Page 11 of Bound By Love

“Hey, I know this is weird for you, but Will brought this on himself when he cheated on Miranda.” Tate rubbed his thumb along my cheek. “This is the only option she has. We have to help her.”

“I know, I know. But it doesn’t feel right. I can’t explain it.”

Tate crouched beside my chair and cradled my face. “We’re doing the right thing.”

“What if we’re wrong? What if Will really is ending it with Cori?”

“Viv, he cheated on her for months. Do you expect Miranda to just sweep it under the rug?”

I shook my head.

“No, of course she shouldn’t. I love your staunch morals, my beauty.” He kissed me for a long moment and then was off to finish packing Miranda’s new-to-her car.

I was lucky to have Tate for my husband. I never had to worry about him having an affair. He’d rather chop off his dick than be an unfaithful scoundrel, or so he had said. I believed him. His moral compass was just as staunch as mine, and I respected his position regarding Miranda, even though I didn’t fully agree with him.

All their crazy plans were completed by the end of the day. Despite being against the move and keeping the baby a secret, I hoped everything would work out for Miranda.

Bright and early Tuesday morning, we stood in the parking lot of Lily’s apartment complex to bid farewell to Anna Gordon. Even thinking the name sounded weird in my head.

“I wish he would stop blowing up my phone. Twenty text messages and an equal amount of phone calls are a bit much, don’t you think?” Miranda complained stoically.

“What did he say?” I asked, curious to know if this absurd plan could be halted.

“I don’t know. I deleted them.”

“Aren’t you curious?” Given how much she loved him, I would think she’d want to know what he had to say.

“Of course she’s curious, but what good would it do her to get confused by his lies again?” Lily glared at me as if saying “shut it.”

“Okay, okay, let’s focus here,” Miranda said. “Now, I’m confident he’ll call or stop by the office. Be strong. He can be intimidating when he wants,” she warned us. “Here’s my old phone. Destroy it.” She handed it to Tate. Lily had supplied her with a prepaid phone yesterday.

“What about all your photos?” I asked.

Miranda smiled. “I transferred them onto a memory stick.”

“Oh, sure.” I forced a smile in return.

My uneasiness with the plan had rekindled this morning, but I didn’t have an alternative course of action to offer Miranda. It would seem this was it.

“Okay, remember the call schedule. We can’t have any patterns detected by your cells or the office phone, but you shouldn’t be calling me from the office anyway.” Miranda looked sternly at Tate and Lily. “And don’t forget to write. I’m looking forward to getting your letters in the mail.”

“Christ, it’s like we’re straight out of that showManhunter,” I grumbled. “You guys seriously took care of everything, didn’t you?”

“We sure did, sweetheart.” Tate grinned. I knew he was chuffed to bits with all they had accomplished, but I still felt keeping the baby a secret was wrong.

“Well, I have to try one more time. Isn’t this over the top? Be reasonable. I was reading that pregnancy hormones can make you do crazy things… Don’t do this,” I said with the most compassion I’d ever shown anyone.

“Babe, this has to be done.” Tate put his arm around me. “We’re protecting Miranda, or shall I sayAnna,and her baby.” Tate winked at Miranda.

“Yes! And we don’t know what the St. James family is capable of,” Lily stated. “We can’t let them take her baby.”

“Okay, don’t make Will sound like he doesn’t have any scruples,” Miranda said defensively. I was so relieved she hadn’t lost the plot completely.

But of course, my mouth ran away with me. “Says the woman who is going into hiding with the baby he doesn’t know exists.” Instant regret for speaking my mind rushed through me. Shocked expressions were shot my way. “I’m sorry. This just rubs me up the wrong way.”

“If I wasn’t scared of losing my baby, I would stay. I’d tell him. But I don’t know what he’ll do.” Her voice caught, but she recovered quickly. “Can’t you try to understand? I have loved this man with everything in me, and he openly cheated for months. My God, Viv. Will left me sobbing on the floor, begging him not to leave. I literally thought I was going to die.” Miranda teared up again, nearly breaking my heart.

“I understand but—”

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