Page 434 of Now and Forever

I roar in laughing hysterics. I start to cry tears of joy when I hear Drake join in. Goodness this woman takes delusional to another level. To think that Hugh would hand her a partial part of the company is unrealistic. The man worked hard to get where he’s at in his life. He’s not going to risk being a pauper by giving some of those riches off to some gold-digger.

The horror on Shannon’s face is beyond ridiculous.

After a good few minutes of barking my amusement, I use the linen napkin to wipe my tear-stained face. “I can’t fire Lily simply because Mother hired her. Second, if I do choose to fire her, my parents will disown me in a heartbeat. Third, Lily doesn’t live in a shady part of anywhere. She inherited half of her father’s worth when he died.” Drake clears his throat and looks at Shannon. “I think you better leave. You can move out of my home while you’re at it. Leave the keys on the kitchen counter. Bye, Shannon.”

She stands up instantly in rage and slaps Drake on his cheek, leaving a red spot. “You, son of a bitch! You’re not going to get away with this,” Shannon threatens before she scampers out of the restaurant in furious haste.

I gasp and stare at Drake while he rubs his cheek. “So, that was Shannon, huh?”

Drake’s eyes twinkle. “You find this funny, don’t you? Just as well. That woman was becoming a nightmare.”

Interesting. Wasn’t he planning to marry her? “Um, so I guess there’s no wedding then?”

Drake sighs and looks away. His eyes seem distant as he watches the beach. He looks sad. If Shannon meant so much to him… then why break up with her?

“I never wanted to get married . . . well, not right away, and especially not with her,” Drake says, breaking the silence.

He waits until the waiter is done placing our food on the table before starting again. “Four months ago, Shannon was pregnant. I know it’s not enough reason to marry someone, but I want to offer my child the same childhood I had, with two loving parents. My parents didn’t know that she was pregnant. I was going to tell them, eventually, but there was never a right time, you know? Shannon miscarried during her sixteenth week. I was going to tell her that the wedding was not going to happen, but each time I tried, she would go into a crazy meltdown. She almost killed herself once. After that incident, I was complacent and told myself that I will wait for a few more months before I break it off with her. I wanted her to seek professional help, but she insisted that she was fine. Anyway, that’s the story behind Shannon and me.” Drake takes a lengthy sip of his water and starts to eat his meal.

I stare at him in astonishment. How could he just eat after the shocking information he just bombarded me with? “What if she tries to kill herself again, what are you going to do?”

“That’s her family’s problem now. Her parents know how their daughter is, but they just brush it off. If they can do that, so can I. Shannon used her pregnancy and miscarriage for far too long. I am well over it.”

“I’m sorry about the baby,” I murmur.

He shrugs. “Yeah, but it was for the best. I don’t honestly think she and I would’ve been any good as parents, anyway. I can always be grateful for that, I suppose.”

I’m still reeling from all the insane information. I can barely even manage to put the food in my mouth, let alone swallow it. Drake, a father… it’s the most bizarre thought. He’s never been keen on kids. I mean, he finds them cute, but he stays away from them like they are diseased or something. I guess that was the old Drake. The new one might actually love to have babies. I suppose I really don’t know this man anymore.

After that eventful lunch, Drake hands me a spare key for his house and gives me some other important details that are essential for me to know, like where he gets his dry cleaning done and so forth.

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