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“Sorry, we are over, she&#039;s pregnant with my baby,&quot; he apologized. “But I&#039;m also carrying your baby!” I said through tears....<br /> ------<br /> #Chapter 1: Release Day<br /> <br /> The day of my release has finally come, but it&#039;s not the reason I&#039;ve been waiting for so long. Today is the day my boyfriend Charles will finally propose to me.<br /> <br /> My cellmate Trina hugged me tightly. &quot;We don&#039;t want you to leave. If you go, who will help us with wounds and illnesses? That idiot who only engages in harassment but goes by the name of a doctor?&quot;<br /> <br /> I don&#039;t want my release day to be so sad. I hugged Trina and said, &quot;Cheer up. You know how long I&#039;ve been counting down to today. Aren&#039;t you happy for me?&quot;<br /> <br /> Before going to prison, I had a bright future as a surgeon, and Charles was a rising star in politics. We were a perfect match.<br /> <br /> When a political opponent planted drugs in his home, I stepped forward to take full responsibility for it. Even though I lost my medical license, I ensured my loved one&#039;s future. He promised me that the day I got out of prison would be the day he proposed to me.<br /> <br /> Trina shakes back her long braids. &quot;I said, do you really think this Charles dude is going to show up for you, after all these years? He&#039;s never once come to visit you.&quot; I bristle at her doubtful tone.<br /> <br /> While I entrusted my life to Charles, other prisoners had their doubts, and I won&#039;t judge them. After all, many inmates haven&#039;t found their true love yet. They don&#039;t understand the meaning of childhood sweethearts, family, and commitment.<br /> <br /> &quot;Of course,&quot; I say. &quot;Charles is a great guy. He sends me a letter every week. He hasn&#039;t visited me because his status is sensitive. I went to jail, Trina, and it was not an honorable thing to do. And my dad wouldn&#039;t lie to me, either. I&#039;m finally going to get my life back, Trina.&quot;<br /> <br /> I&#039;m sure he will. My father has brought so many messages from Charles over the years. His weekly visits remind me that I did the right thing, taking the fall for Charles. Everything is going to work itself out soon; Charles and I will be married, my life will be back on track, and I can finally put the last three years behind me.<br /> <br /> &quot;Okay, Nicki,&quot; Trina sighs, turning back to her letter. &quot;Honestly, it kind of sounds like you&#039;re perfect for each other.&quot;<br /> <br /> **<br /> <br /> After a final round of hugs and a few promises to write – which I absolutely intend to keep – I&#039;m ready to go.<br /> <br /> It&#039;s weird, leaving. I clutch my little bag of personal effects, squeezing my engagement ring in my fist like a lifeline. It feels cold against my skin.<br /> <br /> I look behind me one final time before taking a deep breath and stepping into the lobby, ready to embrace freedom at last.<br /> <br /> No one is there.<br /> <br /> I look around again, even going to the door to peer out into the parking lot. It&#039;s empty. The dingy, plastic seats of the lobby are empty. Everything is empty.<br /> <br /> Uneasy, I ask the guard on duty if they&#039;d informed my family of my release. The guard frowns, checks a computer, and tells me that they contacted my family twice over the past month. <br /> <br /> My heart sank, but I believe it&#039;s just a misunderstanding. Charles and my family wouldn&#039;t abandon me. They must have simply gotten the timing wrong.<br /> <br /> A bus journey later, which swallows up the bulk of my money, I&#039;m wandering along Times Square. Everything feels so big, it&#039;s overwhelming. All these people, going wherever they want. So many people, so many crowds, just so much.<br /> <br /> They don&#039;t know how lucky they have it, is my first thought. My second thought is that I don&#039;t know how I was ever used to this much open space and this many random people pressing in around me. I&#039;m not sure that I like it anymore; it makes me feel like screaming.<br /> <br /> I pass a bridal shop and pause to look at all of the gorgeous dresses. I never got to the dress-buying stage. I wonder who I can even ask to go with me, now that the wedding will be back on, besides my stepmom and stepsister. I&#039;m not sure I have any friends left.<br /> <br /> My reflection catches my eye, and I wince. I look rough. My dark hair is dull and lank from years of split ends and cheap soap. My skin is flaky, and my eyebrows have overgrown like a wild thornbush.<br /> <br /> Honestly, maybe it&#039;s good that nobody came to pick me up. I should probably have a spa weekend before I see Charles again. I want him to be overcome with longing, not grossed out by my unibrow.<br /> <br /> A flashing screen from the next shop redirects my attention, and I move to take a closer look. Wow, the Alpha&#039;s daughter is getting married!<br /> <br /> The Alpha is the leader of the werewolf community, and he has a few children jostling for the position of heir. Werewolf culture has always been fascinating to me; in fact, it&#039;s one reason that I specialized in werewolf anatomy in medical school.<br /> <br /> The camera pans across the Alpha&#039;s family, toasting the new bride. One catches my eye – the Alpha&#039;s son? Marcus. I&#039;ve seen him before. I treated a whole pack of wolf soldiers when they came back from the front, and he was there.<br /> <br /> Why was the Alpha&#039;s son at a regular hospital, not some private fancy one? But he was there, with his men, comforting them and bolstering their spirits. Insisting that he be seen last, as he was the least injured, kissing my hand when I prioritized his badly-injured soldiers over others waiting.<br /> <br /> Marcus looks almost as handsome on TV as he did in person. Black hair, eyes the color of a Caribbean sea. Sun-kissed skin, smooth and marless except for the faded scar across his cheek. He&#039;s surprisingly trim for a werewolf; he wears a pearl-gray suit that accentuates his narrow hips, long legs, firm shoulders.<br /> <br /> I stitched up that scar myself, and he was so patient and kind while I did. He didn&#039;t flinch at my needle, instead chatting with me quietly, asking questions about how I got into studying werewolf anatomy and complimenting my quick work.<br /> <br /> I wonder if he –<br /> <br /> All thoughts of Marcus are abruptly blanked out of my mind as the camera moves to the bride&#039;s beaming soon-to-be husband. <br /> <br /> My legs wobble, my brain spins. I stumble backward, hardly registering the blare of a car horn behind me as I trip over the curb and into the street.<br /> <br /> Oh, my god.<br /> <br /> It&#039;s Charles. <br /> <br /> #Chapter 2: A Family Reunion <br /> <br /> The next bus only gets me within three miles of home. I want to get there faster, but my phone is dead after trying to call Charles multiple times. My calls wouldn&#039;t go through, and I have a sick feeling in my gut that my number has been blocked.<br /> <br /> The air is chilly, and I hug my inadequate coat closer to my body. Frozen slush sticks to my shoes. By the time I turn the corner and see our big, white house sitting squarely in the middle of the block, I&#039;m freezing. <br /> <br /> I reluctantly go up the front steps, unsure of what I&#039;ll find when I get inside. Should I knock? It feels foolish to knock at my own front door, but I don&#039;t even have a key anymore.<br /> <br /> Turns out, I don&#039;t have to worry. The door flings open before I can even reach for the doorbell, and my stepbrother Brodie stands in front of me with a smug grin on his face.<br /> <br /> &quot;Woohoo!&quot; he shouts. &quot;Mom! Paul! The convict returns to darken our doorstep!&quot;<br /> <br /> Becki&#039;s blonde head pokes out from another doorway behind him. &quot;Oh, my god,&quot; my stepsister says in disgust. &quot;You look like shit, Nicole. Gross. Prison just drips off of you, not that I&#039;m surprised. We&#039;re going to have to wash anything you touch.&quot;<br /> <br /> I&#039;m stunned. I&#039;ve never been super close to Becki or Brodie, it&#039;s true, but they&#039;ve never been outright cruel like this. <br /> <br /> &quot;What&#039;s going on?&quot; I ask. &quot;Why didn&#039;t anyone pick me up at the prison?&quot;<br /> <br /> Becki snorts. &quot;Don&#039;t blame me. I can&#039;t believe you even have the nerve to show your face here again, after what you did. Our family is in disgrace because of you.&quot;<br /> <br /> I&#039;m baffled. Everyone here knows I didn&#039;t commit any crimes – they are the ones who convinced me to take the fall for Charles in the first place, after all. <br /> <br /> I open my mouth to remind Becki of this, but my father appears in the hallway before I can get a word out. I look at him hopefully, waiting for a defense, but he just looks grim. He waves me inside before turning around and walking into the dining room.<br /> <br /> I follow. Darlene is sitting at the elegantly polished table, sipping tea from my mother&#039;s antique china set. I grit my teeth.<br /> <br /> &quot;Nicole,&quot; she says calmly, glancing at me. She&#039;s head-to-toe in Armani, impeccable and decked out with six pounds of makeup and more jewelry than would be necessary for a dinner at the White House, never mind just sitting around drinking tea in her own home.<br /> <br /> &quot;Darlene,&quot; I say.<br /> <br /> &quot;Welcome back, dear.&quot; Darlene reaches for the teapot, refilling her cup with a spindly, manicured claw. She stirs a spoonful of sugar into her tea and lifts it to her mouth, a red gash in her overly-powdered face.<br /> <br /> &quot;Welcome?&quot; I say. &quot;I don&#039;t understand. Why didn&#039;t anyone come pick me up today?&quot;<br /> <br /> &quot;Nicole, please,&quot; Darlene says. &quot;I don&#039;t have the time for your hysterics.&quot;<br /> <br /> Confused, I turn to my father, who is standing in the doorway staring at a spot over my head.<br /> <br /> &quot;Dad,&quot; I say. &quot;I can&#039;t get a hold of Charles. I called like, thirty times, but I think he&#039;s blocked my number. And I saw on TV that he&#039;s marrying the Alpha&#039;s daughter? What&#039;s going on?&quot;<br /> <br /> Becki shrieks with laughter somewhere behind me. &quot;Oh, my god, Nicole. You really are even stupider than you look. Did you seriously think you could still marry Charles after your little stint in prison? He&#039;s the financial officer of the Alpha&#039;s pack now; he can&#039;t be seen with a freaking ex-con.&quot;<br /> <br /> Brodie hoots as well. &quot;You are so gullible, Nicole,&quot; he says, wiping tears from his eyes. &quot;Of course Charles blocked your number, you moron. We&#039;d have blocked your number and changed the locks if we didn&#039;t have to worry about doing damage control to clean up your mess.&quot;<br /> <br /> &quot;My mess?&quot; I ask, bewildered and hurt. &quot;Dad, you know the real reason I was in prison. Is the Robinson family really going to just dump and forget me like this? Don&#039;t you have anything to say?&quot;<br /> <br /> Darlene cuts in, her voice glittering and sharp as the edge of a diamond. &quot;Nicole, please, I told you to quit the hysterics. No one asked you to do this; it was entirely your choice. You don&#039;t get to play the victim now that the consequences have come home to roost.&quot;<br /> <br /> &quot;You&#039;ve embarrassed all of us, Nicole,&quot; Becki chimes in, crossing her arms. &quot;You&#039;ve disgraced this entire family. I don&#039;t know what other reaction you&#039;d expect.&quot;<br /> <br /> I stare at the four of them in disbelief. I think back to that awful day, the day that Charles&#039;s mom called Dad in a panic, sobbing about the unexpected police warrant and the drugs, the words &quot;enough to make a case for criminal intent to distribute&quot; swirling in the heavy air.<br /> <br /> I think about Dad and Darlene begging me to take the fall, to not let Charles&#039;s career be ruined. I think about Becki, shouting, &quot;My god, Nicole, he&#039;s going to marry you either way. Who cares if you go to prison? Are you going to support him or not?&quot;<br /> <br /> &quot;You and Charles grew up together,&quot; Dad had said. &quot;You know he&#039;ll stand by you. Now, are you going to do the right thing or not?&quot;<br /> <br /> Now, I stand in my dining room, feeling frozen to the core. Dad is still staring at the ceiling, silent. Darlene is prim, with a glittering malice in her eyes. Becki smirks. Brodie grins like a predator. <br /> <br /> They know; they have to know what they&#039;re doing. I don&#039;t understand any of this.<br /> <br /> &quot;Will someone at least help me get in contact with Charles, so I can have some closure around all this?&quot; I ask. My voice sounds like it belongs to someone else. &quot;I need to at least hear some of this from him. I should–I need to at least return the ring? Maybe I could go to his wedding, just to–&quot;<br /> <br /> Dad finally speaks up for the first time. &quot;Nicole, if you truly love Charles, you will leave him alone to get on with his life. He&#039;s doing very well. He doesn&#039;t need your – this – mess coming back to haunt him, much less at his own wedding.&quot;<br /> <br /> Becki says it more bluntly. &quot;He&#039;s not going to talk to you, Nicole. Forget it.&quot;<br /> <br /> Darlene finishes her tea, ringing a bell for the maid to come clear the dishes. Her voice is suddenly businesslike.<br /> <br /> &quot;Now, here&#039;s what&#039;s going to happen. Nicole, you are going to find a job, any job, and reintegrate yourself into society to minimize the humiliation you&#039;ve caused this family as much as you can. And I won&#039;t hear any more moaning and mooning about Charles. You&#039;ve made your choices, and now you can live with them.&quot;<br /> <br /> Numb, I turn and leave the dining room, going down to my little basement room. I shut the door and collapse onto my old bed, the sheets smelling stale and musty, like they haven&#039;t been changed in years. I guess they probably haven&#039;t been.<br /> <br /> I&#039;ve never felt so alone in my life.<br /> <br /> That night, watching the news on my phone, I see Marcus again. He talks about charity work and the joy of giving back to one&#039;s community. Heart aching, I shut off my phone. Pretty words, but everybody has pretty words when they&#039;re cheap and easy.<br /> <br /> How can I ever trust anyone again?<br /> <br /> I hold the cover letter I wrote and wait for the possible turn of events tomorrow.<br /> <br /> -------<br /> Open the app and continue reading the rest of the story . 👉(It will automatically jump to the book when you open the app)

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