285: NEED A HAND LUKE’S POV “So, you tell me, mother. Are you still on drugs?” I quizzed my mom, with the both of us still ensconcing ourselves on the edge of the bed. I think I knew the answer. But I just decided to throw the question at her, and now I was expecting a replication. “The thing here is that… “Don’t tell me that. Just please give me an answer. A yes or a no.” She glanced at me at that moment. “You don’t have to be so rude to me.” “Not rude to you, but sorry about that.” “Hmmm hmmm. “But but you just have to give me an answer to my question, Mom.” “Well, yes. I’m still on the drug stuff.” I sighed, driving my hand through my hair. “I knew it.” “Then why did you ask me?” “I just wanted to hear what you have to say.” “And you did.” “Yeah, I did,” I whispered. “Are you going to help me?” “Help you with what?” “Two things. My relationship with Catherine and the whole drug shit.” I chuckled. “Okay, let’s not get things wrong around here. I might help you with the drug. problem and all that. But with Catherine, you’ll have to do that on your own.” I rose from the bed. “Come on, I’ll need your help talking to her. I don’t think I can do this myself.” “You are her mother. Of course, you can do this yourself.” 285: NEED A HAND LUKE’S POV “So, you tell me, mother. Are you still on drugs?” I quizzed my mom, with the both of us still ensconcing ourselves on the edge of the bed. I think I knew the answer. But I just decided to throw the question at her, and now I was expecting a replication. “The thing here is that…” “Don’t tell me that. Just please give me an answer. A yes or a no.” She glanced at me at that moment. “You don’t have to be so rude to me.” “Not rude to you, but sorry about that.” “Hmmm hmmm.” “But you just have to give me an answer to my question, Mom.” “Well, yes. I’m still on the drug stuff.” I sighed, driving my hand through my hair. “I knew it.” “Then why did you ask me?” “I just wanted to hear what you have to say.” “And you did.” “Yeah, I did,” I whispered. “Are you going to help me?” “Help you with what?” “Two things. My relationship with Catherine and the whole drug shit.” I chuckled. “Okay, let’s not get things wrong around here. I might help you with the drug. problem and all that. But with Catherine, you’ll have to do that on your own.” I rose from the bed. “Come on, I’ll need your help talking to her. I don’t think I can do this myself.” “You are her mother. Of course, you can do this yourself.” “Nah, I’m not too sure about that.” She shook her head, laughing. Her tone was kind of low. “You broke her into pieces. And now, you’ll have to fix things, put those pieces back together.” “Yes, I’m going to do that, but I’ll need your help.” “No, mother. The relationship with Catherine is something you ruined for yourself. Now you’ll have to fix that yourself.” “Keep on saying that, Luke. You’re still helping me.” “Nah, I don’t think I’m going to do that.” “Please, Luke. You have to help me.” “Mom…” “Please, son,” she pleaded. Looking into her eyes, I could see how she wanted this badly. and I couldn’t say no anymore. I shook my head, letting out a deep sigh. And then I closed both of my eyes, fixing my hands on my waist. “Fine, I’ll help you.” “Really?” She asked. I could hear the joy in her tone. “Well, yeah,” I replied, looking in another direction, not setting my eyes on her. “Thank you so much!” She got up from the bed and hugged me tightly as if she were about to squeeze the living soul out of me. “Okay, you can let go of me now,” I told her, barely breathing.” “Oh, right, sorry,” she apologized and let go. Well, that was a relief. My phone started ringing, and Jack was the one calling. It was obviously about what he had told me earlier. “Okay, mom. You have to go.” I held both of her shoulders, walking out of the room. “Are you for real? We have to go talk to Catherine.” “We will do that later, I promise. Right now, I’ve got business stuff to take care of.” I took. her out of the room. She was now outside the door. “Okay, but you have to be quick. You just have to tell me when you want everything to be done and how we’re going to…” “Goodbye.” I gave her a fake smile before closing the door. I locked it, leaning against the door. Thank God that was over. ARIEL’S POV I made my way to the bathroom, the marble floors cold against my bare feet. I turned on the shower and let the warm water cascade down my body, washing away any trace of sleepiness. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, letting the steam and the scent of my lavender body wash relax me. While lathering my hair with shampoo, I thought about my conversation with Laura. It was so messed up that things would turn out like this. She was really lovely, but now she was displaying the dark side to me. I literally had no idea why she was still stressing herself out with Luke. It wasn’t like he had done something to her in the past. I quickly rinsed off the shampoo and applied conditioner, leaving it in for a few extra minutes to give my hair some extra shine. I reached for my body scrub and gently exfoliated my skin, paying extra attention to my arms and legs. I wanted to feel and look my best for the meeting. After rinsing off the scrub, I grabbed my loofah and body washed, making sure to cleanse every inch. Stepping out of the shower, I wrapped myself in a plush towel and dried off my body. I then grabbed my fluffy white robe and tied it around my waist. I walked over to the vanity. and looked at myself in the mirror. My hair was still wet, so I let it air dry while I dressed. I walked over to my walk–in closet, filled with designer clothes and shoes. I picked out a black pencil skirt and a crisp white button–up shirt–the perfect combination right here. I slipped on a pair of nude pumps and added a statement necklace for a touch of elegance. I sat down at my vanity and started on my makeup. I set it with a light layer of foundation, followed by a dusting of powder. I then added a subtle blush to my cheeks and a swipe of rosy lipstick. I wanted to look professional but still feminine. After my makeup was done, I moved on to my hair, I decided to leave it down, as it was still damp and had a natural wave to it. I sprayed on a bit of texturizing spray and scrunched it with my fingers to enhance the waves. I then used a curling iron to add some loose curls and pinned back a small section of my hair with a sparkly clip. Feeling satisfied with my appearance, I walked back to my closet and picked out a pair of diamond stud earrings and a matching bracelet. I also spritzed on my favorite perfume, at floral and musky scent that always made me feel confident. As I made my way to the door, I took one last look at myself in the mirror. I looked like a successful and powerful businesswoman, which is exactly the image I wanted to portray. With a final touch of lip gloss, I grabbed my briefcase and headed out the door. My phone started ringing, and Luke was the one calling. I gazed at the screen for quite a moment, still thinking about how he was a jerk last night. But I shouldn’t be mad at him for that. No, no. I answered the call. “Hey, Luke.” “Good morning, my love. How are you doing?v slept well.” “Yes, I did. Thanks for being concerned.” “You sound like you’re mad at me.” “Well, that’s not it. It’s just that.” He hung up, cutting me off. Why the hell did he hang up on me like that? “Where do you think you are going?” Laura walked closer to me, giving me a dark look with her arms crossed.
