Finally we reached chapter no. 100 baby! 🎊
Longest chapter everrr...
Hardin's POV:
This is new.
He would never FaceTime me, it must something special occasion that he wants to let me see that he has something. Or maybe someone else who wants to see me.
Someone who has long blonde hair, pouty pink lips, big and bright blue-grey eyes, handful sizes of tits, wide hips, round and perfect ass, long yet thick thighs, basically whole body has curves like crazy and at last a heart, a pure heart filled with kindness and care.
In short her. Theresa.
So without further a do, I swipe my thumb and pick the call, but they isn't her, or any glimpse of her, not even a little bit. It's only Landon, only my lovely step brother's face across my damn screen. Disappointment.
"Why are you FaceTiming me?" I huff in frustration. I don't want to see his stupid ass face because it's remind me Tessa. A male version of Tessa but more annoying and intolerable.
"Hello to you too." My annoying step brother rolls his stupid eyes at me.
"Get to the point. I've important shit to do, so spill." I growl at him.
I really have important shits to do like, imagining her here with me in this room that she once stayed in Seattle for few weeks in Vance's mansion. And all those memories and moments of her and I, me and her, we both spent together here, I want to souvenir every single thing we did in here.
"There is a wedding you've to attend." He blurts and I swear to fucking God I feel the floor just slips away from my fucking feets in a blink. Because of the way he said, 'a wedding you've to attend', it's sounds like someone's else wedding. Like hers.
"What? Whose?" Widening my eyes I demand him. Don't tell me it's her's wedding. The image of her and that doctor douche boy from my nightmare plays into my mind. Her white wedding dress and his tux pulling away from their bodies to fuck right in front of me floods into my mind. "Tell me!" I demand again the person at the other end.
"Mine. Whose else?" He says calming my beating fast heart down to the normal. Fuck he scared me for a second by his stupid choice of words. Dickhead.
That one merely second was enough for me to cry down on my knees and also to beat me the fuck out in sorrow. That one second was like an hour to me to felt the grief emotions, the sadness and the pain and the lost. I thought I lost her, completely this time and that she forget about me so she is just moving on. Really moving on by marrying some shit fucker.
But no, I still have it. I still have her, though she's dating that shit sniffer doctor but eventually she will get bored of him and at the end she will choose me. Choose us.
"Are you okay?" Landon says breaking my stance of the mini breakdown I just had.
"Yeah, I am." Shaking my head I tell him. "Are you sure you want to marry that difficult and annoying ass woman?" I tease him to lighten up my mood and also to recover from my desperate-dreadful nightmare's image of her and that doctor douche.
"Hey!" I hear an unbearable high pitched voice and suddenly his fiancee face comes across my phone screen.
Shit, she was right there, who else would be there too? Tess?.
"I'm right here, asshole." Nadia howls at me.
"So?" I shrug like her scolding is nothing, it's a particle of shit to me. "Are you sure you wanna marry this bastard?" I question her by raising my brow. I'm not asking this for her sake, I'm thinking about my step brother's life here more.
"Very." She proclaims by sitting on his lap? It looks like that the way she is taller than him and very close to his body, literally touching, by wrapping her one arm around his neck and presses her painted lips on his fiance's lips.
Ah, love fucking birds.
Let me vomit at this sight. They're only making me sick into my guts by showing this kissing shit, and it making me jealous and angry that I don't have someone to do that. I want my girl to claim me the way they're doing. I'm hers and only hers to claim, this beating heart inside me is only for Theresa young to claim.
Pushing that dream to the side I come back to this exasperating engaged couple right in front of me. "So you are inviting me to that... fucking thing?" I mummer and his fiancee scoff at my tone. "When is that?" My voice is sounding so uninterested right now but I don't care because it's not my wedding.
"The date that we decided is only twenty days later from now." He tells as his fiancee is keep staring at his lips with so much lust into her eyes. Horny bitch. Sorry, horny woman. I correct myself.
My bad, I shouldn't have think that. She is my brother's sister and also Tessa's bestfriend so I should respect her, a little though. Though she did call me asshole first, so we're even now.
"Fuck. That's soon." I curse. It's very soon. Why is it too soon? Maybe Landon baked his bun inside her oven...? Hmm. Interesting theory, innit?
"Yeah, it is. Are you free that day?" He asks.
"I think so." I try to remember what shits I've that day to do, but nothing is coming up inside my mind. I've to ask my pain-in-the-ass manager and clear up things if I've that week. I've to live in New York at least for a week, not for Landon of course, but for someone very special to me. How could I not stay there when I know she'd there too?
"You should be because Landon want you here," his demanding fiancee spits.
"Why?" I ask him and she gives a little head shake to him to speak.
"I really want you to be my best man, Hardin." Landon revels.
"What?" I say again even though I heard what he told me to be. His best man? I've never thought in my life I'd be anyone's groomsmen let even best man, of him in addition. It fucking shocks me very much.
"Didn't you hear?" His fiancee furrows her brows in vexed.
"I did."
"Then say something." He says, politely to me not like his bitchy woman.
"Thank you I guess." I muster with a shrug.
I don't know what else to say other than that, I'm just...grateful that he chose me to be by his side as he marries his chick. And I'm also happy that he thinks I am that important to him in his life that he asked me to be his best man, really I am happy.
"Well that's good to hear." He chuckles and his girl rolls his eyes. "How are you?"
I hate this small talks so fucking much, it's awkward as shit and made want to rip my ears out.
"Exhausted as fuck in this stupid place it can be." I tell them and they nod.
Suddenly I hear something. A voice. It's very soft and it's coming from their side like someone is talking to them.
"Where are you? Tessa is asking?"
"Landon!" Her voice booms from the other side of my phone.
Holy fuck. She was there the whole fucking time, how the hell I didn't know? I haven't heard her voice for so long, too fucking long since I had the last conversation with her ten months ago on the phone, telling me to leave New York. But now as I heard it after waiting for that long I could finally breathe.
I know it's so cheesy fucking line to say but really man I could finally breathe again, like I've been suffocated for ten months but now I'm not. I am free and her voice is like oxygen to me which I want to inhale and keep myself, my body alive only for her.
Her voice was loud, very loud but to my ears they're the most soothing voice I've ever heard and I want hear that voice like a song for again and again and again on repeat until I'd be deaf to my ears.
I'm just that addicted to her sweet and soft voice. I'm addicted to her in general what can I say.
"Where are you?" A high pitch voice pierces into my sensitive eardrums. Fuck, his woman. Can't she just shut up and make herself busy with her fiance? I don't want to hear this woman, I want to hear my woman's soft like cotton voice.
"I'm in Seattle." I say to Tess if she could hear me, though I can't see her because she is maybe purposely standing behind Landon's phone so I can't look her.
"What are you doing there? Tessa is asking that too."
"Landon shut up!" She shouts again to her bestfriend who's smiling from ear to ear at her.
"Can she ask me that directly, like face to face?" As a polite bastard I am, I request them in my cool voice.
"Let me."
"Nora!" There she scolds at her other bestfriend.
To my surprise the bitchy fiancee turns around Landon's whole phone so that his front camera if facing to the girl I always want to see the most. But she quickly brings her both hands up and covers her face before I could get any glimpses of her face. Such a child she is.
Why she's hiding from me though? It's just me. Even if she'd say she look like a dead rat right now I'll still look at her even so because she would be definitely look like a beautiful dead rat. Her face is one of the parts of her body that she shouldn't be hiding, not from me at least.
I bring my phone's screen close to my face so I could watch her, she looks so fucking cute with her small hands trying to cover her whole face. And her hair, I always loved the way she pulls her long blonde hair into a messy nest on top of her head with few strands peeking out from it. Her shirt choice is hideous as hell but it looks good on her so that's okay. Looking down I see she's wearing a shorts, a simple grey shorts. Her whole outfit is so comfy and cosy and she looks so breathtaking, fucking really.
I can watch her like this for hours even days and months and I won't get bored by it, not even a fucking bit. I'd never get bored by her because she's just that beautiful to look at and she's also entertaining and fun without even doing anything.
"Nora! Turn it around." Her sweet commands to her friend, still her hands are covering her face.
No. Please let me look at her for at least a minute. I know she's peeking out from in between the space her small fingers has, I know that without a doubt. Just let me take a little glimpse of you, baby. Please Tess, just a little bit. I want to request her.
But before I could muster something, the photo turns back around and camera faces toward the engaged lovebirds again. "Answer her. Why are you there?"
"Well I'm here because of my activism events," I say. "Tell this to your bestfriend, would you?" I speak loudly so that she can hear the tease in my voice.
"I think she heard that." Her bestfriend let me know and for some reason I'm feeling that Tessa is probably glaring at her friend from behind the phone. A murderous glare.
"Good." I say under my breathe.
"Well we've our other wedding planning shits to do, so bye." Landon's chick tells and hang up on my ass without letting me say goodbye my blonde chick.
Annoying jerk.
•••
Tessa's POV:
"You aren't upset, are you?" Landon asks after Nora hangs up on him.
"No, absolutely not." I shake my head. "He's your brother, and I get your personal reasons." Smiling I tell him. I was just shocked hearing his voice after so long, too long it just caught me off guard by the surprise. And when Nora turned the phone to let him see me, my nerves were get suddenly out of control and that's why I covered my face.
Such a stupid and childish thing to do. Arg!
I shouldn't be hiding my face, not from him at least. He's the person who would compliment me even if I look like hell or a dead rat. He'd call me beautiful every time he'd look at me and that makes me the happiest bitch ever.
"Nice to hear." Landon smiles. "Well now the groomsmen would be Robert and Ken, what do you think?" He suggests me.
"Perfect." It's his call to make whom he wants to be by his side, who could help him and also be sensible towards him, so yeah he chose the right peoples to be his groomsmen.
But I'm doubting about the best man here, he is not sensible or that he'd help Landon in any way. He might create problems into their wedding but I'll make sure that won't happen.
I need to get a firm leash on him in my hand so he won't ruin anything at that day.
"Okay, so now it's my turn to select my bridesmaids." Nora breaks my stance of thinking about the best man and brings me back to the reality. "That would be Kelsey and Posey." She announces.
I thought I'd her one of the bridesmaids but I can't, I guess because of the wedding planning I can't be both. Right?
"And her sister, Lila would the flower girl." She adds.
"And I was thinking that the ring bearer should be Smith." Landon says.
Smith would be great for that.
"Who's that?" Nora asks. Of course doesn't know about the brainiac child.
"He's Ken's close friend's son." He explains.
"Okay, so at last my...maid of honor. Who could that be?" Nora asks to us and I know who should that be.
"Your sister." So I suggest.
"Not that bitchy woman." She shakes her head furiously.
Then who?
"It should be..." She pulls herself up from Landon's lap and walks over to at the centre of the living room. And stands right in front of me. "You." My eyes look down between us when she takes my hands from my sides in hers, lifting them up a little she hangs them in between the space our body has. "I want you to be my maid of honor, Tessa." She squeezes my palms, gently.
I stare up at her glossy greenish-brown eyes as I hear the words coming out from her mouth.
"Your support and friendship in this past two years means so much to me, Tessa. And the way you helped me get through my bad times even though you were going through your worst time, it truly showed me what a good-best person you are." She tells and I start to tear up from her little speech. "So will you be my maid of honor?"
"Oh my god." An uncontrollable tear fell down from my eyes to my cheeks by hearing her kind words. I take away my hands from hers and wrap them around her neck to give her a tight hug.
"So...will you?" She coos into my hair as I keep my arms around her.
"I...I...Yes, of course." I pull away from the embrace and tell her. "Thank you." Saying, I look through my watery eyes at her.
"Stop fucking crying." She lifts her hands up and wipes off the moisture from my skin with her thumbs. "Let's select your attire and accessories. Come on." She brings her hands down on my elbows and pulls me into my room.
"Yes, sure." Nodding I sniffle and wipe off the remaining moisture under my nose with my fingers.
Thank lord for giving me her as my bestfriend.
•••
Hardin's POV:
Excited.
I'm very fucking excited. Finally I'm going to New York City to get my girl. I'm going convince her again with all of my fucking efforts and then sweep her off right under the nose of that douche doctor.
I'm coming baby and I'll fucking get you this time. I promise.
Pushing my partly wet hair from my face from the shower I just had, I pull out my laptop from my bag and sit down on the bed to go through my emails, as usual.
After checking all of my mails in my inbox, I start to write my ongoing chapters in my fourth book in the very known series of mine. As I was so into writing down the story I didn't notice someone get inside the room until their voice shocks me the fuck out.
"You finally came." A small voice startles me.
"Holy fuck." I gape under my breathe. This kid literally gave a mini heartattack. "Don't you know how to knock?" I ask him.
"Sorry," the little human says.
Well he is no more little in size. He's as fucking tall as me. I'm exaggerating I know I am. Though he's only eight years old but he got his height as giant like mine when I was at his age.
Ignoring him I get back to my writing the story, hoping that he'd go away but he didn't. Few minutes pass away and he's still standing at the corner of the bed while I'm sitting on the bed resting my back behind the headboard with my laptop on my stretched out legs.
At the corner of my eyes I see the kid moves from the statue position he had and walks over to me. Don't you fucking come near me!
As I thought that in my mind he stops in his tracks maintaining a good about of space. Good.
When I glace up from my laptop's screen to at him, I see his big greenish-blue eyes keep staring at my face for over a minute now. Is he wants to play with me that's why he's gawking at me? I know I'm here only for this kid's sake but his staring at me is creeping the fuck out.
"What?" I finally ask looking up at him. "What are you looking at huh?"
"Your lips." He tells.
"What?" I spit. What the fuck he just said?
"You've a hole under your lips." He explains, pointing his small fingers at my face. Involuntarily my right hand lift upto my face and I trace my index finger onto the skin under my lips. I felt a small dent on the pad of my finger.
"Yeah. There was my lip ring pierced." I inform him, though he already knew that because he did see with my piercings on and he also asked me so many questions about them. Surprisingly I do remember that conversation I had with him about my tattoos and my rings too. "But now they aren't. I removed them."
"Why did you remove them?" There you fucking go with him asking me so many questions, he didn't change even a bit little with asking stupid shits questions to me.
"Because I felt like I should." I say the truth.
"Did your Tessa said to remove them?" He says. I like whenever he calls Tessa, my Tessa. It gives me a little hope that she still can be mine to made.
"No. She liked them." Telling him I look down at the screen of my laptop and start typing.
"Then you should wear it." He muster and my fingers stop on the keyboard.
Should I took his words and put them back? She did like them and she still do, she said by herself that she missed my rings, especially the lip one when she visited me in Chicago. I missed them too to be honest but putting the metals back will only brings the bad memories to me.
But Tessa likes it and as I'm going to New York next month where I'd see her so I should wear it. It will might make a good and a turned on impression on her. She'll be so turned on by them on my face that she'd might pull me by my collar and fuck me behind the goddamn church.
Yeah. Now I have to wear it.
"Thanks Smith." Smiling I tell him. Thanks my little brother for suggesting the brilliant idea to me to get my girl.
"For what?" The kid tilts his head in confusion.
"Just...thank you." I tell again and he gives a little nod and stay silent. Not for long though, he asks another question.
"What are you doing?" Looking into my laptop.
"Working on my book." Answering him I start to typing again.
"Do you've any book for me to read?" Does he even read anything other than school books and toy train instruction manual? Perhaps he do, his father is a owner of a publishing house, of course he'd let this kid read.
"Maybe." I mummer.
"Can I have it? I want to read." His sudden request stops my finger to keep typing and my eyes move to look up at him.
"Don't your dad has a library in this house?" I question. Other than the gym which is my favorite place in here, of course Vance has a big ass library in here and so many books in that which would take couple of years to finish all of them.
"He has."
"So why don't you take from there and read." I suggest.
"He only gives me children story books which are boring." The brainiac matured kid tells me which made me chuckle.
"So you want to read real books?" I raise a brow at him.
"Yes." He nods.
Putting aside my laptop on the mattress, I step out of the bed and go over to my bag. Pulling out the two books I had in my possession I hand them to him. "Here." And sitting down at the edge of the bed in front of him, I continue, "You can have them."
"Thanks." He gives me a wide smile which swells my heart.
He is kinda reminds me of me when I was like him and Vance used to brings books to me and I'd read them so quickly that I would wait for him to visit me again with another book in his hand.
"If you like them then I'll bring more for you when I'd visit you here." I add while his eyes scans through the two book cover.
"Why?"
"Because someone brought me books like this and it made me... happy when I was a little boy like you." I confess with a small smile remembering my some good memories from my dreadful childhood.
"Who was it?" Tilting his head he asks. "Was it our dad?" He blurts.
"Your dad. Yes." I correct him. "But don't tell him that I told you this." I request the little kid. I don't want that fucker to know that, the only one thing I liked about him or he'll start get clinging to me.
"Why?" Stop asking shit, just do what I'm saying.
"Just don't." I say calmly.
"Why don't you call him dad?"
Stop asking so many questions!
Oh my fucking lord! He will never stop, won't he?
"Because he isn't. Ken Scott is my dad." I explain.
"He's your fake dad. Your real dad is my dad." He spits.
"Vance is not my dad." I shake my head.
"Why do you call him Vance?" Another question here you go.
"Why don't you?"
"I dunno." He shrugs.
"Try it." I smirk at him, when I see Vance stepping inside the room and walking over in our directions.
"Hey boys, what are you doing?" He greets by placing his hand on his son's shoulder.
"Hardin gave me some books," the little kid shows the two books in his small hand to his father. "Because you aren't giving me any from your library, Vance."
Fuck! I didn't thought he would actually call his father 'Vance'.
"What did you call me?" The fucker gently pushes Smith's shoulder to look down at him.
"Vance." He repeats.
"Did Hardin told you to say it?" Fucker asks the kid.
"Yeah." He nods.
What the fuck? I didn't. I just suggested him.
Little fucker.
"Bastard." The big fucker curses at me and I just roll my eyes at him. "Smith, if you call me Vance again, you would be... grounded until you turned thirty." He threats the kid.
Poor kid.
"I don't want to be grounded for that long." The kid shakes her small head, furiously. "I'm sorry dad I won't call you that again." He apologizes by correcting himself.
"Good boy. And let me look at what books he gave you." Vance grabs the two books and lifting it, he reads the title. "What are these? Why did you gave him these books?" He gape by showing me my books.
"What's wrong with these books? They are good." I tell and look down at his hands which has the books.
The Great Gatsby.
Wuthering Heights. My favorite.
"He won't understand the hard language these books has." He clarifies. "Plus he's only eight, too young to read this shit." He puts the Wuthering Heights copy on the nightstand and let the kid keep the other book.
"No, he isn't." When I was at his age I was reading the toughest book and also I understood the words quite nicely. So it won't be hard for this brainiac kid, who's already smarter than his age.
"He is." Telling me he swats my head, bringing my long hair onto my face. Fucker.
I run my fingers into my almost dry hair to push the strands away from my face and keep them behind my ears.
"You should cut your hair. They're so long now." Fucker advices looking at my actions.
"Yes." Little fucker nods.
Tessa likes my longer hair so no fucking way I'm cutting my hair. Fuck off you both.
"Longer than Kim." Big fucker jokes and little fucker chuckles at that.
"Hey guys." Speaking of the devil, she appears into the room with her swollen belly, making the room so much crowded.
"Dad." The kid tugs his father's shirt to get his attention. "I also want the tattoos Hardin has in my arms too." He demands when I scratch my arm which has full sleeves, not even a little space to craved down another tattoo on my skin.
"No, you aren't getting any." Vance shakes his head dismissing the kid's wish.
The kid pouts and looks down at his feet by clenching the book against his chest. Sad kid. Tough life, what can I say.
"Don't worry Smith honey," big mouth interjects by looking sad Smith. "You'll get when you once get out of the house then your dad or anyone really can't stop you to get what you want." She make him understand.
And he smiles at that.
"Until then, let's have the dinner. Shall we?" She says and he nods before we all get out of the room to have our dinner.
__________________________________
I hope I wrote the Smith part correctly and did justice with his character and dialogues.
Because he's my all time favorite.(✿ ♡‿♡)
Do it! ⭐