The Jealous Ex Returns
693 Words
Shammah's POV
I was right to be worried.
The next day at school, everyone was staring at me. Whispering. Pointing.
"What's going on?" I asked Ivy.
She showed me her phone. My stomach dropped.
There were photos of me leaving David's house, getting into his car, and walking into his office building.
The headline read: "Lycan Chairman's New Toy: College Student Trades Body for Daddy's Freedom."
"This is all lies!" I said.
"I know," Ivy said. "But everyone's talking about it. They're saying you're sleeping with David to pay off your father's debt."
I felt sick. "Esther did this. She must have."
My phone rang. It was David.
"Have you seen the news?" he asked.
"Yes," I whispered.
"Come to my office. Now. We need to talk."
When I got there, David was pacing. He looked angry.
"I'm sorry," I said. "I'll quit. I don't want to cause you problems."
"Quit?" He stopped and looked at me. "Why would you quit?"
"Because of the rumors. Because of what people are saying—"
"I don't care what people say," he interrupted. "Do you want to quit?"
"No," I admitted. "I like this job, and I need it."
"Then you're not quitting," he said firmly. "But we do need to address this. I'm holding a press conference tomorrow. I want you there."
"What? No! That'll make it worse!"
"Trust me," he said, looking into my eyes. "I have a plan."
The press conference was scary. So many cameras, so many reporters.
David stood at the microphone, looking calm and powerful.
"I'm here to address the recent rumors about myself and my employee, Shammah Rowland," he began.
Everyone leaned forward.
"The rumors are partially true," he said.
My heart stopped. What was he doing?
"Shammah is my employee. I did help her father with his debt, but not for the reasons you think."
He paused.
"Shammah is my daughter."
The room exploded with noise. Cameras flashed, and reporters shouted questions.
I couldn't breathe. What did he just say?
"Twenty years ago, I had a brief relationship with Shammah's mother. We parted ways, and I didn't know she was pregnant. It wasn't until recently that I learned the truth. Shammah is my biological daughter."
He looked at me. His eyes were pleading with me to play along.
"I've been trying to build a relationship with her; helping her family was the least I could do after missing so much of her life. She works for me so we can spend time together. That's all."
Reporters kept shouting questions, but David walked away from the microphone.
"Come on," he said to me. "Let's go."
In the car, I finally found my voice.
"Why did you lie?" I asked.
"It was the only way to protect both of us," he said. "If you're my daughter, the rumors stop, your reputation is saved, and my reputation is saved."
"But what about Esther? She's going to be so mad!"
"Let me handle Esther," he said.
"And what happens now? Do we have to pretend to be father and daughter forever?"
He looked at me for a long moment. "Would that be so bad?"
I didn't know how to answer.
That night, Solomon called me.
"So David is your father?" he said. He didn't sound like he believed it.
"That's what he said," I replied carefully.
"Interesting. Because I did some digging, Shammah. Your birth certificate lists your father as unknown, but your blood type is O negative. Want to know what David's blood type is?"
My heart started beating faster.
"AB positive," Solomon continued. "It's impossible for him to be your father with those blood types."
I couldn't speak.
"So he lied to protect you," Solomon said. "The question is, why? What's really going on between you two?"
"Nothing," I said quickly. "He's just helping me."
"Right. Well, here's the thing, Shammah. If I can figure this out, others can too, and when they do, the rumors will be even worse."
He hung up.
I sat there, staring at my phone.
Solomon was right. This lie wouldn't hold forever, and when it fell apart, everything would be so much worse.
- Writer
