SWNOVELS Chapter Restraining Order
Imogene Scott
My car pulls up in the parking lot. I rush across the lobby, my heart hammering in my chest. All I want to do is see Lily and Breonna isn't answering her phone either.
I can only think of the worst. What if she planned all this with Damien to kidnap Lily? Should I be calling the police?
Ding!
I arrive on the sixth floor and rush to my door, repeatedly pressing the door bell. After a few seconds which felt like eternity, the door opens and I waltz in.
All is normal. Breonna seems a little rattled, Lily is asleep on the couch and I look like a mad woman searching for her lost daughter. My blood runs cold, I need to talk to Breonna. Without saying a word, I gently lift Lily off the couch, then go into my room and place her on the bed. The second I get back into the living room, I start questioning Breonna. "Is your name even Breonna? What more are you lying about?" I try to keep my voice low.
She feigns innocence. "I'm not sure what you mean, Mrs Scott."
"I know everything." I brace my palm on my forehead, forcing myself to say his name. "I know Damien sent you!"
"..."
"You're his sister!" I snap, finally losing my cool.
I feel like a fool. No wonder she was able to impress me in every way. Because Damien already told her everything about me. This is fucked up. They both lied to me. "This isn't Damien's fault. It's mine." Breonna says, sinking into a couch.
"No!" I bark. "He doesn't get to have someone else take the blame for what he did." I start pacing the room. "Give me your phone, Breonna."
She cocks her head. "What?"
"Please."
She seems reluctant as she hands it to me. As I predicted, Damien was the last person she spoke to. Were they really trying to kidnap Lily?
I draft a text. [Hey, Damien. Wanna see Lily? Imogene is out so you can come see her. I'll send the address now.]
I send it. My breath hitches when he responds immediately. [Damien: Address?]
I send the address, then drop the phone on the table and start to pace again. Wow. What a plot, Damien Shaw. Bravo. What did he think of me? That I'm an idiot? That he can easily fool me like he did when we were married? This is a new level of low, even for him! Minutes passes and Breonna and I continue to sit in perfect silence in the living room, waiting for Damien. I'm not sure why I called him here. I should be trying to get away from him as much as possible but I'm doing the complete opposite.
The door bell rings and it almost drains all the blood from my face. He's here. My ex husband really is here at the door of my home, to see my daughter who I raised all my myself for three years because he discarded me when I was no longer of use to him. The irony.
I signal Breonna to get the door. She
does and a few seconds later she walks back in with Damien closely behind her. I was right. They've been in on it together. Damien's face palesWhen he sees me. His eye's meet mine, and I see something in them-a flicker of something I can't quite place. But I don't care. Not anymore.
"Imogene," he begins, taking a step towards me, but I hold up a hand, stopping him in his tracks.
"Don't. Don't you dare come any closer."
He stops, his eyes narrowing slightly as he studies me. "Imogene, please "
"I was right!" I say. "You pretended to have suddenly fallen in love with me, you pretended not to know about Lily. You lied to me, Damien. On multiple fronts. An inordinate amount of lying. It's borderline sociopathic!" His jaw tightens, and for a moment, I see a flash of anger in his eyes. "It's not like that," he says, his voice low. "I was trying to help, I care about Lily-"
"No, you don't." I cut him off. "You
didn't know about her existence until recently and now you suddenly care about her? Oh, please. You were only trying to manipulate me, Damien. To controme. To control Lily. You thought you could just waltz back into our lives and pretend that nothing happened, that you're some
kind of savior?"
"I never meant to hurt you, Imogene. I just... I didn't know how to tell you that I knew about Lily. I wanted to be part of her life, part of your life again."
My heart twists painfully at his words, but I push the feeling aside. I can't let him get to me. Not again.
"You don't get to be part of our lives, Damien," I say coldly. "You lost that right the moment you chose to discard me. And now, after everything, you have the audacity to try and force your way back in?"
His eyes soften, and he takes another step towards me. "Imogene, please. I'm not trying to force anything. I just want a chance-a chance to make things right. For Lily's sake."
"For Lily's sake? You think this is about Lily? This is about you, Damien. It's always been about you. Your ego, your need for control. You can't stand the fact that I've built something without you, that I don't need you anymore."
He flinches at my words, but I press
on, my anger fueling me. “Well, I'm done playing your games. I'm done letting you manipulate me. I'm filing a police report, Damien. And I'm getting a restraining order against you You're not going to come near Lily ever again."