Page 20 of The Accidental Wife

Shayla

“Are you okay?”I blink up at Cole, he cups my face cautiously in his big hands, his green eyes scanning over my face. I wasn’t okay, not one little bit. My cheek was throbbing, and my ear was ringing. I nod despite the rage brewing inside of me to punch the face-off of the snooty bitch for laying a finger on me.

“I’m fine,” I assure him, pulling my face away from his hold and hiss when he brushes his thumb over the cheek his mother just bitch slapped. “I’m okay, honestly. I’m fine.”

“Stay here.” He demands and storms off, leaving me standing there.

“Where are you going? Cole?” I call out after him, but he ignores me and disappears down the stairs. Oh, Christ. How did everything get so damn messed up? I head downstairs, and I can hear Cole’s angry voice echoing through the house.

“How dare you lay a finger on her!” He shouts. I follow his voice and stop just outside the living room. “She’s my wife, mother!”

“And I am your mother, Tristan. You didn’t hear what she said to me up there!” She argues back.

“Oh, I heard all right. I heard everything you said to her first. What the hell gives you the right to treat someone like that, especially the woman I love, mother.”

“I don’t trust her. I can spot a girl with an agenda from a mile away, and that girl is only after one thing, and that’s your money, Tristan. She doesn’t love you. She loves the idea of the life you can provide for her. Was I the only one that was listening at that table? She’s had a hard life—of course, she’s going to latch onto you. You didn’t even sign a prenup. She can you to the cleaners.” His mother claims.

“Oh my God, you’re unbelievable! You’re wrong. You don’t even fucking know her! And enough with the damn prenup! I couldn’t care less whether you trust her. I do, and that’s all that matters to me. How dare you stand there and judge her without even attempting to get to know her!” Cole exclaims firmly. I couldn’t take much more, so I decided to walk into the living room. His mother notices me first, and she rolls her eyes.

“Tristan, that is enough!” His father barks. “Remember you’re talking to your mother!” Cole was about to argue but stops when he hears my voice behind him.

“Mrs Hoult, I understand your reasons for not trusting me, I do. I’ve just been thrust into your lives out of the blue, and you’re entitled to your own opinion and judgment of me. I’m happy to sign whatever papers you need me to. It isn’t about money for me; it has never been. I promise you both I have no agenda.” I explain, and the look of surprise on both his parent's faces was all I needed to see.

I look over at Cole, and he shakes his head, “Sweetheart, you don’t have to sign a damn thing. I—”

“—I love your son,” I blurt out, cutting off whatever Cole was about to say. He stares at me, surprised, for a moment. Cole’s jaw clenches tight, and he takes two long strides toward me, and for a brief second, I thought he was going to kiss me. I released the breath I was holding when he wraps his arm around my waist and draws me against him. I look up at him, and he smiles warmly at me. “You’ve raised a wonderful man,” I tell both his parents. His father stood from his seat.

“That’s nice of you to say, Shayla. Understandably, we’re still both very shocked by all of this. As you can imagine, it’s every parent's dream to see their child get married and happy with a family of their own. If Tristan has chosen you to spend the rest of his life with, then we have no other choice but to trust his judgement. Are we happy about it? No, we are not, but as his parents, we must respect that he’s grown enough to make his own choices.” He explains. Cole and I nod silently. I avoided eye contact with his mother, glaring at me, and I fix my eyes on the marble floor. My cheek was still aching, I can feel a dull headache coming on.

Thankfully, Cole notices me shifting uneasily and makes up an excuse to leave. “Go to the car. I’ll be out in a second, sweetheart.” He says, handing me the keys to his Audi. I nod and walk out of the house. He probably wants to have a private talk with them. Once outside, I lean against the hood of the car and look up at the star-filled sky and exhale.

I can’t seem to catch a damn break. I’m exhausted. Is it ever going to get better for me, or am I just doomed to suffer for the rest of my life? Lost deep in thought, I didn’t even notice Cole was standing in front of me, watching me gaze up at the sky.

“Hey, you okay?” I jump, startled when I hear his voice and look at him. He’s smiling at me sheepishly. He’s holding an ice pack in his hand, and he moves closer to me. “You need to ice your cheek, or you’ll bruise.”

“I’m fine. There’s no nee—ow.” I hiss at the sudden jolt of pain when he presses the ice pack to my cheek. I close my eyes when it throbs unpleasantly.

“I’m so sorry, Shay.” He whispers, brushing my hair out of my face and tucking it behind my ear. I open my eyes and look up at him; he looks so sad that it made my insides ache.

“Don’t be. I deserved it. I shouldn’t have said what I did. I should have just kept quiet and let your Mum say her piece. She’s your mother, Cole. I’ve been raised not to disrespect my elders. I should have known better.” Cole shakes his head and frowns.

“No, Shayla, you didn’t deserve any of that. She was wrong, and she had no right to lay a finger on you.” He tells me sullenly, and I shrug, closing my eyes. “I feel responsible for getting you hurt, and I—”

“—Cole,” I place my hand over his, holding the icepack on my cheek. “Please, it’s not even an issue. I’m honestly fine.” He sighs, nodding, pulls the ice pack away from my face, and examines my cheek.

“Does it feel any better?” He asks. I nod. It didn’t, but I couldn’t stand to see the guilty look in his eyes any longer.

“It does, thank you.” I smile and wince a little, and he chuckles.

“Getting the hang of lying, I see.” He teases.

“I am?”

He snorts, “No. You’re still pretty awful at it.” I pout and nudge him away from me so I can stand up straight.

“You know what. I’ve had enough of you today. Take me home.” I sulk, shoving the icepack at him, and walk around the car to the passenger side while he just howls with laughter while I glare at him.

“You’re adorable, sweetheart.” He chuckles, opening his car door, and we both get in.

---