Mom, Don't Cry! Here comes a new Daddy! novel Chapter 50

Chapter 36-2

Chapter 36-2

+25 Pointe

“You know, when I first found out you were interested in me only because of an arrangement, I got mad, feeling deceived and played like a fool. Now…now I don’t even know what to say. Is this how CEOs play nowadays? Create fake identities, date single-mothers, and then what? Get her into your company and…”

“Sabrina-”

“The cruise,” I continue, my words clipped. “The interview today. This job I just accepted-was any

of it real?”

“Let me explain-”

“That’s what you said last time. Right before I found out you’d been lying to me from the moment we met.” My free hand grips the edge of the sink so hard my knuckles turn white. “So tell me, Mr. Hale. Did I get this job because I’m qualified? Or because you own the company?”

“You got it because you’re the best candidate.”

“Don’t lie to me!” The words echo off the bathroom tiles. “I just spent an hour in an interview thinking I finally-finally-did something on my own. That I earned something without anyone’s help. But it was all you, wasn’t it?”

“I wasn’t even in the building today. I made sure of it. The hiring team doesn’t know about our connection. They chose you based on your portfolio, your experience-”

“Your hiring team works for you. They do what you want them to do.” My laugh sounds bitter even to my own ears. “God, I’m so stupid. I actually thought-”

“You’re not stupid. Sabrina, you’re brilliant. That’s why they hired you.”

“You expect me to believe that? After everything?” Tears burn behind my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. “You’ve been controlling this from the start. The cruise. Meeting you. And now this job that was supposed to prove I could stand on my own-‘

“Sabrina, please, listen to me. I didn’t arrange the interview. You applied on your own. I only found out you were interviewing when I saw the schedule.”

I want to believe him. God, I want to believe him so badly.

I stayed up late last night, applying to every company I can think of. And this morning, when I received that call, I’ve practically reviewed the possible interview questions I could be asked while getting dressed.

1/3

G

|||

O

<

1

Chapter 36-2

So I want to believe that I got this job because of my talent, my hard work.

+25 Porta

But I’ve wanted to believe people before. Dustin when he said he loved me. Jessica when she said my husband was on a business trip. Sophia when she promised she’d never hurt me.

And look where that got me.

“I can’t do this,” I whisper. “I can’t work for you. I-”

“Then don’t think of it as working for me. Think of it as working for yourself, for Jake. You earned this position, Sabrina. Don’t throw it away because of your pride.”

The word cuts deep because he’s right.

“But my pride is all I have left,” I say quietly. “You and Dustin and everyone else-you’ve all taken pieces of me. My trust. My confidence. My ability to know what’s real anymore. And I can’t-I won’t -let you take the last bit of self-respect I’m clinging to.”

“I’m not trying to take anything from you. I’m trying to help-”

“I didn’t ask for your help!” My voice cracks. “I didn’t ask you to set up that cruise or manipulate me into dating you or somehow arrange for me to interview at your company-”

“I didn’t arrange it. I swear on my mother’s memory, I had nothing to do with you applying here.”

The conviction in his voice makes me pause.

His mother. The painter he loved so much he can barely talk about her without grief coloring his

tone.

But people swear on things all the time. Dustin swore on our marriage vows. Look how that turned

out.

“I don’t know what to believe anymore,” I admit. “Every time I think something is real, it turns out to be another lie. Another manipulation. Another person deciding what’s best for me without asking

what I want.”

“What do you want, Sabrina?”

The question stops me cold.

What do I want?

I want to believe this job is mine by merit. I want to believe Jason-Ethan-whatever his name is, actually cares about me and isn’t just playing some elaborate game. I want to believe I can trust someone again without it blowing up in my face.

I want Jake to be a kid again, not having to worry about his mom’s happiness and struggles.

IG

|||

O

Chapter 36-2

But wanting and having are two different things.

+25 Points

“I want to know the truth. No more lies. No more half-truths or omissions or convenient timing. If I’m going to work at your company, if I’m going to see you every day in that building, I need to know I’m not there because of your charity, but because of my own ability.”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify