The Way Back | ✓

6.2

note: welcome to another double update weekend! Camp nano is going well and I've got quite a number of stock chapters, plus this book just passed 7K reads and 900 votes and I'd like to thank you all for the support! 

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London did not know what the hell she was doing. 

She found Talia in the driveway, her fingers scouring through her bag. Seconds later she came out with a lighter and a pack of cigarettes. London walked towards her, her footsteps were heavy to make her presence known but Talia did not pay her heed, did not care, as she pulled out a cigarette from the pack, placed it between her lips and clicked on the lighter.

"Are you okay?"

She wasn't, and London knew it was a dumb question to ask but that was the only way she thought fit to start the start conversation after what had just happened back inside the house.

"He's going to ruin your life, London," Talia breathed, letting out a little puff of smoke.

London buried her hands into the pockets of her coat that she had donned on before following Talia out of the house. "He hasn't done anything for me to doubt him," she said, her words carefully picked out.

Talia laughed. "Oh, just admit it. You want to know why I think he'll ruin your life."

"I don't want to get drawn into any drama—"

"Well, babe, you should have thought twice before getting into a relationship with Andy then."

London was truly trying to be patient, to not let Talia's words affect her but it was becoming harder and harder to dodge the woman's jabs.

"Believe it or not, Talia, I wanted nothing to do with Andrew when I found out he was married and in the middle of a divorce. I knew the complications and I wanted him still."

"And yet you say you don't want to be drawn into any drama—"

"What's between you and Andrew is between the two of you, not me, not Simon and certainly not your daughter, Aurora."

"You bitch, don't you dare drag Aurora into this."

"Why not?"

"You're not her mother."

"Yes, you are. And Andrew is her father. So why are you denying him the basic with his daughter when you signed a contract?"

Talia turned away, red-faced. It looked like she was about to cry and London felt neither guilty nor happy to glimpse that expression on her boyfriend's ex-wife's face.

"He loves Aurora so much. He'd never do anything to harm her. I don't see why you try to fabricate all these barriers if he's such a good man. There is no one he loves more than his daughter."

Talia sighed, looking up at the dark, starry sky and blinked. She raised the cigarette to her lips, took a long drag, paused for a few seconds before letting out a puff of smoke into the air. "That's the problem."

"It's a problem that he cares about his daughter?" London echoed, her eyes widening as disbelief filled her. Surely she was hearing wrong.

"You won't get it," Talia huffed, bringing the cigarette back to her lips.

London took a few moments to answer so the snappy words didn't escape her tongue. Though Talia wasn't all that likeable she was still the mother of her boyfriend's daughter and she wanted to get on Talia's good side. She wanted to understand why Talia was putting Andrew through all of this. She didn't get it but she wanted to. Everything had reason and London, who was beginning to find hope in life, trusted that Talia's feelings were valid even though her actions may not be so.