After 4 | ✓

Chapter 92

Longest chapter ever...

Hardin's POV:

"Carol Young." The woman say.

My hand and pen stop scribbling my signature down on the front page of her but my published book and my head shoot straight up looking at the she devil standing in front of me with a smile which I hardly got in my life.

The last time I seen her, it was in Richard's funeral, it's been two years and roughly four months now and since then I haven't met this woman. But after all these years and months later, she hasn't changed a bit, she's intact with her appearance like she always was, makeup on-styled hair-perfectly ironed dress and I'm sure she has her high heels on too, if only I could see down on her feet but I can't because of the wooden desk in between us.

Why she's here in Chicago? Also happened to be at my fucking book signing? It can't be a mistake or a coincidence.
Is she gonna yell at me because of the terrible things I've written about her in my books?
I don't know what is going to happen, the only thing I'm certain of is that I'll not fight her back if she fight me, because she's her mother. Tessa would hate me even more if I raise a single voice at this woman in front of an audience. Tess will never talk to me, though she isn't talking to me for the past nine months but she'll disconnect me from her life, completely.

"C-Carol you are h-here? W-why?" I fucking shutter at her. Why my brain is signalling me to be careful around her?

"Ye-" she begins but cut off by someone's else voice going straight into my ear.

"Can you do it fast? Other people are waiting." The manager of this book store informs me.

Looking at him first and then at the handful of peoples, who are in a line down the stage, waiting for to get my sign scribble on their books, "Yeah." I give him a nod and he moves back away from me to stand where he was standing at first, with my personal manager at his right.

"Carol, would you wait in the corner for me?" I request her. "I will- want to talk to you." Telling I hand her book with my sign on into her hands, not sliding to my right side like other women here to collect their signed books. This woman is different compared to any women came here to get my sign. So with all due respect I had to hand her into her hands rather than push it to the side, for impressing her.

"Of course. I've some things to ask to you too." She states calmly but I feel something gonna explode in that coming up conversion with her, and which won't be a good one.

She takes the book out of my clasp and walks down with her high heels hitting the hardwood stage, making sharp clicking sounds as she goes. Usual and normal to her, but painful to my eardrums.

I quickly sign off the remaining waiting peoples in the line and avoid the long talks with them to make it even quicker so I can bolt from here as fast as possible to talk to Carol.

"So, you're done with the tours now finally." My manager says when the last person walks away and I stand from the chair up onto my feets.

"Yeah." I muster and try to move away from her but she stops me.

"Where are you going? We still have to talk about the third book's editing process." She informs me with raised brow.

"We will, but just give me ten minutes, I've a important person to talk to." I tell her and just I was going to walk away she stops me, again. Fuck this annoying manager!

"What should I do for ten minutes?" She asks the stupid question. Do what you wanna do! I want to shout.

"Go hit on the store's manger, I don't know." I spit and she makes a disgust face. My woman's mother is waiting for me so I had to say it to her so she just let me go. "But give me a ten freaking minutes break."