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"What do you want, Monica?" I glared at her before looking back down at Skylar "Hey, honey, want to go play in the backyard?"

"Yes, please" She huggedand then ran to the back "Can I pick some flowers, Uncle Noah?"

"Of course" I beamed at her and waited until I saw her walk out the French doors to turn back to Monica "What do you want?" I glared at her, and let h

"You better ask your new lover, Lucky She’s the one that called me"

"Lucky is ust

"I’ her" Monica leered at me as she stepped in closer toyou"

"I’ve ood man misses hell"

"Noah, you’re back" Lucky ran down the stairs and gave etic look

"Yes" I nodded coldly

"Where’s Skylar?" She looked around wildly and I grabbed her arm

"She’s in the backyard" I nodded towards the back

"She’s a kid" Lucky looked ateyes "Skylar’s a kid"

"Yes"

"So you really didn’t miss your ex, did you?" Lucky chewed on her lower lip and I sighed

"I told you that I didn’t hed "I told you you didn’t really understand"

"I’m still here, bitches" Monica interrupted us "Where the fk isin o to Aruba," she sneered at me "And no, I don’t want you to come with oing with you anywhere"

"But for fking Skylar, you’d go to theweirdo you are I should have knohen you had to move to Palhter to ry "I was the one who took her to the park, I was the one who took her bowling, I was the one who took her for ice creaain"

"You’re also the one that left her crying for weeks on end" Monica looked at leam in her eye "But I shut her up"

"You shut her up?" I frowned and then it hit ainst the wall "Did you break Skylar’s arm?"

"She bumped into a chair" She looked athands off of me before I call the police"

"You’re an evil bitch" I hissed at her before letting go of her arrabbed me "Calm down Don’t let her win" She whispered in my ear

"I hate her so much" I said out loud "You kno I tell you that all the dregs of society moved to Palm Bonita, well, she was the worst of them all She is a thief, a con artist, an abuser When I ht she was a victiht she had fled an abusive husband But I rong Her husband was dead, had died in a car accident a few years before Left her a couple hundred thousand She spent that e fund Then she took jobs cleaning people’s houses but she was also cleaning out their houses She also conned several families out of their pensions with her schemes Monica didn’t flee to Pal her and killing her, she fled because she was scared the cops would find her and imprison her for life"

"That’s why you needed the private jet" Lucky’s eyes popped open as she stared at Monica "It wasn’t because of your fear of flying with other people at all, was it?"

"Ding, ding ding Your lover’s a smart one," Monica cackled "And I never lied to you, Noah The very first day I met you, I told you there were lots of bad people in town and that you had to be careful It’s not my fault if you didn’t listen to my advice"

"So what do you want, Monica?"

"I told your brother when he picked me up from the airport He’s very handsome, isn’t he? So much more handsolared at her, and I grabbed her hand so that she didn’t try to slap Monica

"What do you want?" I asked again, only this time my voice was a lot harder

"What I’ve alanted" She stared at ive you money?" I stared at her with hate

"Because you love Skylar," she laughed, "and you don’t want to see anything bad happen to her"

"You leave her alone," I ain, but this tiot out of the way

"I’d be happy to leave her alone forever," she smiled at me, "for a million dollars"

"What?" My heart beat fast at her words "What do you ed as if it were no big deal "I couldn’t give two shits about raising her You love her so ive me a million dollars"

"I don’t have a million dollars" My heart thudded as I stared at her "My dad is the rich one I don’t have access to that kind of o Hopefully the next sucker to move to town can take care of me a little better than you did"

"Leave Skylar" I asked softly "Leave Skylar with irl And you’re just not ready to be a mother"

"I’m ready to be a mother I love kids," she screeched "I want kids"

"Well, you’re a reat job" I shook ave me a look "That little brat is not my kid I married her dad after her mom died of breast cancer She’s not mine"