Chasing His Brother's Bride
Chasing His Brother’s Bride – Chapter 36

When Jolie and Trey entered the house with the two other guards he’d had with them, she was exhausted. Elio had collected Pia from school again and he had told her to take her time and not rush home. He and Pia were going to be playing in her new treehouse and having a tea party.

So, she had stayed a bit longer with Opal until it was time for her to get home to Axl. She had then stayed at Opal’s for at least thirty minutes listening to Axl tell her all about drama club and how there was more drama off stage than on it and he was there for it.

Now she was entering the mansion and her stomach was rolling with nerves. She had ignored every text Brix and Malik had both sent her, asking when she’d be home and letting her know they too were running behind.

“Jolie, we’ll take these bags into your room?”

“That would be great, Trey. Thanks again for putting up with us today.”

“Are you kidding? Easiest day ever.” He grinned his version of a smile and the three men took the stairs two at a time to put the ten or so bags she had upstairs. She was definitely getting used to him.

She noted at the far end of the hall, Elio disappearing into the powder room and gave him a wave. He motioned to the kitchen to let her know where Pia was.

She kicked her heels off and tossed them into the closet by the front entrance and then padding in her nylon clad feet, she made her way to the kitchen. She froze near the entrance as she heard Pia’s voice, fear coating her words.

“I’m telling my daddy you’re being mean.”

“He’s not your daddy. He’s your uncle, half-uncle. Stop calling him daddy. He doesn’t like it.”

“Yes, he does.” Pia sniffed as she wiped her eyes.

“He only let’s you say it to be kind. He’s a nice man. Your mom is using him and you are a pawn in her little game but I’m not going to let her win. For your own sake, you should grow up fast and stop calling him Daddy because you aren’t going to be here long. You’ll be back on the street where you both belong. If I hear you call him daddy again, I’ll spank your bottom until it’s cherry red.”

Pia had tears down her cheeks as Jolie met her eyes. “Mommy.”

Jolie walked to Flavia and smacked her hard across the face, her hand stinging with the blow she had just leveled to the woman. “I don’t give a f**k who the hell you think you are but you will not, not ever, talk to my child like this again. Am I f*****g clear?” She screamed the last of it before moving to take Pia off the counter and curling her in her arms. “It’s okay baby. Mommy’s here. I got you.” She turned back on her heel to see Flavia marching towards her and she held up a hand, “try me you psychotic b***h. Just f*****g try me. I have done nothing but do as I’m told by the men in this family but if they think I’m going to allow me or my daughter, especially my daughter, be victimized by another one of their family, they can think again. f**k you. Stay away from us.”

“Jolie?” Elio walked into the space and immediately felt the tension in the room. He noted the handprint on Flavia’s face and moved to her, “what happened?”

“That psychotic b***h slapped me for no reason and started yelling at me.”

Elio turned incredulous eyes to Jolie, “what?”

Jolie pointed to the camera which was positioned right over the cabinetry focused right on the island, “watch the footage. You keep her,” she pointed to Flavia, rage coating her words, “away from Pia or I swear I will hide so well not even your damn bounty hunter will replace us.”

Pia was sobbing in Jolie’s arms and she was about to take her upstairs when Brix walked into the house and immediately beelined for Pia. He reached for her but she screamed and tucked her head into Jolie’s collar. “No. No. Uncle Brix. No.”

“Uncle Brix?” he frowned.

“Ask your mother,” Jolie shoved past him and when he grabbed her arm, she wrenched it away from him furiously. “Do not touch us. I left her in your care,” she looked to Elio angrily, “and it’s a mistake I won’t make again. You are all so f*****g blind to the things happening right under your noses it’s no wonder not one of you knew Val had taken a prisoner two floors below you for a full eight months. Leave us alone.”

“Mom, what happened to your face?”

Brix moved towards his mother as Jolie fled the area and took Pia up the stairs, passing Trey on the way down.

“Jolie are you okay?” he asked stopping halfway down the stairs. “Why is our little princess crying?” he looked to Pia.

“The cameras in the kitchen caught it all.” She shoved past him and kept marching until she got to Pia’s bedroom. She kicked it shut and then paused and locked it. Moving straight into the bathroom she immediately began running her bath. Pia was clinging to her, still crying about the mean lady.

“It’s okay baby,” she tried to sit her on the edge of the vanity to help her undress but Pia wasn’t having it.

“No Mommy. I want you.”

“Okay. How about we have a bubble bath together? You can paint my stripes? Then we can get your tablet and watch a movie. Do you want mommy to order you dinner?”

She sniffed and wiped a glob of snot along the side of her face and Jolie reached for a tissue, gagging as she wiped the child’s face. “You need to try to stop crying though baby because I don’t want to have a salty bath.”

Pia sniffed loudly, “a salty bath?”

“Yes, your tears are salty. I don’t want to sit in your salty tears,” Jolie made wide eyes at her. Her words made Pia giggle. She sat on the closed toilet seat and began taking Pia’s clothes off to put her in the tub. “You know, you’re almost getting to be too big to take baths with mommy.”

“I’m only five.”

“You’re almost six.”

“Not for a long time.”

She wrangled the dress off her and then her tights. “Find your bath things and mommy will get in first.”

Fifteen minutes later, Pia’s tears were gone and they were splashing in the tub, Jolie’s back painted in red, yellow, green, blue and variations of the colors they made when blended together. Pia was dancing a seahorse water toy along the top of the bubbles and she was singing a song she made words up to.

Jolie closed her eyes and tried to push the rage she was still feeling down. She’d hit another person in anger. She could hear Brix’ taunting words from one of their first conversations when he mocked her non-violence stance about what she would do if anyone ever tried to harm Pia. Well now she had the answer. She’d take on the matriarch of the Beckwith family with fists to defend her baby. She felt a tear edge the corner of her eye and wiped it away before Pia could see it.

“Mommy,” Pia asked as she bounced the toy around the edge of the tub.

“What Mia Pia?”

“Why is the lady so mean? Nonno said I could call her Nonna but I don’t want to.”

“You do not have to call her Nonna.” Jolie felt bitterness in her chest. “You do not have to worry about her because I will never let you alone with her again.”

“Why was she so mean to me?”

“Because she doesn’t like mommy, Pia.” Jolie tried to explain as gently as she could, “she doesn’t want for mommy to marry Brix. She is Brix’ mommy and she doesn’t think I am a good person.”

“You’re the best person. She’s mean.”

“Thank you, Pia. Unfortunately, baby, I made a mistake.”

“When you hitted her?”

“When I hit,” she corrected her grammar, “her, I made a mistake. It is not right to hit. No matter how angry they make us.”

“She deserved it,” Pia whispered, her little voice shaking. “Does Uncle Brix want us to move away now? Do we have to go back to our other house?”

Jolie had no response for her child’s questions and instead diverted her attention, “right now, all we need to do is put on our pyjamas and watch your tablet.”

“And order food?” Pia asked when her tummy growled hungrily. “Nonno was going to make me a snack but then the lady was there.”

“What do you want me to order for you?”

“Rice.”

She g*****d internally at the request. Pia was finicky about her rice. There was only one Chinese take-out place she liked the rice from and it was much further now than it had been when they lived in their little house. “I’ll see what I can do. I don’t know if they deliver this far.”

“And the chicken balls. We can pretend they are space bugs and space rocks.”

She reached for a towel and wrapped it around herself as she contemplated whining like a baby and dropping to the floor. She left Pia playing while she dug through the linen closet and found a hair dryer. She dried her own hair and keeping her towel tucked, she moved to the walk-in closet in Pia’s room to replace her pjs. She found cozy flannels and held them up. “These ones, okay?”

Pia looked over her shoulder, “yes.”

She got Pia out of the tub and got her all dried off. She stared at the rounded cheeks and dark eyes and wondered what pleasure anyone would derive from making such a sweet innocent face sad. She could understand coming for her but for Pia. Flavia Beckwith went too far and Jolie wasn’t going to stand for it. There wasn’t an excuse in the books which would make her feel anything other than animosity towards the woman now.

She kissed Pia’s nose and heard Brix in the back of her head saying nobody could deny the nose. Perhaps not but never in their life had Jolie ever considered she would be in this situation. Maybe, since she struck his mother, Brix would cut her loose. She would continue to keep her mouth shut but she did not need this level of toxicity around her child.

Jolie pulled her little girl in tight for a hug and inhaled the fresh clean scent of her. She blinked back tears again as she considered how cruel Flavia had been. Threatening to spank Pia for calling Brix daddy. She slowly released Pia and then got her dressed for bed.

“Let’s sleep in here tonight, Pia.” Jolie looked around the room.

“Why?”

Because I want to hide in your room with you was Jolie’s first thought but she bit her tongue. “I want to know what it’s like to sleep in the canopy bed,” Jolie shrugged. “We can close the curtains all around us like we’re in our own little cave or, pretend it’s a space shuttle.”

“Okay but I’m not sleeping alone.” Pia made her opinion known. She wrinkled her face at Jolie, “where are you going?”

She waved to the towel still wrapped around her. “I was going to borrow your pjs but they’re too small.” Pia giggled loudly, “so I’m going to go to my room, get my pjs and then come back. You sit on the bed and wait for me. Then we can order dinner.”

She gingerly pulled the door open knowing she was about to cross the hall wearing nothing but a towel. She hoped the guys weren’t watching the cameras at this particular moment as she snuck from one room to the other. Making a quick dive into the closet she pulled out her favorite flannels and quickly got dressed. Pausing at the bed where all her bags were at the foot, she grabbed her purse and yanked her phone from the bottom of it, where she’d shoved it after the last text from Malik.

She found the food delivery service she used to use and found it would deliver to their new location. With her mood as it was, she was indecisive but then said screw it and decided she was going to increase the credit card charges she’d made today. She made quick work of ordering three different combo plates for her and plain rice and deep-fried chicken balls for Pia. When it got to the house, one of the guards would have to bring it up. She took a breath and rubbed her forehead sadly. This might be the last time she had the guys bringing her things up.

She made her way back to the bedroom and found Pia already on the bed, a teddy bear tucked under her arm and she was staring at the canopy ceiling. She crawled into the bed with her and looked up. “What are you thinking of?”

“I really wanted a daddy.”

Jolie felt her heart clench at the child’s admission and kissed her forehead, unable to think of anything which would make her heartache any less. She curled her body around her and hugged her tight. “You will always have me, Mia Pia. Always. I’m not going anywhere without you.”

Pia snuggled up under her chin and folded her arms between them, a deep sigh escaping her lips.

Jolie lay there holding her child, who was no longer crying but appeared to be resigned and accepting of the fact she shouldn’t expect Brix to be her dad. She had known someday her child would have her heart broken. She presumed when she was a teenager and a crush made her cry but this felt too soon and to brutal and she was admittedly, struggling to deal with her anger.

She wanted to scream and yell at the top of her lungs and take Pia as far away from the Cacciola family as she could. The longer she and Pia stayed upstairs with nobody coming to check on Pia, the angrier she got. While she lay there contemplating all the things she wanted to say to Brix and his mother, she had a very sudden understanding of why Pia had punched Norman in the face. Bullies were the worst.