703 You Promised.
The moment Tom walked into the bedroom and didn't find Lucy, he panicked thinking she has left as she had threatened to do earlier, but was relieved when his gaze fell on her half-packed bag.
He decided to first give Harry a call and set things in motion before going to find Lucy.
He knew he had not handled things the best way earlier and had allowed his frustration at everything get the best of him to the point that he spoke with Lucy the way he had done.
The moment he dialed Harry's line, the call connected immediately as though Harry had been waiting by his phone for him to call.
"Sup? We are unable to bring down the news. I think whoever put out the information is making sure it is not taken down," Harry said in frustration the moment he picked up.
"It's Kimberly's parents," Tom said and Harry nodded.
"I see. When you telling them the truth then?" Harry asked and Tom quickly told him all that had happened.
"Hmm. The only good side of this is that the rumors are having a positive impact on our stock. I'm sure it's the same for them hence they might not want to put it down yet. Have you made up your mind on what to do?" Harry asked with a sigh.
"Yes. I want to release a statement..."
"Of course, we should. I was actually drafting one already but I wasn't sure how much information you'd want to put out. By the way how is Lucy taking all of this? The comments about her are not flattering at all, and..."
"What comments?" Tom asked with a frown.
"What do you expect? Bad comments of course. Most people are rooting for you and Kimberly since they believe you're most suited for each other. If you want me to read out a couple of the comments for you, I could, but I would rather not. I find them offensive," Harry said and this made Tom take a deep breath.
Why did all this have to happen now? Why did things have to keep going from bad to worse? Couldn't they catch even a moment's break? Tom mused.
"Let's reveal everything with the DNA test result attached," Tom said and Harry raised a brow.
"Do you also want to reveal that your grandfather is the kid's father?" Harry asked curiously.
"I don't see why not. Why should the truth be covered at my expense? Reveal everything as well as the fact that her parents are behind the false information. Attach receipts and dates to it," Tom said and Harry nodded.
"Alright. Sure. I will handle it and send you a draft of the statement so you can go through it and edit before we send to the public relations team," Harry said and Tom thanked him before hanging up.
As Tom turned to walk out of the room so he could go find Lucy, the door opened and she walked in.
Lucy's heart skipped a beat when she saw him there and her heart ached merely at being in the same room with him so she didn't look his way as she headed for the bed where she had been packing her clothes earlier and Tom watched her as she resumed packing.
"Jewel, I'm sorry," Tom said quietly but Lucy said nothing as she zipped up her bag.
Her silent treatment hurt him more than anything she else she could have said.
"Baby," Tom called softly but Lucy remained silent.
Despite all that Sonia had said, she didn't want to be here. She needed space away from him and his family. She needed space away from all their family drama.
Maybe she would come back later when she was calm, but right now she didn't want to face him or say anything to him.
She carried her bag and headed for the door, but Tom grabbed the bag, "Lucy, please. I'm sorry. I was upset and I know I overreacted. I'm sorry," he said as he held her bag but Lucy still didn't look at him as tears gathered in her eyes.
She let go of the bag and headed for the door, but Tom gently dropped the bag and went to stop her, "Don't leave, please," Tom said as he held her arm.
This time Lucy shook her head, "Why not? What do you want me here for? What am I supposed to do here other than cause trouble for you and your family as you implied?" Lucy asked, her whole body trembling as she tried to hold back from breaking into a sob.
"I didn't mean that. I'm sorry I hurt you. Please, Lucy. I need you here," Tom pleaded and she shook her head.
"I can't. I don't think I can breathe here. I don't want to be here right now..."
"Then if you must leave let's leave together. We can go stay at the hotel together if..."
"No. I don't want to be with you right now! Being with you is too exhausting. I feel drained. I want to be alone," Lucy said still without looking at him as tears dropped from her eyes, and Tom pulled her to himself.
"I was wrong and I'm sorry," Tom said as he held on while Lucy tried to push him away.
"Leave me alone. I don't want to do this," Lucy cried as as he patted her back.
"Please don't leave. If you want me to leave the bedroom, I will. But please don't go."
"It doesn't matter. I don't want to be here," Lucy said and Tom stepped away from her so he could look into her face.
"You promised you wouldn't leave me for anything," he reminded her and Lucy shook her head as tears rolled down her cheeks.
"But I can't deal with this. I can handle almost anything but not you turning against me that way and making me feel like I'm causing problems for you," Lucy said as she finally met his gaze, and Tom brushed her tears away.
"That was never my intention. You know me, Lucy. You know I feel guilty enough about dragging you into all of this mess. Everything is messed up and it's getting to me. I didn't mean to take it out on you that way. I'm really sorry," Tom said as he kissed her face and carried her to the bed while Lucy cried softly.
"If you're not comfortable here, we could stay at the hotel. I promise to make sure that what happened today never repeats itself," Tom said after she had calmed a bit.
Lucy shook her head as she pulled away, "You can't leave your family..."
"Yes, I can. And I don't see why not. Especially now that the kid might be here for some time," Tom said and Lucy looked at him with a slight frown.
"What kid? Dawn? She would be here?" Lucy asked in confusion and Tom nodded as he explained all that Kimberly's father had said.
Lucy couldn't help feeling sorry for Dawn. The innocent kid was suffering for the mess the adults had caused.
"Did you see the news already?" Tom asked when Lucy didn't say anything after he was done talking.
Lucy nodded.
"I guess you have seen the comments too?" he asked, and she shrugged.
"I'm sorry you had to see all that," Tom said as he took her hand and she sighed.
"We are going to release an official statement soon. Harry is working on it already and I'm going to see what I can do from my end here. Hopefully the statement would clear up things quickly," Tom promised as he kissed her temple.
Lucy wasn't sure if she was doing the wise thing by staying or if she should leave as she wanted to.
Maybe Sonia was right and she couldn't just walk away because she cared too much and would be too worried about Tom to stay away.
She sighed as she thought about Dawn and she couldn't help but wonder how the kid would cope away from her mother.
Away from there in Jade's bedroom, she sighed as she thought about all she had overheard Sonia and Lucy discussing earlier.
She went online to read the article in detail and see what was going on, and her frowned deepened when she saw all the negative comments about Lucy in the comment section.
Without thinking she started responding to most of the comments angrily in defense of Lucy.
Why did things have to be so complicated? Why was everything such a mess? She wondered as she glanced at Dawn who was busy with her iPad, totally ignorant of the drama her simple existence was causing.
Although Dawn's gaze was on her iPad, her thoughts were far from there since she was too busy trying to understand what was happening as she replayed some of the conversation she had overheard earlier before she was made to leave.
She knew that somehow she was involved in what was happening but she couldn't understand how.
She couldn't understand why her mom had brought her there, or why Tom had seemed so cold the previous night and mad even that morning.
Who were all these people?
Jade rose and went to answer the door when Bryan knocked on it, "What's happening now?" Jade asked and Bryan sighed as he looked past Jade into the room where Dawn was still gazing at her iPad.
"They agreed to let her leave the kid behind so she can go resolve things with her parents. Bring her downstairs so she can say goodbye to her mom," Bryan said and walked away before Jade could ask more questions.
Was it a good idea to leave the kid behind considering how things were right now? Jade mused as after that I will come back for you," Kimberly said and Dawn looked at the faces of the adults gathered 09:50
there.
she took Dawn downstairs.
Immediately Dawn got to where her mom was, Kimberly hugged her and kissed her cheek.
"I'm sorry I have to leave you here for some time, honey. I need to take care of some business and after that I will come back for you," Kimberly said and Dawn looked at the faces of the adults gathered there.
Although she was a kid, but she could tell from their faces that none of them seemed exactly pleased to have her there with them.
"Can't I go with you while you handle your business? I will be a good girl and not bother you," Dawn promised, but Kimberly sniffled as she tried to hold back her tears for daughter's sake.
"No, baby. Not this time. I promise to be quick and come get you before you miss me," Kimberly said and Dawn's face fell.
"How about you take me to grandpa and grandpa?" Dawn asked again, and Kimberly's lips wobbled.
"I want you to stay here, princess. Please don't be stubborn about it. Do this for mummy, okay? I know you're a big girl and can take care of yourself," Kimberly said and seeing the distress on her mother's face Dawn gave her a nod.
"I'm sorry for all the troubles I've caused your family. Please take care of her. I will try to handle things quickly so I can come get her. I will text you her daily schedule…"
"She has a daily schedule?" Jade cut in with a raised brow.
"Yes. If it's okay with you, I can send her governess over…"
"No. We don't want any stranger under our roof. You can send the schedule and we will be sure to follow it," Evelyn assured her.
"Alright. I will. Thanks. You might need to get her some clothes. I will leave her credit card behind," Kimberly said and Evelyn sighed impatiently.
"We don't need her credit card. We can take care of her ourselves and get her all she needs. All you need to do is hurry up and fix things so you can come get her," Desmond said before Evelyn could speak and Kimberly nodded as she straightened up.
"Thanks. When I get back to the hotel I will send her stuff over before leaving," Kimberly said and looked down at Dawn who was holding on tightly unto her hand like she was scared to let go.
"You will be fine sweetheart," Kimberly assured her as she handed her to Evelyn and headed for the door.
Evelyn took Dawn's hand and led her outside so they could watch Kimberly leave, and a tear dropped from Dawn's eyes as she watched her mother get into her rented car and drive off without looking back.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Jade asked no one in particular as Evelyn returned into the house.
"Go ask one of the housekeepers to get the guest room set up for her," Evelyn said without answering Jade's question.
Desmond sighed as he walked away to go have some quiet time to himself in his study, while Bryan said nothing as he walked away to return to his bedroom.
No one could say they were entirely sure they were doing the right thing, but Bryan knew for sure that he was in support of Tom's decision.
As Dawn watched everyone walk away, leaving her alone with Evelyn, she knew without a doubt that she wasn't welcome there.
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