chapter 30

The next morning, I woke up early. I drag myself to the bathroom and take a shower. I put on shorts and a blouse, then leave my hair cascading down my shoulders. I put on my slippers and walk down the stairs to the kitchen. Tay, Andrew, and Future are sitting on the bar stools.

"Morning," I greeted.

"This is a surprise," Future says and shoves a slice of pizza into her mouth. Tay and Andrew are holding bowls of porridge inside.

"Oh! Shut up," I tell Future, sit next to her on the barstool, and grab a slice too.

"I told you she would choose pizza!" Future squeals.

"Pay up."

"Wait, you guys made a bet on me?" I ask.

"Yep, Andrew said there's no way you would eat pizza so early in the morning, but Tay and I said you would." Future confesses and I snap my head towards Tay, but he concentrates on his bowl. Andrew takes out his wallet and hands both Tay and Future two hundred rands.

"Morning," Nate says and puts his hand in the box to take a slice, but I swat his hand away.

"Whoa! Someone is in a prissy mood today," Nate says, and I glare at him. He attempts to take a slice again.

"I swear to God if you take a slice, I will chop your balls off," I snap, and all eyes move to me.

"Okay, is it that time of the month?" Nate asks and sits on the barstool across from mine.

"What time?" I ask.

"You know, the bleeding time," Nate says and Tay smacks the back of his head.

"What? It's too early for her to be so moody. She must be PMSing, it's the only explanation I can think of." Nate says.

"Some of us are trying to eat here," Future says and Nate puts his hands in the air, and the rest of the breakfast goes by pretty quickly.

I make my way to our room and my phone rings when I enter. I look at it and find a message from Chad.

Check your emails, I sent you a link to the book you have to read. The text read.

I put the phone down and grab my laptop. I check my emails and like he said, there's a link. I click on it and get comfortable on the bed. I spent the next four to six hours reading that I didn't realise it was dark outside. Thank God! The book only had thirty chapters, so I made my way to the bathroom. My muscles are stiff, and I could do with a hot shower right now. Pain shots in my abdomen, but I ignore it. Must be from not moving for hours. I strip out of my clothes and notice a stain of blood on my panties.

This can't be happening. I hate periods. I guess Nate was right when he said I must be PMSing. Every month I get cramps on my periods, it's the worst feeling ever. The warm water cascaded down my body and minutes later I dry myself. I take a pad and quickly put it on. I put on an oversize t-shirt and shorts. The pain shots again in my abdomen, and I grip on the door frame.

I stay there for a while with my hand on my abdomen and the other on the door frame. I'm afraid if I attempt to walk, they will become worse. The only way for them to be less painful is if I lie down. A knock is heard, and the door opens, revealing Tay.

"Jesus, are you okay?" Tay asks as he rushes to my side.

"What's wrong?" Tay asks.

"Cramps," I say.

"Um… okay, let me go get you something for the pain."

"No, please just take me to the bed, I just need to lie down a bit, and they will be gone by the time I wake up," I tell Tay, he hesitates for a minute, but lead me to the bed. He tucks me in and my eyes close to sleep after a few minutes.

The next week passed by as a blur. My four days of bleeding went by pretty quickly. Tay stayed with me the first night and I woke up with a stain of blood on the sheets. Imagine the embarrassment. He carried me to the bathroom and by the time I finished my bath, the bed sheets were clean. I got to explore the house more, there's a small office full of Tay's stuff from Payne Corporations. Future moved in and I helped her settle in. Friday was black Friday. Nate came back with thousands of different shopping bags. Last night he got an email that he got the scholarship, which means we won't be seeing him much. Tay kept his distance. Now I'm standing by the bay window with a cup of coffee.

"Hey," a voice says, startling me. I turn to find Tay holding a small brown envelope.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Tay says and walks towards me.

"It's okay," I say. He grabs the mug from me and hands me the envelope.

"What is this?" I ask.

"The paternity results," Tay says.

"Um… haven't you opened them?" I ask as I look at how sealed the envelope is.

"No, I wanted you to open them." I take a deep breath and open the envelope. I take the letter out and my eyes scan the paper, and my breath hitches in my throat at the results.

"So, what does it say?" Tay asks. I take a deep breath and look at him.

"It says that you are...you are not the father," I tell Tay. After processing everything I said, a smile dances on his lips.

"I'm not the father," Tay says more to himself.

"Yeah." I am quite happy about the results. Ria was the last person I wanted to deal with.

"So, am I forgiven?" Tay asks, and gets closer to me. He pulls me towards him and our chest touches, his hands on my waist and mine on his chest.

"Don't push it," I say and get out of his grip.

"I found something about that love triangle," Tay tells me.

"What?" I ask. He opens his palm for me to place my hand. I look at it for a second, then take it. We walk out and make our way to his office.

He hasn't cleaned it; there are boxes and files on the floor and his desk. I sit on the desk chair and Tay searches for something on the desk. Seconds later, he hands me a file. I take it and Tay leans on the desk with his butt and crosses his arms over his chest.

I open the file and find a picture of a woman with brown to blonde hair at the corner. "Is this Andrew's mother?" I ask.

"Yea,"

I stared at it for a while. She was beautiful. I placed it beside Tay and read the report.

Andrew's mother's name was Faith, and she was working for Christopher as his PA. Christopher was older than her, a typical Payne man. I hope what happened with Christopher doesn't happen to Nate or me. They had an office romance, and Chris wanted to divorce Carmen and marry her. She got pregnant with Andrew and after a few months of birth, she died of a heart attack. I skip the part about her teenage life, education, and parents.

"Didn't they do an autopsy?" I ask Tay and place the file on the desk.

"I guess they didn't or my father paid the doctor or the poison my mother used was untraceable," Tay says.

"Is this what you got?" I ask.

"Yeah, it's difficult to get information since it happened years ago. But I called in some favors. It will take some time to gather all the information, but they promised, they will dig around," Tay says, and pinch the bridge of his nose.

"What about David?" I ask.

"He won't give me any information; I only saw the video of Carmen injecting Faith." This is the first time Tay called his mother by her name.

"Even if I asked to see more, he won't show me," Tay says, and I sigh.

"Will you ever visit your mother?" I ask.

"I think I'm sleepy, let's go to bed," Tay pretends as if he didn't hear my question.

"Tay," I warn and he sighs.

"I don't know. I don't know if I will ever look at her like I used to or without getting angry," Tay confesses.

"I know what she did was horrible, but she is still your mother. She raised you; look at how you turned out. She is on her deathbed, she is paying for her sins now-don't turn your back on her," I tell Tay. I honestly have no right to judge her; I think she is a great mom despite what she did.

"What about you," Tay asks, and I frown.

"What about me?" I ask.

"Will you ever make up with your mother?" Tay asks.

"This is about you, not me, and besides, yours was involved in your childhood life until now. Mine didn't even acknowledge my presence. She only noticed me when she wanted something. Yours came to your soccer games, I'm sure, read your bedtime stories, but mine was not like that. She shipped me to a boarding school." I said, without crying. If I had a choice when I was born, I would have chosen different parents.

"I don't know. Maybe I will visit her one last time," Tay says.

"Come on, it's late," Tay says, and we walk to our room. I put on my pajamas and pull my hair into a messy bun. I get under the covers and seconds later, Tay joins me and pulls me closer to him. Minutes later, my eyes burn to sleep.

"Tay?" a voice shouts. I groan and poke Tay to wake up.

"Tay," they shout again, and I recognize the voice as Andrews.

"Go away," Tay shouts back.

"Come on man, wake up" Andrew shouts and I grab a pillow and smash it on my head groaning.

"Do you know what time it is?" Tay asks and wakes up.

"I know, but I'm desperate here," Andrew says. The door opens, and I have no choice but to wake up.

"What happened now?" Tay asks as he makes his way back to the bed.

"Future has cravings," Andrew says, and I resist the edge to beat the crap out of him.

"You woke us up in the middle of the night because Future has cravings?" Tay asks and shoots a death glare at his brother.

"Well yeah, the thing is she is craving chicken feet and you are the only one who can cook here," Andrew tells us.

"Last time I checked; I didn't associate myself with polygamy. I only have one wife, so go order chicken feet online and let me sleep," Tay says and gets under the sheets.

"She wants home-cooked chicken feet," Andrew says, and Tay groans.

"You will not leave me alone, will you?" Tay asks, and Andrew nods.

"Argh, fine. Let me freshen up, and I will be down in a sec," Tay tells Andrew.

Andrew walks out and Tay makes his way to the bathroom. My stomach groans. I might as well join the party. Minutes later, Tay walks out, all fresh in his sweatpants and a white t-shirt. One thing I have noticed is that Tay has only worn white long sleeve t-shirts so far.

"You coming?" Tay asks, and I nod. He walks out, and I make my way to the bathroom. After washing my face and brushing my teeth, I walk out wearing shorts, and a blouse. I slip into my slippers and grab my phone.

I check the time as I make my way to the kitchen.

It's 4 am. I walk into the kitchen to find Andrew and Future sitting on the bar stools watching Tay cook.

"Morning." I greet and grab an apple from the wire basket on the kitchen counter.

"Hey," Andrew and Future say in unison.

Two hours later, Tay is done. He made chicken feet for Future and pancakes for the rest of us for breakfast.

"Hmm… this is good," Future says as she eats her chicken feet.

"Ewe, that's gross," Nate says as he sees Future eating chicken feet like a crazy woman.

"Rule number one, little brother, don't piss off a pregnant woman if you don't want to end up in a hospital bed," Andrew tells Nate. We eat our breakfast talking, laughing, and by the time we finish, it's about eight in the morning.

"Go change or whatever you guys do. I made plans for us today," Tay whispers into my ear.

"What plans?" I ask and gulp down the rest of the juice.

"You will see," Tay says.

"Some dude is looking for you," Nate says, looking at Tay.

We make our way to the front door.

"Tay Payne?" a guy with curly hair asks.

"Yes," Tay answered.

"Your delivery sir," He hands Tay car keys.

"Please sign here," Tay signs, and hands back the clipboard.

"Enjoy the car," the guy says and walks out.

"Car?" we all ask in unison.

"I guess I forgot to mention that I bought a car few days ago," Tay says, and we all walk out to find a black Audi 10 next to Andrew's car.

"Whoa!" Nate says.

After examining the car, I make my way to our room and take a shower instead of changing. I dress up in grey jeans and a light pink blouse with a denim jacket. I put on my sneakers and pulled my hair into a ponytail. I walk out and make my way to the living room.

Tay changed into jeans, a white t-shirt, and a black jacket.

"Ready?" Tay asks and I nod.

We walk out, and I get into the passenger seat and Tay into the driver's seat.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"It's a surprise," Tay says, his eyes glued to the road.

"I hate surprises," I inform Tay.

"You will love this one," Tay says, and the rest of the ride goes by quickly.

Tay parks his car, and we climb out. The place is packed with different air crafts, planes, you name it.

"What are we doing here?" I ask.

"You will see," Tay says, and takes my hand. He leads us to some small warehouse, I think.

"Tay Payne in the flesh," a guy says, and they do a bro hug.

"I want you to meet my wife, Olivia. Olivia, this is Hunter." Tay introduces us.

"Nice to meet you." we do a handshake.

"Is everything ready?" Tay asks.

"Yes, boss, follow me." we follow Hunter to a room. I watch as Tay puts something like bulletproof over his head with some things on it.

"What is that for?" I ask.

"So, you don't know what you are here for?" Hunter asks, amused.

"No," I told him.

"Man, this is going to be fun!"

"Okay, look out the window," Hunter says, and I do as he says, but I see nothing.

"Be patient," Hunter says and seconds later, I spot someone falling from the sky, and he pulls something before he can hit the ground and a parachute appears.

"Oh, hell no!" I say, and Hunter laughs.

"There's no way in hell I'm skydiving, not going to happen," I say and make my way to the door.

"Come on, it will be fun. I promise." Tay promises, but no way. I ear heights; imagine falling down a moving plane.

"Do I look suicidal to you?" I ask; causing Hunter to burst into fits of laughter.

"Come on, love?" Tay begs.

"No,"

"Okay guys, we are 2000 feet in the air. Are you guys ready?" Hunter yells.

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Which one is it?"

"Ignore her," Tay tells Hunter.

"Oh my god! I'm going to die," I say as the back door of the plane opens. Yep, you heard right.

Tay convinced me into dying today; I don't even know why I ended up agreeing.

Oh, because I can't say no to food. He bribed me.

"Relax, will you? It will be fun." Tay says and takes my hand.

"You remember what I told you, right?" Tay asks, and I nod.

"Okay, one, two, three," Tay says, and we run to the large door.

"I'm going to die," I say as I jump. I scream my lungs out and minutes later, I find my rhythm. The cool cold air breezing feels amazing. I spread my arms and legs and let out a laugh. After what felt like forever of falling, I pulled the clip on the side and a parachute appeared and I landed on the green grass without hurting myself. The workers help me out and Tay walks in my direction.

"So, how was that?" Tay asks.

"Amazing, thanks for bringing me here," I told him.

"Anything for you." and with that, we grab our jackets and Tay drives us home.