Chapter 25

25

Evenie

“ Y ou’re here earlier than usual,” Dr. Stewart said as I sat down across from her.

“Well, I start work today at ten, so I needed an earlier appointment.”

I was both nervous and excited about officially being back at Curated Realm , but I needed this. I’d been home too long, and I’d found myself almost falling into a depressive state several times. I had to get out of the house.

“That’s wonderful news. That’s a big step for you. Are you feeling confident that you’re ready?”

I nodded. “I am. It’s time to get back to a normal routine. I’ve slowly integrated normal things back into my life.”

“Oh? Like what?”

“Driving. I’m now taking Summer Rose to school. Her dad still brings her home, but it feels like a regular mom thing to do.”

“How’s it been?”

“It’s been great, honestly.” I giggled. “Summer never lets me have a dull moment. We created a playlist of both our favorite songs to listen to on the ride. She loves poking fun at my taste in music. I listen to a little of everything. You should have seen her face when “Back To Life” by Rascal Flatts came on and I started singing. She was like, ‘Mommy! You like country music!’. I knew I had to put her on to some of my favorites then.”

Dr. Stewart smiled. “I love this happiness on you, Evenie. This is the first time I’ve seen you smile like this since we began seeing each other.”

“If nothing else makes me smile, it’s her. She’s such a wonderful kid. I’m lucky she’s mine.”

“She’s lucky to have you too. So, I know you had to celebrate getting a job. What did you do?”

I blushed. “Well, Summer and her father cooked me dinner this past weekend. My best friend and her family joined us. They made and served all my favorites. We ate and had our own little movie night and dance party. It was nice… refreshing. Saturday, we did a little family project, and Sunday, we just chilled and relaxed around the house.”

“How did it feel being with Tyrion? I know you were struggling with your feelings and him having a fiancée.”

“Well, he doesn’t have a fiancée anymore. She took it upon herself to send me divorce papers with his forged signature, and that was the end of that.”

“How does that make you feel?”

“Would I be wrong to say I’m glad it’s over?”

“If that’s how you feel, then that’s how you feel.”

“That’s how I feel. That woman wouldn’t have been happy, even if she had him to herself. I was always going to be a threat to her because I’m Summer Rose’s mother, and I was always going to be around. Where I would have respected her as the person he chose to be with, she wouldn’t have offered me that in return. It would have always been an ‘I have one up on you’ type of deal. I don’t need that. It’s bad enough I hit her—”

“Wait, you hit her? Evenie.”

I raised my hands in defense. “Dr. Stewart, I know I was wrong, but she had it coming. I spared her, her slick mouth, and her disrespectful ways long enough. It was one time. I don’t plan to put my hands on her again unless she hits me first. I promise.”

She sighed. “Good.”

We talked for a little while longer before I had to leave to head to work. After scheduling my appointment, I left the office and climbed into my dad’s car… well, my car. When I got home Sunday afternoon, there was a brand-new SUV sitting in the front yard. When I walked into the house and asked whose car it was, the man handed me the keys and told me to enjoy. I really did have the best parents. Even at my big age, they were going to make sure I was okay.

I couldn’t ask for better people to love me.

When Ms. Lacey told me to come back to work, I had to be willing to learn and apply, I should have known she was going to test me in the field. From the time I walked into her office, she put me to work. I had to re-familiarize myself with different fabrics, aesthetics color schemes, and all types of shit. Then she told me she had an appointment at twelve in which I would accompany her on.

Currently, we were in the home of Eliana Devereaux , a very prominent plastic surgeon. She and her husband, Malachi, a professor, had just bought this home for their ever-growing family. It wasn’t a total blank canvas because they had already moved in, but it was a bigger space than their previous home. She was currently six months pregnant with twins. They also had a four-year-old son, a seventeen-year-old daughter, and a twenty-three-year-old son that came to stay with them often.

Eliana sat on the couch, rubbing her belly, while Ms. Lacey arranged fabric swatches on a mood board, and I looked on carefully.

“Alright, Evenie. Take a look at the concept I’m working with. What do you see?”

I took a step closer to the board to study it intently. “Well, you have mostly neutral tones. I see a lot of warm grays and creams, but I see you also have this gorgeous peacock blue accent.” I looked around the space. “That matches the accent chair. I take it that is the accent color you’re going for?”

Eliana nodded. “Yes. I want my husband to feel at home too. I figured there was nothing more manly than blue, other than black, but I didn’t want something dark in here. I wanted it to be warm and inviting.”

Ms. Lacey nodded. “And this is an excellent choice. The key to working with bold accent pieces is to create a balanced foundation first. See how I’ve layered different textures within the neutral palette? That’s what keeps a neutral space from falling flat.”

Eliana tried to get up from the couch but was having a hard time. I giggled as I reached for her hand.

“I’ve got you, mama.”

She smiled as she allowed me to help her to her feet. She came over to the mood board to take a closer look.

“I love how this marble piece has specks of the blue accent color.”

Ms. Lacey smiled. “That was intentional. Every element of the design process should have a purpose. That’s the difference between a room that looks ‘decorated’ and one that feels very well put together.”

We spent about an hour talking to Eliana before her husband, daughter, and youngest son got home. They all filed into the living room to love on her. I smiled, watching them rub her belly and talk to the growing babies inside.

“Ma, tell Daddy to let me go to this party, please,” her daughter begged.

“Violet, you aren’t going to a college party.”

“But, Mama, I’m a college junior—”

“You’re also seventeen and underage. The answer is no. You wanna party, go party with your brother while he watches Doggyland on YouTube.”

Violet huffed as she reached for her little brother’s hand. He happily skipped along beside her as they headed upstairs.

Malachi chuckled. “She keeps forgetting she’s not the same age as her peers.”

“She said she was a junior?” I asked.

Eliana nodded. “Violet is gifted. She graduated high school at fifteen and entered college as a sophomore.”

“Wow! That is amazing.”

“Thank you. We have to remind her that she is still a kid and not ready for the wild college lifestyle. You can’t tell her that, though. She figured because she made friends with girls in her classes that she is on their level, and she’s just not yet.”

“She’ll get there, love,” Malachi said, kissing her cheek. “Ms. Tommin, do you have a minute to look at this mother-in-law suite? We want to make it into a space for our in-laws when they visit.”

“Sure. Lead the way.”

She followed behind Malachi, leaving me and Eliana alone.

“So, you’re new?” she asked, easing back down onto the couch.

“Um… newish. I worked for Lacey a long time ago. I’m just getting back in the field.”

“What were you doing in the meantime?”

“It’s complicated. I um… I was a victim of kidnapping for ten years.”

“Oh my God! Are you serious?”

“Very serious. I’ve been home for a little while, and I’m ready to get back into the swing of things.”

“Bless your heart. I’m happy you made it out safely. A lot of people don’t. How’s it been being home?”

“A challenge, but I have my family, and they’ve been a blessing. I think the hardest part was getting to know my daughter. She was only six months when it happened.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Thank you. I’m loving the process. She’s an amazing kid.”

“My husband and I went through something like that a few years ago. Violet isn’t biologically mine. Her mother was my best friend. She died during childbirth and left me with her. We didn’t meet Malachi until she was thirteen. The girl looked him up and ran away from home to meet him.”

“Say what now!”

Eliana threw up her hands. “Chile, it was a mess. Malachi didn’t know anything about having a child. The man had a whole other life and a fiancée. That’s a story for another time, though.”

“My uh… my husband got engaged while I was gone. They aren’t together anymore, but it was some shit, so I can imagine the mess you had.”

“It was a nightmare. We almost lost Malachi when his ex-fiancée shot him.”

“Shot him?”

“Yes, girl.”

“Where is she now?”

“Dead. She uh… she had some trauma, some mental health issues that stemmed from said trauma. She killed her father and her son’s father before turning the gun on herself.”

“Wait, I think I saw that on the news while I was away. Was her father a judge?”

“He was. Our oldest son, Easton, was her son. Malachi loves that boy like his own, and we couldn’t abandon him. Even though his mom almost took my husband from me, that’s my baby. His siblings adore him, and he loves them so much.”

I thought for a moment about what life would have been like if Tyrion had decided to go through with the divorce and marry Iona. What if they had gone on to have children? Would her view of Summer Rose had changed once she had her own? Would she have been good to her? Would we have been able to come together as a family for important things?

All signs pointed to no. There would have been drama out the ass with that woman. What if we had ended up in a situation like Eliana? If a bitch shot my husband and lived to talk about it, she’d never talk about it more than once.

Eliana and I chopped it up a little while longer until Ms. Lacey and Malachi came back. We said our goodbyes and left the house, headed back to the studio.

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

“I feel good. It’s all coming back to me. Give me a week or two, and I’ll be back like I never left.”

She giggled. “I’m gonna remember that. You’ll work with me until you’re ready to step out on your own. I need you to be ready when I get ready to retire.”

I gasped. “Say what now?”

“I need a protégé. Before everything happened, I was going to train you to take over when I got ready to step down. You showed the most promise and reminded me so much of myself. If you want it, I would be happy to pass my legacy down to you.”

I didn’t know what to say. This was more than I was expecting my first day back. Lacey Timmons was a legend. Would I ever be good enough to step into her shoes?

“I don’t know what to say,” I voiced. “That’s a hell of an offer but a lot of pressure. You’d leave some big shoes to fill, Ms. Lacey.”

“I know, love. Just think on it. No pressure.”

I nodded as I sat back with a smile on my face. If I could get out of my head, this would be an amazing opportunity.