Chapter 74
He couldn’t stop looking at the pictures. He knew he needed to, but Barnett couldn’t turn away. They were all over the internet. Everywhere he went, the photos and videos of them taunted him. They were holding hands on a sailboat. Sitting together on a rock, their faces red from their hike. Having dinner beneath the stars in some far-off place with just trees and mountains for miles, looking far more intimate than Barnett would have liked.
One headline caught his eye as he scrolled, and he sucked in a breath.
PREGNANT FITNESS INFLUENCER ANNA LEONARD TRAVELS WITH FAMOUS BOYFRIEND ARTHUR STARDUST
He finally forced himself to put down his phone. Agonizing over it wasn’t helping him. Anna was happy without him. He just had to accept that somehow and move on, even if it seemed like an impossible thing to do. She was clearly in love with Arthur.
Just as he placed his phone down on his desk, it rang.
He picked it up without checking the Caller ID, half-convinced it was Anna calling. That he’d somehow willed her to reach out with his longing. Instead, it was the very last person he wanted to hear from.
“Barnett, honey. Are you there? I hear you’re back from your father’s.”
He sighed. “I’m here.”
Julia gave a squeal of delight. “Oh, good. I’ve missed you.”
“What do you want, Julia?” he asked, unamused. “I thought we agreed not to contact each other.”
He could practically hear her pouting through the phone. It was one of the most frustrating things she did. “Don’t be like that. You and both know we’re meant for each other.”
“I can think of several reasons that’s not true.” He was already losing his patience, but he didn’t want to snap at her. She would just scream at him, and he wasn’t in the mood. “We had an agreement.”
“Well, maybe I want to renegotiate.”
“That’s not how this works.”
“Come on, baby,” she whined. “We’re like Bonnie and Clyde. You can’t have one without the other.”
“Bonnie and Clyde weren’t good people, and they definitely weren’t good together. They were criminals.”
“Whatever. I’m at the villa. Come here so we can talk about it.”
“No, I–”
She hung up before he could get the words out. Barnett leaned back in his leather chair and raked his hands through his hair. The last thing he wanted was to go over there, but it didn’t seem like he had much of a choice. She’d just keep calling him, or worse, show up at his work. He had to make sure they had things settled for good.
He wanted her out of his life. Permanently.
He put on his suit jacket, then walked out of his office. His new McLaren Artura was parked out front, where a new security booth had been set up. Now no one could get into the parking lot without a key card. It was something he should have done a while ago. The paparazzi couldn’t get in here anymore. No one could unless they were on the list or had a card.
The red car sat in his parking lot near the front of the building, and he slid into the sleek leather seat. He bought it a few months ago, and it just showed up yesterday. It was a beautiful car, but it did little to improve his mood, no matter how excited he was when he bought it. At the end of the day, it was just a car. It did nothing to alleviate the tight feeling in his chest that just wouldn’t go away.
He drove to his old villa, keeping carefully within the speed limit. A red sports car was a cop magnet.
Julia was waiting for him outside when he pulled up to the house. She had on a pair of low-slung sweatpants and a tank-top, showing off the round curve of her pregnant belly. Her hair hung in waves over her shoulders and her makeup looked professionally done.
He took a breath and got out of the car, the door swinging up rather than out.
“New car?” she asked as he approached.
“Yup.”
She grinned. “I like it. Though maybe it’s a bit ostentatious.”
“You and I both know that’s what you like about it.”
She just shrugged. “So, how’s your father?”
He frowned. “He’s fine. That’s not why I came here, though. You need to stop calling me.”
“But I miss you when I don’t hear from you.”
He didn’t believe her for a second. Something dawned on him as he stood there, the words of Anna’s letter seeping to the forefront of his mind. “Did Anna come here? Before she left for her trip?”
Julia made a show of looking at her nails. “She might have.”
“Did you tell her we remarried?”
She was silent for a moment, peering at his face. She was probably trying to gauge just how mad he was going to be. “I might have said something along those lines.”
“Seriously?” he bit out.
“Come on, it’s not that far from the truth. You and I both know it’s only a matter of time.”
“You need to move on,” Barnett said, practically shouting. “You can’t keep sabotaging my life. We’re never getting back together.”
“What about the baby?” she said, her lip suddenly trembling.
“You and I both know that baby isn’t mine,” he bit out. The paternity test had revealed as much. He didn’t know whose baby that was, but he knew for certain it wasn’t his.
“But it could be?” she said, tears tracking down her cheeks. He couldn’t help but marvel at them. There wasn’t a single part of him that thought they were genuine. She was just good at manipulating people to get what she wanted. She’d been doing it their whole marriage, and he was sick of it.
“I don’t want you in my life, Julia,” he said, his voice firm. “I gave you this house and you can keep it, but you need to leave me alone. That was the agreement.”
“But–”
“No buts,” he said, cutting her off. “I don’t want you to contact me, and I don’t want you contacting Anna. She has nothing to do with any of this.”
She gave a short, harsh laugh. “Doesn’t she?”
He glared at her.
She shrugged, her tears suddenly gone. “You’re the one who chose to ignore her, not me. It’s not my fault you abandoned her.”
“That’s not what happened,” he muttered.
She smiled. “Isn’t it?”
Maybe she was right. Maybe he was the one who abandoned Anna, and now she was pregnant with someone else’s baby. The thought made his heart clench. He hated it so much he wanted to hit something. Julia was right. If he hadn’t disappeared, she never would have come searching for him here. He was angry with her, and he let that get in the way.
“If you try to contact me again, I will get a restraining order,” he said.
Her face reddened. “Come on Barnett. We’re meant to be together.”
He shook his head. “That’s never been true.”
Before she could answer, he turned and walked over to his car. She followed him, but he got in and closed the door before she could reach him. He locked the door and started the car.
“I hate you,” she screamed, pounding on the window.
“The feeling’s mutual,” he muttered as he put the car in drive and accelerated down the driveway. He caught sight of her in his rearview mirror just as he stopped at the end of the drive. She was standing where he left her, her hands on her hips and the smooth skin of her round stomach visible. Then he turned onto the road, and she was gone. He hoped he never had to see her again.
