FREED (The Mind Of Her Billionaire, #3) Read online

  ‘Don’t mind me, you’re not working,’ Amelia said as if reading her mind.

  The atmosphere between them was a little awkward. They all seemed uptight, but Amelia tried to lighten the mood by smiling occasionally. The event started off with a few singers. Amelia hardly knew any of the singers, but the music was nice enough.

  The meal course began to come through, and Amelia ate to her hearts delight. The show continued and they made small talk. By the time the auction was about to start, Mandy excused herself, to go to the bathroom.

  ‘You never told me you were seeing my assistant.’

  ‘It just happened,’ he said. ‘Does it bother you?’

  ‘No, why should it?’

  ‘You just seem uptight about the whole situation.’

  ‘I am not, I’m totally fine with it. After all, I was the one who encouraged you to start dating. I just didn’t think it would be my assistant.’

  ‘We can’t choose who we fall for.’ There was a slight acridness to his tone.

  ‘No, you’re right, we can’t.’ She wasn’t going to give into his sudden sullen mood. ‘I’m happy for you.’

  ‘Are you? Really? Or do you just want me to be single, giving you the attention while you give me nothing in return.’

  ‘Tate, this is hardly the place. I don’t know why you feel so upset about this. You knew I’d be here.’ She turned down her tone.

  The auction began and she turned her attention to it.

  ‘I did, and I really like her,’ he said, just to rub it in.

  ‘Good, I’m glad we can agree on something.’

  A painting was shown and people began to bid. Amelia wasn’t so sure she wanted any of them, but as Justin had advised her, she would have to contribute. Either make a donation or spend a lot of money on a painting.

  ‘Is everything alright?’ Mandy asked Tate.

  ‘Everything’s perfect.’ He leaned forward and gave her a light kiss on the cheek.

  The auction ended, nothing had caught her attention. Instead she opted to write a very big cheque to one of the charities that was being represented. The usual after party began, Amelia took that as her cue to leave. The soon, the better it would be.

  ‘I’m off, and thanks for coming Mandy. I hope I didn’t spoil your night too much!’

  ‘No, not at all.’ She smiled.

  ‘Night, Tate.’ She nodded at him.

  ‘Amelia.’

  It took her by surprise, it was the first time in a long time that he’d called her Amelia. Again she nodded, and then made her way out of the building.

  Chapter Six

  Over the next few months, things got busier. Amelia found herself going from place to place. Her feet had begun to swell and she’d had a few scares about the pregnancy. Her blood pressure had to be monitored as well as her blood sugar. Amelia was certain all this stress was due to Justin’s upcoming trial.

  The more he saw her, the harder it was for him to accept her body. The good part was that they spoke about it frankly, and it helped. Doctor Gallagher had also offered them a couple’s session, which helped them both immensely. Tate had been getting along very well with Mandy, they seemed to be a perfect match, and things had smoothed over between Amelia and Tate.

  It was nice seeing him happy for a change and it made her feel at ease. There was no need to be the woman he couldn’t have any longer. She was just his friend, and that helped. And her friends had something sneaky up their sleeves.

  Mandy had made sure Amelia’s schedule for the afternoon was clear. Amelia sat back and took a long deserved rest in the car, while the driver took them home.

  ‘Are you sure there is nothing in my diary for this afternoon?’ she asked for the second time.

  ‘Certain. You asked me to clear the afternoon, to get some rest.’

  Amelia frowned, she would’ve remembered that.

  ‘Are you sure?’ she asked.

  ‘Yes, Miss Woods.’

  ‘I’m certain I would’ve remembered.’

  ‘You’re forgetting a lot of things lately,’ said Mandy.

  ‘I must be tired.’ Amelia shut her eyes. ‘At least I can have the afternoon to myself. I’m not sure how much longer I can carry this boy around.’ She rubbed her tummy gently.

  Mandy smiled, gave Amelia a quick glance and then sent a text. She wanted everything to be perfect.

  The car pulled outside the beautiful house with its beautiful five acre land. Amelia opened her eyes slowly, looked around herm and then realised where she was.

  ‘I must have drifted off.’

  ‘Yes, you did.’

  The driver opened the door and Mandy came around to give her a hand.

  ‘I feel like a balloon.’ She giggled as she struggled out. ‘I feel like I’d burst any moment now.’

  ‘Oh, you can’t burst today, not just yet.’

  ‘I know, only four more weeks to go, I can’t wait!’

  They walked towards the door, one of the staff members, Amelia didn’t even remember hiring, opened the door.

  ‘Who is she?’ Amelia asked.

  ‘Alice, you asked me to hire her a few weeks ago.’

  ‘Really? This is getting bad.’

  ‘Don’t worry, everything is under control. I have everything under control.’

  ‘I’m glad.’ Amelia smiled. ‘I’m going to take a nap now.’ She was about to head in the direction of the stairs.

  ‘Miss Woods,’ said Mandy.

  Amelia turned reluctantly, she didn’t want any more requests, questions or anything, just for that day.

  ‘There is something I need to show you...before you go upstairs.’

  ‘Can’t it wait? I’m really tired.’

  ‘It’s pretty important.’

  ‘What is it?’ Amelia felt a little edgy.

  Mandy waited, and hoped that Amelia would follow her into the garden.

  ‘It has to be quick.’

  Amelia followed her through the kitchen to the back into the conservatory.

  ‘Surprise!’

  Amelia held onto her chest!

  ‘Oh gosh! Do you want me to go into labour!’ she laughed.

  Kira dashed over and gave her a big hug.

  ‘I don’t know what to say.’ She looked at the happy faces.

  Gary, Tate, Jess from the office, the team she used to manage and her parents all sat around the huge table. It had been decorated brilliantly and there were piles and piles of presents all around. Amelia felt touched and overwhelmed by the gesture.

  ‘Did you do all this?’ she turned to Mandy.

  Mandy nodded. Amelia gave her a hug. She was guided to the head of the table and they began to present the gifts. Food was served, drinks poured out, all the tiredness Amelia had felt, had suddenly evaporated. She was in the warm loving presence of friends and family. There was so much laughter that no one heard the doorbell ring. And no one heard the footsteps of the person who had entered the hallway, travelled through the kitchen and finally stood at the doorway of the conservatory. There was a wave of silence, Amelia couldn’t believe her eyes, this wasn’t what she expected.

  ‘Justin?’ She uttered. ‘What...what are you doing here?’

  He stepped forward calmly with a bunch of red roses in his hand.

  ‘Don’t mind me, continue the party,’ he said equally calm.

  He smiled as he handed her the flowers. As she was about to take them she bent over.

  ‘OOOOOHHHHHHHHH!’ An excruciating pain shot through her stomach.

  ‘Amelia!’ Her mother was by her side.

  ‘I think.....ahahahaa, I think...’

  ‘I’ll call an ambulance,’ said Mandy.

  The world around her spun, there was noise all around her, but she didn’t know where it was coming from.

  ‘Oh God, she’s bleeding!’ Her mother panicked.

  Without warning Amelia began to vomit. She felt hot and faint, and she didn’t want to be in her body in that moment. The emergenc
y services arrived quickly. They did the best they could to help her, and check her vitals at the same time. Amelia was going in and out of consciousness.

  ‘Her blood pressure is sky high, we have to get her to the hospital immediately!’ said one of the paramedics.

  There was no time to argue and there was no time to take her to the private hospital where she’d originally planned to have the baby. Amelia was taken to the nearest NHS hospital, and it was there that she was taken into theatre.

  ****

  When Amelia opened her eyes, her mother was gazing down at her. At first she frantically held onto her stomach.

  ‘My baby! Is my baby –’

  ‘Your beautiful baby boy is fine. He’s just in an incubator, he’s a little early but he’s fine. The doctors say that you might even be able to take him home.’

  Tears welled up in her eyes.

  ‘You had an emergency cesarean, baby, you really frightened us.’ She ran a hand down her daughter’s cheek. Deep down her mother was worried about her. They never really spoke about Justin, but the little she’d heard was enough to make her feel a little weary. But her mother had made it a rule not to interfere with her daughter’s life, not unless Amelia wanted her to.

  ‘Gabriel is here.’ She sniffed. ‘I can’t believe my baby boy is here.’ As soon as she realised, she panicked. ‘Where’s Justin?’ The memory of how he’d walked into the house as calm as day suddenly flooded back.

  ‘Would you like me to go and get him, honey?’ she asked.

  Amelia nodded, she wanted to know what had happened. How was it he’d come out of jail and she hadn’t heard about it. The thought alone terrified her. Her mother left her and a few moments later Justin walked in, looking as handsome as ever.

  ‘How are you feeling?’ he asked.

  ‘I’m fine, have you seen our son?’ she asked.

  ‘No, not yet, I wanted to see you first. I thought we could see him together.’

  She nodded.

  ‘When did you get out, why didn’t you tell me?’ she asked.

  ‘There was a certain turn of events,’ he said as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

  ‘What kind of events?’ She wasn’t sure she really wanted to know.

  ‘It seems that some of the evidence was invalid, or should I say, had been tampered with.’

  Amelia had the sneakiest feeling he had something to do with that. She was sure of it.

  ‘I see, I guess you’ll be able to take the business back.’

  ‘I’ve done that already,’ he said. ‘You’ve done an amazing job. I still want you by my side, doing what you’ve been doing.’

  She nodded, she wasn’t going to give up work, not just because she’d had a baby. She’d done a lot to get the company to where it was.

  ‘Will you marry me?’ he asked.

  ‘Justin?’

  ‘Will you marry me? It seems like the next step to take. We’re good together. We work, you get me and we have a son.’

  Amelia looked at him a little stunned, but then remembered who she was talking to, and a smile crept onto her face.

  ‘So, will you?’ he asked.

  ‘Is that the best you can do?’ she asked. ‘You’re smarter than that, and I’m not saying yes until you do it properly.’

  He looked at her a moment, his left eye squinted, and then there was a smile on his face.

  ‘Okay, deal, but when I do, you better say yes.’

  ‘That’s for me to decide.’

  Amelia was happy, almost. They’d worked through their differences and she was the light he needed to grow. It wasn’t going to be a walk in the park, but nothing in life was. It was going to be the challenge she was willing to work through with him.

  ‘Can I ask you a question?’ she asked.

  He nodded.

  ‘Did the tampering of the evidence have anything to do with you?’ she asked.

  ‘No,’ he said with a straight face.

  Amelia knew that he wasn’t lying to her, she just felt it, but was she ready to ask the next question? She looked at him, weary as to whether or not to go ahead. But the little voice deep within her wouldn’t let it go, it couldn’t. Unlike Justin, she had a conscious, a part of her that she couldn’t ignore or deny. She understood that he could do things and not get a sense of guilt, but she also knew that, that didn’t exempt him from facing up to his wrong doing.

  She looked at him and he didn’t flinch, instead he smiled.

  ‘I’m going to ask you a question, and I need you to be honest with me. It’s important to me,’ she said.

  ‘Okay, fire away.’

  She took a deep breath and placed a hand over the base of her stomach.

  ‘Did you...’ She didn’t even know how to ask the question. ‘Did you take Sandra Reeds life?’

  ‘Do you really want to know the answer to that question?’

  Amelia welled up, he didn’t need to say more. She nodded and for a moment looked away from him, then back at him as the tears trailed down her face. She took his face in the palm of her hand and brought him closer towards her.

  ‘You know that I love you.’ She sniffed. ‘And I always will, but I can’t marry you.’

  He withdrew a little.

  ‘I can’t marry someone who murdered another human being and will not pay his debt to those he hurt.’ The words that formed were so hard to say, but her heart wouldn’t let her accept it. ‘I want to marry you,’ she continued. ‘But that will only happen if you hand yourself in.’ She dropped her hand and wiped away the tears.

  ‘But you need me here with you, our son needs me.’

  She looked back at him.

  ‘Your son needs a father who will take responsibility for the things, he’s done,’ she said.

  ‘So you’d rather have a husband in prison, than one who’s not?’

  ‘No, I would rather have a husband who, even though, doesn’t feel the guilt of his actions, but understands them, be the man I love and admire and give himself up. I know what you feel with me is real, you find that warm connection, even if it’s for a little bit. But if I can’t be that light, the light that shines to show you that, when a wrong has been done it needs to be owned. Then I’m doing us both a disservice.’ It was the hardest thing she’d ever had to say to him.

  He stood up from the bed, looked at her a moment, nodded then walked away. Not a word departed from his lips. She sat back into the bed and burst into tears.

  ****

  ‘Hey, honey, look whose here to see you.’ Her mother walked in with the baby. ‘The nurse was about to bring him in, I just had to do it.’

  Amelia quickly wiped her tears to try and hide her sadness from her mother.

  ‘Baby, what’s wrong?’

  Amelia held out her hands to take the baby. She took the soft bundle into her arms and shut her eyes a moment. She said a little prayer, asking God to make sure her son was nothing like Justin.

  ‘Talk to me honey.’

  ‘It’s just my love life. I really got myself into one horrible mess.’

  Her mother sat down on the side of the bed and placed her hand on her leg gently.

  ‘You have a healthy baby, you’re alive and holding your precious little boy. You’re smart and I know whatever it is, you’ll handle it. You’ve made me so proud.’

  The tears started up again.

  ‘Give thanks, sweetheart, for the things that you do have and let God take care of the things we have no control over.’

  ‘Oh Mum, you’ve always been so confident, so amazing. You and Dad have been the solid foundation I need. You’ve not once judged me or questioned me. You are the kind of mother I want to be like, to my son, no matter who he turns out to be.’

  They sat in peaceful silence. Even though things felt turbulent in her life, the words her mother had spoken had been the comfort she needed. Whatever happened, she just knew that things would be okay.

  Chapter Seven

  When the new family got ho
me, Amelia was pleased to have Rebecca. She wasn’t sure how she would survived without her. It gave her time to rest and recuperate. It was odd having Justin in the home, but it was his home after all. Her own home had been rented out and she didn’t want to move into her parent’s house. She’d set up home in the house in Harrogate, it was as much her home as it was his.

  They worked well, respecting each other’s space and lives. The first time Justin had held his child, there was a slight expression on his face. Amelia caught it, it was subtle, but she noticed it. But he didn’t keep Gabriel in his arms for too long, and he always had something to do.

  The majority of times, Justin had to go away on business, that left no time for them. Amelia wasn’t sure how she felt about the whole setup. Justin had asked again, for her hand in marriage, but she repeated the same thing as she did before. If he wasn’t willing to accept responsibility for his actions, she wouldn’t be able to commit to a man who did that.

  A month after Amelia had had Gabriel, and they’d fallen into a perfect routine, she walked into the kitchen one morning, with a surprise waiting for her.

  ‘Morning honey,’ he said as if reading from a script.

  ‘Morning,’ she replied.

  The way she felt for Justin was strange, she was trapped between two worlds. Her heart was cut in half, the one half wanted to pick up her baby and walk away from him for good, and the other half wanted to give her all to him and the baby. She wanted them to be all okay, she believed in family. She was aware that her family would never be like the one she was raised in, but she wanted to do the best she could, for the family she had been given.

  There was fresh fruit salad, orange juice and some yogurt.

  ‘Today is the day you start back on your healthy living,’ he said.

  She froze, memories of the past came flooding back. She gazed at him, there was no emotion in his face.

  ‘Tami, could you come in here please.’ He called.

  A woman in sports gear walked into the kitchen from the conservatory. Amelia didn’t like the look of it one bit. Was he going to regress back to the man he was, only this time, there was a child to consider. She was certain that if he did, she’d probably never see Gabriel again.

  ‘Tami, this is Amelia, my partner. She refuses to become my wife,’ he said.