The Love of Lies

Excuses

Ashton’s POV

Cori is telling me that I’m not the father of her baby, but for whatever reason, I feel like she’s lying. Either way, I don’t want a kid with a girl I don’t really know, especially since she’s so young.

I celebrated a birthday in between the time I met Cori and now, so I’m twenty-six, a decent age to become a parent, but she won’t turn twenty-two for another three and a half months. She hasn’t even lived her life to the fullest, but she seems dead set on having this child.

“Cori, what are you really after?”

“I’ve told you that you're not the father, but you're acting like I haven't, and you’ve convinced yourself that I want something from you.”

“Enough,” my mother says. “Cori darling, can I suggest something that may work for everyone involved?” The woman nods, and my mother steps closer to her, pulling her onto the sofa, shooing Troy away so that Cori doesn’t have to look at him. “You must have had a reason to name my son in your lawsuit, and to make up for his lack of judgment, allow him to be financially responsible for you until we can take a DNA test.”

“I don’t want charity.”

“It's not charity; you will continue to work, but because my son is an i***t, he will help lift some of the burden from you.”

“But-”

“Cori, stop. You said it yourself that you’re alone. Children are expensive, and even if Ashton isn’t the father, this is his punishment for taking advantage of a drunk woman. His father and I didn’t raise him that way, and no matter the outcome, we hope that he learns his lesson.” My mother is being oddly calm about this situation, and while Cori does give off friendly and innocent vibes, I’m only going along with this because I don’t trust her.

“I don’t want to live with him.”

“That’s fine. Ashton has his own apartment; you can stay in the house he shares with Troy, and he can stay over there.”

Cori’s POV

I don’t understand why Ashton’s family is so dead set on me moving in with the man, but I don’t want that.

“Why would I punish him when he isn’t the father?”

“I hear you, but my dear, I don’t believe you at all.”

“I’m telling the truth; I was just trying to hurt him for using me.”

“Okay, then continue to use him.” I think about it for a second, but eventually a baby will be born, a DNA test will be done, and Ashton will find out that he IS the father; I don’t want that either. “What are you afraid of?”

I don’t have an answer for the woman, and it’s too late for me to lie and say that I have a boyfriend because I already put my foot in my mouth with that one.

“How are you all okay with this?” I ask, not understanding how Ashton’s fiancé will feel about him having a baby with someone else.

“Ashton is the one who should be ashamed, and the consequences of his actions are for him to bear alone.” My eyes dart to Troy, wanting his opinion on the matter as well.

“You’ve met Julia, she will be staying with us too.” The man’s words make me frown, and I try to make my case one more time.

“If I sign the non-disclosure, drop the lawsuit, and fire my attorney with Ashton present, will you leave me alone?”

“No,” Mr. Lewis says, sitting near his wife and hugging her. “Like my wife, I don’t believe you, and if you’re carrying my grandchild, it's only fair for you to allow us to be involved.”

“What about-” The man doesn’t give me a chance to ask about his son’s fiancé.

“Cori, stop lying, you aren’t good at it. Ashton’s opinion is void in this situation because you’ve already made up your mind, so you might as well let us help you; no one else matters.”

“I have things in my apartment that I don’t want to leave behind,” I say, understanding that this family is not going to just let me leave.

Ashton’s POV

“They really kicked me out for her?” I whisper-shout, hating that my brother doesn’t seem to be as angry as he was before he spoke to Cori. “What the hell did she tell you guys?”

“Stop throwing a tantrum. Didn’t you say that you liked the girl? Why not give things a chance with her?”

“A tantrum? Troy, she’s pregnant. I’m not ready to be a father.”

“Speaking of that…” My brother raises a brow, waiting for my explanation.

“The condom must have broken.”

“And you couldn’t feel it?” I take into consideration what my father said about being able to fool a woman with that lie, but I’m already committed to it.

“I was drinking and-”

“Okay, I’m done,” Troy says, standing up to leave. “You know, I’ve experienced a condom breaking a time or two, and not being able to feel it, is a terrible excuse.”

“Don’t tell her that,” I say, scared that Cori will hate me further. I may be angry with the woman, but I feel terrible about what’s happening right now.

“I’m still leaving,” Troy says. “Mom wants me to take Cori to get her things.”

“Why not me?”

“Cori doesn't want to be around you.”

“She’s carrying my baby.”

“That you don’t want.” I said those words to Cori, but they’re not exactly true.

“I don’t care. I don’t trust you to be stern with her, so I’m coming.”

Cori’s POV

I don’t know why Ashton insisted on coming with Troy and I, but he hasn’t spoken to me, and that's good enough. I haven’t signed the NDA yet, so I’m guessing he’s afraid I’ll run away from his brother or something, which I was thinking about.

I’ve only chosen to give up because Ashton had officers bring me directly to him, and I can’t guarantee that the police would help me if I went to them. This situation is so out of this world that they may not even believe me in the first place.

“This is where you live?” Troy asks, looking out the window in shock.

I try to open the door to get out, but the child safety has been engaged, so I have to wait for Ashton to open the door of the car for me. In the meantime, Troy pulls the luggage his mother sent for my clothes out of the trunk.

We get to my apartment, and wanting to try my luck, I try to quickly shut the door on the men, but Ashton is stronger than me.

Sadly, my apartment building is not the kind of place where neighbors get involved, so even if I scream at the top of my lungs, no one will call for help.

“What the hell are you doing?” Ashton asks, forcing his way past my door with a scowl. “I thought we had an agreement.”

Ashton’s POV

Cori lives in a shady neighborhood, and the thought of the girl traveling back and forth to this place at night is scary. Pregnant or not, there is the very real possibility of her being robbed or worse.

Troy and I are so distracted by the stench coming from the hall leading to her apartment that we let our guard down, and Cori tries to take advantage of it, which I don’t blame her for.

She’s practically being kidnapped, but like my mother said, this arrangement will help her as well, whether I'm the father or not.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Can you blame me?” Cori asks, her voice cracking.

“No, but this place is, no offense, a sh*thole. How would you raise a baby in this?” She looks around her apartment, clearly misunderstanding my meaning.

Cori’s place is clean, well arranged, and while it's sparsely furnished, I understand that she’s been a struggling student up until recently.

“Who’s that?” Troy asks, stepping in front of what looks like a shrine area in Cori’s home.

“That’s my mother,” she says standing next to the man while completely ignoring my question.

“Is she the reason you became a nurse?”

“At first, but now, I’m doing it for me… and now him or her.”

“That’s awesome. Julia is in school for public relations. She did an internship at a hospital, and it was-” I interrupt my brother by reminding the chatty pair that we still have to fire Cori’s attorney before the day ends.

Troy gestures for Cori to lead the way, and he follows the woman into a nearby room.

I stay behind to look at the image of Cori’s mom, noticing what could only be an urn on a small shelf underneath it.

The woman’s name was Lori Russolini, which explains why she called her daughter Cori, she was trying to take her daughter back.

I start looking around the small apartment, noticing that the woman has amassed a small collection of baby furniture and clothing that she’s clearly been given based on the trash bags they are being stored in.

She was really going to go through pregnancy alone, and if she hadn’t hired an attorney my father just so happened to be at odds with, I likely wouldn’t have known that I was going to be a father. That thought angers me because I would’ve liked to be involved in her decision to keep the baby, but Cori stole that from me.

I storm into her bedroom, impatiently grabbing her things from her closet, and I shove them in the bags my mother sent.

“What’s wrong with you?” My brother asks, looking at me like I’m a monster.

“You two are acting like we have all f*cking day to chat. Cori and I slept together, she got pregnant, she doesn’t know who the father is, and now, she’s pinning it on me; let’s not forget that.”

Cori’s POV

I promised myself that I would never cry for Ashton again, so while his words hurt, I won’t give him the pleasure of knowing how I feel.

I quietly get the rest of my clothes, shoving them in the luggage the same way he did, but when I go to pack the baby items, Ashton tries to stop me.

“My kid won’t need hand-me-downs.”

“Like you said, I don’t know who the father of my child is, and my baby will absolutely wear what I have available.”

Frustrated, Ashton leaves my apartment, slamming the door behind him, but I don’t care about his feelings right now.

“Don’t mind him,” Troy says. “He’s never been good at expressing himself.”

“He’s made himself very clear if you ask me.”