Page 88 of The Arrogant's Redemption

"If you want a second chance with her—and from the look of you, I’d say you do—you don’t need to convince me, LJ. You need to find a way to win Alexis’s trust again."

Alexis

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

"I talked to him,"my mom says from the doorway just as I’m getting up from the bed.

"LJ already left?"

"Yes. He just left. He looks like a broken man, Alexis."

"Just like I was."

"His sister lied on Instagram too when you said you needed to talk to Lazarus."

"How do you know?"

"I talked to him. He told me he hasn’t been with any woman since he met you. I believe him."

"He could have looked for me."

"Yes. And you could have gone to the hospital. Both of you made mistakes, my daughter. Not just him."

"I’ll never be able to trust LJ, and—” I start to say, but she gently places two fingers on my lips.

"'Never'is a long time, Alexis. Take it one day at a time. The most important thing you both have is the love you share for the son you made together. And there’s no doubt in my mind that he fell in love with Sedric the moment he saw him."

I can’t deny that—so I don’t even try. "He wants to register Sedric."

"I figured he would ask for that."

"He didn’t ask. Hestatedit."

"Cut him some slack, Alexis. Put yourself in his shoes, even if you think he was wrong, and ask yourself how you’d feel. From the little I’ve seen of him, it’s clear LJ is controlling. All he wants right now is to keep his son close."

"I’m not a bad person, Mom. I won’t stop him. As for the two of us, I?—”

"Again, don’t rush into promises of hatred, my daughter. I didn’t bring this up before because you didn’t seem ready to hear it, but I know you’ve never gotten over what you feel for him—and unless I’m completely wrong, it’s mutual. Follow your heart."

"My heart is weak. Literally and figuratively, Mom."

"All hearts are when it comes to love, Alexis. That’s what makes it so terrifying and so special."

Lazarus

Later that night

”So you’re telling us you’re the father of a twelve-month-old boy?"

"About that."

"Fuck—and here I thought my life with Taylor before we got married was crazy," William says.

"What do you plan to do about it?"

I take a sip of whiskey before answering. Back when the three of us were single, we used to meet outside of work at least once a week to catch up at a bar. Now, with both of them having families, those meetups have become increasingly rare.

I hadn’t intended to call them tonight. After leaving the penthouse, I headed straight for the hospital. There’s no chance I’m going back to my house in Massachusetts while Alexis and my son are still in New York. And I knew if I went to the apartment I still keep here on the island, I wouldn’t be able to sleep. So I did the only thing I could: I came to work.

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