Cade tried everything to catch her attention but failed.
"Feel like you need a movie? I should get some popcorn for us both."
"I don't need anything from you, Cade!"
"Ain't I your boyfriend anymore?"
"You aren't. Talia should be the one you're with. She's your child's mother."
"I've told you, Isla Sinclair! These things infuriate me! Stop talking about that bitch!"
"I want you to be infuriated so you can let go of me and return to Hollywood. It'll be better for you and I if we lived separate lives." She folded her arms.
"I can't let go of you ever. We're meant to be."
"No! We're not meant to be. If we were, some woman wouldn't come out of the blue and decide to take us to court to claim you both. That isn't even my problem." She rolled her eyes.
"Didn't we already agree on doing this together?"
"I'm better off alone. I didn't think I needed a man in the first place."
"Oh, really? If you really didn't need a man, what were those stuff about?"
"What stuff?" Isla raised her head, confused.
"The touches, the kisses. Each and every moment we had. When you told me, you'd never had fun with anybody else but me. The day you got pregnant. What about all that? Don't you think it's time we made another baby? If you leave me, how do you think I'd ever get hard - "
"Shut....the fuck up." Isla snapped at him.
"All those things were because I wasn't wise enough. I was supposed to back off when you told me about Talia. But I just couldn't. I don't know why, but it's strange. Talia is currently haunting me."
"Talia is wrong. She abandoned me."
"That was then. Now she's ready to make amends. She's back for her daughter, and her husband. I'm the other woman!" Cade squatted and placed his finger on Isla's lips gently. Her heart was racing at the touch.
"Isla Mirabelle Sinclair." She looked expressionless.
"Talia is the other woman. Dora Hudson is your daughter. You are my one and only. Nothing, in this world can change that." She remained silent, his finger still on her lips.
He traced on them sharply and he noticed a little bleed. Their faces were just a few inches apart.
She shut her eyes, feeling the pain. By now, blood stained her lips.
"You felt the pain right? You just showed me your pain from within. I'm here with you. You can always notify when you're done pretending." He also noticed she was crying.
"I...i..cant help but shake the feelings I have for you, Cade. I want you to be happy. Sometimes, things hurt but they happen just for the best."
"Loving you has never hurt, Isla."
"That's not what I mean."
"Loving Talia is not the best."
"You say so. It's because you haven't taken your time to study her attitude. If you get to Know her more, she might be nice. She's a possessive wife."
"Wife? Excuse me? I'm not getting married to her!"
"You will, by the time you're done here." She stood up to leave but he grabbed her wrist.
"Wait. Let me lick off the blood." She stared at him weirdly before rolling her eyes.
"Nice try." She tried to break free off the grip but he only pulled her closer.
"Just - my fine shyt."
"What?"
"You called me that once."
"I did? Yeah, it's all past now. I told you to start learning how to stay away from me!" She screamed at him but her yell was followed by an intense hungry kiss that made her lips hurt badly.
"Your lips taste so good already. And mixed with the blood, goodness gracious. I'm having you for dinner tonight." He teased, stroking her. She was finally able to free herself off the grip.
"Stop this, Cade!"
"You have two hours to open that door and let me go home! Whatever you and Julie has planned, I don't know but it isn't fair!" She stormed to Julie's bedroom and cried there.
"I feel so confused. I don't know if I should let Cade in - again. But sometimes, it feels like I'm doing the wrong thing. And there's Talia disturbing my peace and Rhea offering to help me. What the fvck do I do about it?!"
"I love him, but I... he's someone else's man. Maybe I should explain how I really feel about this."
After thinking about it, she went to his room at midnight and expected to see him sleeping. But shockingly, he was flaunting his biceps in the mirror.
"What are you doing?" Her voice cut through and he looked. He was quite happy to see her. Isla noticed he was shirtless and got shy.
"Didn't you use to caress this? Why are you so shy now?"
"Because it's Talia's. I don't deal with someone else's rights."
"Rights? You're crazy, Isla."
"I am? No, you are! For making me fall so deeply in love with you! I fell into a hole I couldn't come out of. All because of you." She pointed.
"Wow.. you're in love with me?"
"You know that. Plus, I never denied it. I just want us to have space. When the court hearing takes place, I'm so damn sure that Talia will win with all her connections."
"No, Isla. Everything is based on what Dora thinks. Do you really think Dora would deny you and choose Talia? Hell no, baby!" She blushed a little.
"If I attend this hearing, we're gonna win no doubt. We already talked about this. It's strange you're talking back."
"I...I just don't want to be hurt in the end. We have to fix this before marriage."
"Together. We'll fix it together." He held her hand and kissed it. She chuckled.
"Yunno, loving you has never really hurt me." Isla spoke.
"Of course. You shouldn't be afraid of Talia Evans. She's nothing to us."
★COURT HEARING★
The courtroom was filled with a sense of tension as the case involving Talia and Cade began. At the center of the dispute was the young child, Dora Hudson, who sat quietly before the judge, her eyes wide with uncertainty.
To the left of the courtroom, Talia's lawyer, Mr. Smith, stood confidently, his suit immaculate and his expression stern. Across from him, Cade's lawyer, Ms. Johnson, stood equally poised, her eyes flashing with determination.
As the proceedings began, the two lawyers engaged in a heated exchange, each trying to sway the court's opinion in their favor. Mr. Smith argued that Talia had been a devoted mother, despite her absence from Cade's life for six years, and that she deserved custody of Dora. Ms. Johnson countered that Talia had abandoned Cade and their child, showing no interest in their lives until now, and that Cade was the true parent who had cared for Dora.
The judge listened attentively to both sides, her expression neutral. After reviewing the case files and listening to the lawyers' arguments, she turned to Dora, who sat before her. "Dora Hudson, can you please come forward?" the judge asked gently.
Dora stood up, her eyes fixed on the judge. The judge's voice was soft and reassuring as she asked, "Dora, who would you like to have custody of you? Your mother, Talia, or your father, Cade?" The courtroom fell silent, awaiting Dora's response.
"I want to stay with....my mother. Talia Evans."
The crowd erupted and the judge controlled them at once.
"Really? Why?" She sounded investigative.
"Mummy is actually a nice person. She's doing all these things because she wants me back. She's not evil at all. When she left then, it wasnt on purpose. She had stuff on her desk."
"Stuff on her desk??" Cade was taken by surprise and shock at the same time.
"She must have done something!" Cade was sure Talia must have poisoned his daughter's mind.
"Hey! You have no right to say anything because the child here has spoken! Talia Evans is the mother, who should have full custody of her own child. All these things about her eloping with a guy - it's fake. I'm not sure Cade has really been a good parent." Talia's lawyer spoke.
"I want Mom."
★FLASHBACK★
"Dora, wait up!"
"Okay."
"I need to finish up packing my books! I'll be right back!" Dora waited patiently for her friend Sarah, staring at the vehicles. Suddenly, a black car pulled to a halt and a woman stepped out. Before she knew what was happening, she was whisked inside.
"Who are you?!" She yelled. There were three men in the car, with Talia Evans.
"I'm your mother, Dora."
"Oh, it's you. I've seen you so many times in pictures. You're so ugly in real life!"
"Oh really?"
"Yeah, I wonder how you had someone like me. That's why I'm so convinced that the Beautiful Isla Mirabelle Sinclair is my real mother. Not you, witch."
"Witch? Who taught you that? It's vulgar!"
"Vulgar? Well it isn't vulgar when you abandon a man with a baby for six years."
"Dora, I'm here to make amends. I love you and your father knows it. But he's keeping you away from me."
"Now you want me after six years! What the hell is your problem? Do you want me? Come for me when I'm 57."
"Dora dont be childish."
"Talia Evans, don't be delusional. You don't deserve me or my father. Isla Sinclair has been taking good care of me. Tell you what, she's my dad's girlfriend and they might get married."
"Old news." Talia snapped her fingers and Dora was surrounded by guns pointed by the men. She froze, crying and peeing her pants.
"Dora Hudson. My baby. I had you myself, and I won't hesitate to kill you myself, because you're nothing but a mistake from the day you were born! I'm going to take your father to court to rightfully claim you. And it's gonna be based on your decision. If you choose me, you'll get twice what you get from Isla Sinclair. But if you choose Cade, you three will lose your lives!"
"P...plea..see... don't do it."
"Do you want us to pull the trigger?!" One of the men growled.
"No, let me go, I beg of you."
"Who are you picking?"
"You, mom. I'd love to come live with you."
"That's the spirit. And don't you dare tell anyone what Happened in this car."
"I swear, I won't." They threw her out and she fell to the ground hitting her head. The car drove off before anyone noticed.
"What just happened? Why is your head bleeding?"
"A stone flying through this direction hit my head."
"Oh. Let's get a bandage or something."
"No, Sarah. Let's head home. I'll take care of myself."
★★★
"Is that why you said that at the court?"
"Yeah, she said she'd kill me."
"And you totally believe her?"
"Julie, I'm confused right now! Talia has done nothing but harm since she suddenly discovered Cade and I were dating! And it's all thanks to Rhea Sinclair."
"Isla, you don't have to blame your mother for this. After all, she's saying she wants to change! She might actually help bring down this evil lady!"
"Hmm..." Isla sighed.
"How was the vacation?" She changed the topic.
"Great, what about you and Cade?" She winked.
"Did something happen?"
"Nothing happened, Julie." She frowned.
"But something is likely to happen when this custody thing is all over and we're happy as a family." Isla said shyly.
"I think Cade's parents might be a witness to this..." As Julie thought, her baby's cry cut through the air.
"Oh, damn."