Page 38 of Billionaire's Fake Wife: A Single Mom BWWM Romance

I pause for a bit and lean on the desk, "When Gloria finally had enough, she had me sent to Julestown, a correctional center for teenagers. That's where I met Aaron. He was one of the mentors and counselors there. He had the unfortunate luck of having to take care of me. But he was always there.

Even when my mother wasn't there to celebrate my birthday in the community center, Aaron was there. When my dog died while I was trying to be a better person in Julestown, Aaron was there."

"It must have been hard for you, Grant," says Sonya, still not moving an inch.

"It's okay. Big bro was there. But he wouldn't be there for long, he wanted to help other kids in places where they haven't gotten any place to go to like Julestown. He volunteered to go to Ethiopia a month before I'd be released from Julestown.

We still got in touch with each other, writing letters to each other. Until the letters stopped, and then a few weeks later, I received a letter from his NGO, saying he died from Malaria.

They gave me one last letter from him with a rock in it. The letter told me that he was going to collect rocks from all around the world and send them to me once he had built a school in each place. This is a reminder to me that as long as you build strong foundations within and without yourself, hope can spring up wherever and whenever."

"Grant…"

"So that's why I'm trying to build charities, Sonya," I interrupt her, in hopes of not breaking down in tears. "Can you imagine what Gloria would say had she known about all of this? She might even go as far as disowning me.

But in spite of all that, I need to honor Aaron's legacy. Pass forward the good he did for me. But when I'm with you, I lose control, Sonya. I lose focus. That's why I'm sorry for leading you on tonight."

"Not as sorry as I am, Grant," Sonya replies as she leaves the room. There is nothing I could do but clench the rock in my hand.

Nineteen

Sonya

You've got to get your head in the game, girl.

I repeat this mantra over and over again as I wait for the elevator doors to open.

Finally, I hear the chime. I let out a deep sigh as I enter the elevator and push the close button.

It's been a long and confusing day. To say that my emotions have been subjected to a roller coaster ride is an understatement. I think I'm starting to lose it, and there's nothing else that I want to do right now than take a long, warm bath.

My phone starts to ring, and I grab it out of my purse. I look at the screen to see that it's Grant calling. I'm not in the proper mindset to talk to him right now. I slide the button to cancel the call, then I switch off my phone.

For a while, I bask myself in peace and quiet while I travel back home.

Lauralee's already prepared for bedtime when I arrive. I feel a twinge of mommy guilt as I wasn't able to help her with schoolwork today. I put down all of my things in one corner, then I accompany her to the kitchen to get her a glass of milk.

"How's school today? Did you do anything interesting?" I ask my daughter as I pour milk into her sparkly pink glass.

"Hmm, it's alright, I guess," she answers tentatively. "We learned about plants today. Ms. Hannah showed us a real, live sunflower plant today. It's very pretty."

"Oh, that's very interesting," I reply.

She scrunches up her little nose and looks up to me.

"I think we need to plant more flowers that would look nice," she suggests.

"Let's think about how we can do that in the coming days. That could be one of our little projects, would you like that?" I ask her.

"Yes!" Lauralee answers enthusiastically.

She gets her milk and finishes it in three chugs. She hands it back to me with a big smile of accomplishment across her face. I get the glass, put it in the sink, and then I get her hand, and we walk together towards her bedroom.

She sits on my lap as I slowly brush her hair.

"Lauralee, honey, I'm really happy that you're enjoying your time at school. If ever anything's troubling you, don't be shy to tell mommy, okay?" I remind her.

"Yes, mommy," she answers dutifully.

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