Page 68 of The Arrogant's Redemption

"You stayed at my house in Cape Cod for two weekends in a row. Did you meet someone there?"

I nod. "But it doesn’t matter anymore. She’s too good for me."

"Don’t let Jodie keep destroying you from beyond the grave, cousin. I’ll never be able to tell you how much I blame myself for not being able to save your son either, but it wasn’t your fault. I got in that car with her to stop her from killing herself. I never imagined she’d drive it straight into a truck."

"That’s what happened?"

"Yeah. She made a decision, LJ. And nothing was going to change her mind."

Alexis

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

"Mamamama . . .”Sedric starts babbling, stretching his little arms toward me as soon as I step out of my studio.

My mother smiles from ear to ear, proud of her grandson.

"Yes, that’s me. Your super mommy!" I joke, smiling. But when I try to raise my arms like Superman, I feel a sharp pain in my chest, and a grimace crosses my face before I can stop it.

Immediately, my mother’s expression changes to one of pure anguish. She picks up my son and brings him closer so I can kiss him.

My eyes fill with tears as he throws himself into my arms, but I can’t hold him.

The nanny approaches, and my mother hands him over.

"I just got here," I say, sounding as unhappy as I feel. "I want to spend a little more time with Sedric."

"In a little while, honey. Right now, we need to talk."

The nanny discreetly exits, leaving us alone. Just four months after I started taking my YouTube show seriously, my channel exploded, reaching over a million subscribers in a short time—something most of my competitors would take over a yearto achieve. With that, the number of sponsors increased, and I couldn’t believe it when, about six months ago, I added up what I’d earned over the past year and realized it was around three hundred thousand dollars.

I bought the house where I now live with my son. I’m paying in installments, and thank God, he’s never lacked anything.

My mom, although she hasn’t made her relationship with Badger official before a judge—preferring to wait until the charges were dropped last week—has been living with him. Even though we now have separate homes, they’re close by, and my mother is here every day, which makes my son absolutely adore her.

"Mom . . .” I begin, guessing what she wants to talk about.

"You’ve been putting this off for weeks, Alexis. I’m not going to wait until you're rushed to the hospital to have to make decisions on your behalf. You’re better than that, sweetheart. You’re a strong woman, a wonderful mother and daughter, not a coward."

"I’m full of resentment. So much that I feel like I’m suffocating. And you’re wrong. I am a coward, too."

"You’re not. I understand the hurt—any woman in your place would feel the same—but you have to consider what’s most important: the anger you feel toward your son’s father or the chance to raise him?"

"The chance to watch my son grow will always be what matters most to me."

After struggling with shortness of breath and chest pain, I finally went to a doctor. I had no idea what it could be, but I knew my body had been warning me for a while that something wasn’t right. With so many worries—especially with my mother’s arrest—I ignored it.

Then, a couple of months after she was released to await trial, I found out I was pregnant.

At first, I nearly lost it. My mom raised me from the age of eight and I thank God every day for that blessing, but I always dreamed that, if I ever got married, my child would have a home with both parents. So discovering I had conceived a baby with that miserable traitor left me desperate.

Still, despite the hurt and pain, I tried to do the right thing and tell him the truth. I hate LJ, but I would never deny my child the right to know his father.

I found out where he worked—actually, the hospital he owns—and called there several times. I never got any information. I tried reaching out to his family on social media, but apparently, people like him and his relatives don’t use anything as trivial as regular people do.

I was about to give up when I finally found his sister—the same one who spoke to me on the phone. It could only have been her, because in an old Instagram photo, she’s hugging LJ and another guy who looks about her age, and the caption says:Good genes. Me and my gorgeous brothers.

I messaged her on Instagram, even though I felt embarrassed. As humiliated as I felt, I told her I needed to speak to her brother, that it was urgent.

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