mean Ashton and his fiancé.

The interaction is so normal that I feel whole for the first time in a long time, and I hope that the couple treats my baby with the same amount of kindness they are showing me, even after Ashton starts having additional children with the woman he will eventually marry.

We sit at the table, still exchanging playful banter that makes me envious of the Lewis family.

“You think a few gifts are bad, but when Mer wanted me to lose weight, she removed every snack from the house and put a treadmill in the kitchen.”

“No,” I exclaim, thinking the story can’t be true, but Meredith unapologetically shrugs.

“He’s leaving out the part that it was for his health.”

“Still,” I say, staring at the woman with wide eyes. “What if he would have done that to you?”

“Thank you,” Mr. Lewis says, pointing at me as though I’ve made his point for him.

“Come back and talk to me when you marry the love of your life. If you feel the same way, I’ll acknowledge that I was wrong.”

“No she won’t,” Troy whispers, making me giggle, but inexplicably, the table falls silent.

“Sorry I’m late,” Ashton says, freezing when he catches sight of me. “Why is she here?” He rudely questions.

Ashton's POV

Cori has literally hijacked my family. I came over for our weekly dinner, not expecting to see her at the table, but she is, and the way everyone is casually talking around me and directly to her, made me uncomfortable.

I feel so left out of their circle that in a moment of pettiness, I leave, needing a drink.

I head straight to a bar where I plan to find a random girl I can angry f*ck, but since finding out I was going to be a father, s*x has literally been scary for me.

I ended up going back to my apartment after one drink, and when I opened my eyes again, it was well past 10am and I was running late to Chris's baby shower.

The event starts at noon; but thankfully, it's a pool party, so I don't have to dress up. I quickly shave, ready myself, and leave, hoping that Pauline isn’t mad at me, since I promised to help set up.

Chris is aware of the situation with Cori, which means that, by default, his wife is also aware, so I hope she gives me a pass.

I pull up to their house, cringing when I see that my brother and Julia have made it before me. That means that Cori is alone with my parents right now, and it re-aggravates me.

I use the gate entrance to go straight to the pool area, knowing that's where everyone will be, and I'm immediately annoyed with life again.

Cori's POV

I didn't want to go to any sort of pool party, but Julia insisted, saying that the woman whose pregnancy we're celebrating is easy to get along with, and I needed ‘air.’

Before we got there, we stopped so I could buy a swimsuit, and since I was at the mall already, I got the woman a gift, feeling awkward about not bringing anything.

It felt odd to shop for someone else's baby, but hopefully, I'll be able to start shopping for my own child soon.

We arrived early, and they were still setting up, so I offered to help, but Pauline wasn't very receptive to me, which Julia swore was in my imagination.

It might've been, but I feel like every committed woman will be on guard around a girl who is pregnant by an engaged man, and rightfully so.

"Should we get into the pool?"

"I don't know how to swim." Julia hands me a float that I know is meant for a toddler, and I can't help but to giggle.

"Wouldn't I capsize?"

"Hah!" Pauline says sarcastically. "You could dare say that around me?" The woman pulls open her cover up and I marvel at how huge her stomach is.

"Can I?" I question. I've only seen pregnant patients in clinicals, and we don't exactly get to affectionately rub their bellies. The woman agrees and I probably creep her out with how thoroughly I examined her baby bump. "Women are so amazing," I say, still resting my hand on her swollen abdomen.

"That's right; without us life is pretty much-" I chuckle at the woman's dropped sentence, and for the first time since I came, she actually opens up to me.

Conversation between us falls so freely that we forget what we were doing, and her husband has to remind her that other guests will be arriving.

"Where can I help?" I ask again, and this time, I'm given a real task to handle.

As I'm coring the watermelon for the fruit salad, I remember seeing images of baby shower themed fruit salads, and after getting everything ready, I try my hand at it.

Honestly, it didn't look bad, but when Pauline saw it, she started to cry. I immediately feel like a jerk, telling the woman that we can still use a regular serving dish, but she runs away, making me feel even worse.

"I'll talk to her." Chris says, and I move to dismantle the small bassinet, but Julia stops me.

"Wait to find out if those are happy tears." I agree, and the woman pulls me back out toward the pool. "Let's get in."

I didn't want to, but after lots of coaxing, I removed my coverup. She looks me up and down, making me want to hide myself again.

"Sorry, I just… your body is really nice."

I've never gotten that compliment from anyone other than Ashton, who at the time, probably would have told me that I was the most beautiful girl in the world, just because he wanted to get me in bed.

It's funny because in the time that I've been spending with his family, they have never mentioned his fiancé, which I'm guessing is being done to make me feel less uncomfortable, just like Julia moving in.

"Are you getting in too?"

"I want to go check on Pauline first, but I'll be back in a little while."

I nod at the woman, picking up the baby floaty and stepping into the water with trepidation.

It was then that I spotted Ashton, and the glare he was giving me made me want to leave, especially when I noticed who was sitting next to him.

Julia's POV

Just like I thought, Pauline wasn't crying over fruit. She was crying because she likes Cori but doesn't want to.

Cori told me that Pauline didn't like her, but I thought she was self-conscious. Now, I'm seeing that she may have actually noticed something that I didn't. She told me that she lived with a man, who I’m guessing is her father, who hated her for sixteen years, which made her sensitive toward certain behaviors, which I now fully believe.

The worst part is that I can’t even tell Pauline that Ashton isn’t in a relationship with Vanessa anymore, and not knowing what to say or do, I leave.

I planned to join Cori in the water, but I spotted the most uncomfortable pairing in attendance. I frantically start searching for Troy, unsure what we’re supposed to do since Ashton actually came, and he brought Vanessa with him.

“Relax, we can only watch for now, but if anyone says anything to her, we leave.” I hope Troy is right, and I silently pray that Cori doesn’t notice.