01

"Jamie, would you stop using that thing and eat your food!" I groan loudly as I try to quickly fix the boys' lunch for school. I woke up super early this morning to get everything done hoping that at least we would have a fifteen minutes head start but getting the boys to do anything had been even harder than pulling a good tooth. Jason more so than Jamie. And now, we are going to be late at this rate.

While I am trying to get Jamie to drop the iPad in his hand, I see Jason in the corner of my eye jumping up and down on the couch in front of the TV.

"Unguard!" He shouts in a voice mimicking that of the characters in the cartoon he is watching as he swings his hand in the air wildly. I'm guessing he was supposed to be holding a sword.

"Jason, what have I told you about watching those violent movies?" I ask him. He either ignores me or he doesn't hear me in the first place.

I sigh and go into the living room and stand in front of the television with my hands on my waist and a stern expression on my face.

"C'mon, mom." He whines. "It's almost done anyway."

"Go eat your breakfast. Now!" I order him pointing at the kitchen island where Jamie is sitting with the iPad still in his hand and his food untouched in front of him. Immediately, Jason walks away in fear of what I'll do next.

It's their first day of school here and I am already going crazy out of my mind. At this point, I really don't want to know what tomorrow, next week or even next month would be like.

I run a hand through my hair as I let out a frustrated sigh. Looks like I just might take my mom up on her offer of hiring a nanny afterall.

Finally, after about ten long minutes of struggling, everyone is ready so we quickly rush into the car and begin the drive to school. Fifteen minutes later, we arrive at their school and get out of the car.

Colin Mccarthy elementary school is one of the best and most expensive elementary schools in Atlanta and it was my mom's idea for the kids to go to school here. After not seeing them for a really long time, I felt guilty so I decided to indulge her.

I quickly go to the administration office and after sorting out everything necessary, the boys are led to their classroom by another boy their age who they immediately hit it off with. I watch them with a smile on my face, glad that they made a friend already.

"It was nice meeting you, Mrs Wallace." The principal says with an outstretched hand.

I shake her hand firmly. "It's Miss Freeman." I correct with a polite smile which she returns with an apologetic one. "And it was nice meeting you too."

I leave soon after that to meet up with my best friend, Jesse, at our favourite café downtown. She's pretty much the only one, apart from my mom, who knows that I'm back in town.

After getting a good parking space, which is kind of hard because this place is almost always packed full, I look in my rear view mirror and ruffle my hair a bit before grabbing my purse and getting out.

Almost immediately I walk in, I spot Jess sitting at our usual spot in the back, away from the crowd. You would think that after three years of not seeing each other on Atlanta soil that things would feel slightly different but it doesn't. I feel a strong sense of déjà vu as I walk up to her with a bright smile on my face.

She is engrossed in her phone and doesn't notice me approach her so I playfully trap her in a hug from behind, wrapping my arms loosely around her neck, the wooden chair in between us.

She looks up, startled, before noticing that I was the one. Immediately, she squeals loudly, grabbing the attention of a few people no doubt, before pulling me into a bone crushing hug which I reciprocate.

It's been so long since I last saw Jess. Too long. Although, she did come to see me in Washington occasionally, it wasn't enough so seeing her here, now and in the flesh has me almost in tears. It seems I'm not the only one.

"Oh my god, Jess. You don't know how much I've missed you." I say into her shoulder, her familiar smell engulfing me.

"I've missed you too. So much."

After a few emotional moments of just holding onto each other and swaying lightly, we finally settle into our seats.

"So, you're really back here to stay?" She asks in disbelief.

I nod my head with a grin. "Yup."

"Wow." She blinks, stunned. "I legit thought you were joking when you asked me to meet you here. Like, what kind of prank was this bitch trying to pull off on me?" She grins at me widely before reaching across the table to grab my hand. "It's so good to see you. You literally don't know how much."

"I do." I say with a smile.

A waitress stops by our table and takes our respective orders and just like old times, we order our usuals before we are left alone again.

"Honestly", Jess begins. "I don't know whether to say this is the best time for you to have moved back or the worst."

"What do you mean?" I ask, confusion etched on my face.

She just pastes a smile that after knowing her for over ten years I can confidently say is super fucking fake. It was meant to reassure me but rather all it ended up doing was making me anxious.

Jesse just brushes me off with a flick of her hand. "Later. So why the sudden decision to move back home?" She asks with a tilt of her head, her blonde hair falling over her eyes. It almost seems like a calculated move.

"Well, honestly, I can't say that there was an exact moment that triggered it. But, for a while, I've been thinking of the fact that Jason and Jamie rarely see their grandmother. You know my mom never wanted me to move in the first place. And they have never even seen Anastasia and Thomas in person since they were 5. And then there's Henry. They don't get enough time with him." I sigh.

Jess scoffs at the last part. "Yeah, right. Like he's going to make an effort to be a part of his children's life even if they lived in the same house with him."

"What do you mean by that?" I ask with a frown.

"Do you remember Jessica Monroe? Senator Monroe's daughter."

"Yeah, I do. We all went to high school together, right?" I say still not understanding where this is going.

"We did." Jess nods. "She and Henry have been dating for a few months now and from what I've heard he's even bought a ring."

I feel a sudden clench in my heart at her words.

But she isn't done. "I know you still care about him but these days he just seems like a lost cause. Ever since you left, Sandy, he's been a complete robot. It's like he took the divorce really badly. Now, the only places he goes are to work and work related functions and events. The only time I ever even actually see him is at important family gatherings and he doesn't even socialise like that. You know, a few weeks after you left Nana Wallace died?"

"What?" I shout in shock. I feel a few glares come my way but I can't find it in me to care. Not while I was trying to digest this information. "How?"

"She was over 80, Sandy. I guess it was her time." Jesse says with a shrug.

I didn't expect her to understand. I didn't expect anybody to. Nana Wallace was pretty much the only person in Henry's life, besides his mom, who really cared about him and vice versa so I can't imagine how badly he must have taken this whole thing.

"I think now his father is making him court Jessica for business reasons. I mean, the few times I've seen them together they didn't look the least bit happy to even be in each other's presence."

I remember back in high school I was friends with Jessica. She was one of the few kids in school then who weren't stuck up snobs and I liked her for that. For some reason, though, Henry never liked her or my friendship with her so I'm sure that now he is being forced to date her, he dislikes her even more.

This makes me feel a strange satisfaction. The fact that they absolutely loathed each other makes me happy and I don't know why. Does that make me a bad person?

Jesse sighs loudly pulling me away from my thoughts. "Everything has just been so tense around here."

I nod my head in agreement. "How come you never told me any of this over the phone or even when you came to visit?"

"You were all the way in Washington, Sandy. Living your new life away from all of this mess. I wasn't going to ruin the happiness that you were finally able to have."

Suddenly, I feel compelled to tell Jess the truth. "I wasn't happy, Jess." I shake my head and look away, avoiding her eyes. "I never was. I mean, I had everything that I needed and more but I was never truly happy. The whole divorce just really fucked me up. And now, I can't go back to the person that I once was." I don't realise that I was crying until she hands me some tissues which I thank her for before discreetly wiping my eyes.

I give her a smile. "But at least I have my children. If Henry had managed to take them away from me after the divorce, I don't think I would have been able to survive."

Jess looks at me sympathetically. Luckily, there is no pity in her eyes. "You're a strong woman, you know? Not everyone could have been able to go through what you did and still be able to smile."

I nod my head at that choosing to not say anything. "Okay. Enough of all this sad shit." I sniff. "How have you been? You've been so vague about your love life but I can still see the glow." I tease and this earns a slight blush from Jess.

"Well I may or may not be in a relationship right now."

"You bitch." I gasp. "And you didn't think to inform your best friend of this development?"

"I'm sorry. It's just, the whole thing is fairly new and I don't want to jinx it. It's not really public right now." She gives me a shy smile and I immediately know that whoever this guy is, he is making her happy, and happiness is exactly what my best friend deserves.

"His name is Max." She begins but I immediately cut her off.

"Max? As in Max Anderson?" I ask incredulously.

"Y-yes." She says cautiously with a slightly nervous look on her face as I openly gape at her. "Please don't be mad. It just sort of happened. He makes me really happy."

You see, Max is Henry's best friend. He, Henry, Jess and I have been friends since high school and if I remember correctly Jess hated Max with a passion so this is a huge surprise to me. But she seems to think that I'm mad because she's dating Henry's best friend. If she is happy, who am I to ruin that?

"I'm not mad, Jess. Just really surprised." I laugh. "I remember you both hated each other's guts back in high school."

"I know." She sighs. "I actually didn't hate him. I liked him but I thought he didn't feel the same way. You know how he always was with the ladies. So, I guess it was just easier to act like I hated him. Turns out, we were both fooling ourselves all this time."

I grin at her and for the rest of our breakfast, we catch up on everything we have missed in each others lives, avoiding anything relatively emotional.

After a few hours, we leave the cafe and I head to check out how the construction of my new art gallery is going. It was pretty easy to navigate although I have only actually been there once.

I'm inside speaking to my construction manager, José, when my phone rings loudly. I take a look at the caller ID and inwardly groan.

"Just a sec." I say and turn away from him. "Hey mom."

"Hey, darling. So I'm seated here with Patricia and I was wondering if you already had a dress for tomorrow night or if she should have something delivered to you."

Huh?

"Tomorrow night?" I ask confused.

"Yes, tomorrow night. For the Founder's Dinner. Don't tell me you forgot, Sandy." My mom says and I can already see the unidentifiable frown line that would be on her face right now. Unidentifiable because mom barely has any negative expressions on her face even when she's upset. She says it ages her skin faster.

"Sorry but I'm not going, Mom." I say apologetically.

She laughs a rhythmic kind of laughter that I wonder how she is able to achieve. "Of course you are, dear. I didn't call to ask you. Our family is a part of the founders. Do I need to remind you how your great grandfather Roderick Freeman became a part of the Founder's Association?"

"No." I say hurriedly. Lord knows I'm not in the mood to receive a history lesson this afternoon.

"Well, back to my earlier question then, do you have a dress or would you like Patricia to deliver one to you early tomorrow morning?"

I sigh. I really don't have a choice in this matter. "You can have her deliver one."

"Great. I'll see you tomorrow then. Tell my Jason and Jamie that grandma loves them. I love you also."

"I love you too, mom." Right before she's about to hang up I remember something. "Wait. Can I still take you up on the nanny offer?"

"Of course, darling. I'll have Rose come in first thing tomorrow morning."

I sigh in relief. "Thank you, mom."

"Anything for you, my darling. Bye now." She as before we hang up.

Well, that went well. It could have been worse.

I crosscheck a few things with José before I finally leave the office. Opening an art gallery has always been a dream of mine. Even when I didn't know that I had artistic talent. And now, that dream coming to life gives me something to be excited for for the first time in years. I just hope nothing goes wrong.

.

.

.

A/n:

First chapter alert! What did you guys think of it?

Wasn't much but trust me things are about to get heated up in here. I just might change the age rating of this book. It depends.

Please don't forget to VOTE if you enjoyed, COMMENT your thoughts and also FOLLOW me for future update notifications.

❤ ❤

P.s- if you reading this please check out my other books The King's Lover and Law and Fate.