Longing For The Beach Billionaire Daddy
Chapter 100

*Shelby*

“Oh my god, I didn’t think that lecture was ever going to end,” Lin said as we walked out of the lecture hall.

I laughed at her dramatics before responding, “It was important stuff, Lin, but yeah, it did get a bit dry. The last twenty minutes were excruciating. I’m so hungry I think my stomach was louder than the professor’s.”

“So that’s what that was,” Lin laughed and bumped my shoulder with hers.

“Want to grab something on our way back? I don’t really feel like cooking dinner tonight. I just want to crash on the couch,” I said.

“Oh yes, please. There’s this Thai place that I’ve had mad cravings for,” Lin said, suddenly switching directions.

“I’m down,” I said, pivoting to catch up with her.

We laughed and talked about the recent lectures we’d had to sit through and how nice it was since Lauren left campus. After waiting in a long line for our food, we walked home swinging our plastic bags full of take-out containers.

“Do you want a plate, Lin?” I called across the kitchen island.

“Nope. I’m going to eat this straight out of the to-go boxes. Screw dishes,” she said, settling herself on the couch.

“Fair enough,” I said with a laugh, putting my plate back in the cupboard and taking my seat next to Lin on the couch.

I pulled my textbook onto my lap and opened one of the containers of food.

“Oh, put that thing away,” Lin said, motioning to my textbook.

“What? We have a lot of homework,” I said, taking a mouthful of delicious food.

“We have time, and we never take a break. Let’s just talk while we eat for once, maybe even watch some TV. We can study later tonight. I need to relax for a bit,” Lin said, smiling.

I smiled back and dramatically closed my textbook before tossing it onto the cushion next to me.

“That’s more like it,” Lin said.

“Okay, if you want to talk so bad, tell me about your date with Jerrick,” I said, teasing.

“Oh, it went pretty well, I guess,” Lin said, shrugging and looking into her to-go container.

“It must’ve been better than good if you let him spend the night,” I said with a knowing smile.

Lin’s face turned bright red, and she looked up at me with a shocked expression on her face.

“How’d you know about that?” Lin asked.

“I ran into him on his way out at the literal butt crack of dawn,” I said with a laugh. “I got up early to get some homework done, and I caught him sneaking down the stairs. I made him a cup of coffee before he left.”

“Oh my god, I’m so embarrassed,” Lin said, covering her face with her hands.

“Don’t be embarrassed about it! I really like him. I think you two are really good together, if you wanted my opinion on it,” I said.

“I was going to tell you eventually. It’s just that things are really new right now. I wanted to see where it was going to go before I told you,” Lin said, her cheeks calming down to a nice shade of pink.

“Well, we don’t have to talk about it until you’re ready then,” I said with an encouraging smile.

“Thanks. But I’m glad to know you think we are good together,” Lin said quietly.

“And super cute together, too,” I added.

Lin shot me a fake irritated look that quickly turned into a smile. She shook her head and turned on the TV to change the subject. The evening news was playing, and Lin pulled up the channel guide to replace something else to watch.

“The murder victim has been identified as thirty-five-year-old Blaine Blake,” the news reporter said.

“What?! Lin, don’t change the channel!” I yelled, jumping to my feet and upending an entire container of Thai food onto our new sofa.

“Did that news reporter say what I think she just said?” Lin asked, exiting the channel guide and turning up the volume.

“Blaine Blake was found deceased in his New York City apartment early yesterday morning. Now that his identity has been confirmed, law enforcement has let us know they have a suspect in custody. However, they have not released the name of that suspect,” the reporter continued as Lin and I stared in disbelief at the screen.

Blaine’s picture sat in the right-hand corner of the screen while footage of yellow police tape blocked off what must’ve been the apartment complex he was hiding out in. I had no idea how to feel about Blaine’s death.

Of course, I didn’t want him to be killed, I wanted him behind bars, but I definitely didn’t feel upset about his murder either. I should have felt relieved that there would be no more blackmail, but something didn’t feel right.

I left Lin in the other room, watching the news while I called Michael. I had no idea if he already knew about Blaine’s death… Blaine’s murder. I stood there with my ear to the phone as it rang and rang, but Michael never picked up.

I tried his phone again and then a third time before finally trying his office number. My anxiety grew with each ring, and I knew in my gut that something was very, very wrong.

A knock pounding on my front door nearly made me jump out of my skin. I rushed down the main hallway, half expecting to see Michael standing in my foyer with open arms, telling me we had nothing to worry about anymore. Instead, it was Bruce with an extremely solemn look on his face.

“Bruce, I’m so glad to see you. I just saw a news report that Blaine’s dead. I tried to call Michael, but he didn’t answer…” I trailed off as I watched Bruce’s eyes drop to the floor.

“Bruce, what’s going on? What’s wrong? Where is Michael?” I asked, all the questions spilling out at once.

“Shelby, I need you to come with me,” Bruce said, not meeting my eyes.

“Not until you tell me what’s going on,” I said stubbornly, my heart racing.

“Shelby, please,” Bruce mumbled.

“Bruce, I know something’s wrong. I can feel it. I can’t sit through an entire drive back to New York not knowing. Please, just tell me what happened. Where is Michael?” I asked again, dreading the answer.

Bruce sighed and let the silence fill the empty space like an awkward third member of the conversation.

“Bruce… please,” I pleaded.

“Michael has been arrested for Blaine’s murder,” Bruce said, looking strained.

The news hit me like a ton of bricks, even though it was exactly what I’d feared. When Michael didn’t answer my calls, I knew something had gone terribly wrong. I just had no idea how wrong.

“How is this possible?” I mumbled, more to myself than to Bruce.

“I’m still not sure what they have on him, but it must be pretty substantial for them to detain him. If they didn’t have evidence, they would only be able to bring him in for questioning. I’m afraid Michael has been set up to take the fall for this entire thing,” Bruce said, as though the thought was making him physically ill.

“Oh, my god,” I said, and I felt my knees buckle.

I knelt on the ground and wrapped my arms around myself as though I could protect myself from such horrible news. I needed to see Michael. I needed to tell him that I would always be here, and that I knew the truth. I knew he was being set up.

Tears burned in the back of my eyes and down my throat, but I refused to let them get the better of me this time. No amount of tears would change the situation we were in. The situation Blaine put us in.

I gave myself a full minute to mourn the loss of the life I’d been planning.

I mourned the loss of wedding planning and engagement parties. I mourned the loss of decorating the rest of the town house together. I mourned the weekend nights getting dinner together and watching late night movies until we both fell asleep on the couch. I gave myself that full minute to feel sorry for myself.

Once that minute was done, I picked myself off of the floor and looked Bruce in the eyes.

“Let’s go. I need to get to New York now,” I said, in the bravest voice I could muster.

I was going to do everything I could to prove Michael’s innocence. I would stop at nothing to replace the real person that did this and clear Michael’s name. I wasn’t going to lose my future with him, not when we were so close to finally having the freedom to be together publicly.

“Of course Shelby,” Bruce said, turning to head to the car which was still running in the driveway.

I made myself as comfortable as I could in the back seat, but I couldn’t calm my nerves. My leg bounced in anticipation of the long monotonous car ride. I heard Bruce’s phone ring in the front seat as we were pulling onto the interstate.

“Hello?” he said, pausing as the other person spoke.

I was unable to hear what was being said on the other end of the call, but I strained to catch any bit of information I could.

“So it seems as though they’ve found out about the blackmailing that’d been going on for years,” Bruce said.

Another long pause as the person on the other end explained something; Bruce subconsciously nodded his head as the other person spoke.

“So they’re saying that Blaine blackmailing Michael is the motive? Even if that was the case, they can’t hold him on motive alone,” Bruce said, sounding frustrated.

The next pause seemed to go on forever, and I started to get light headed. I realized I’d been holding my breath, trying to make as little noise as possible so I wouldn’t miss any of the conversation.

“I see. Thank you for letting me know. Please keep me updated with any new information you replace out,” Bruce said, hanging up the phone.

“Bruce?” I asked tentatively.

“Yes, Miss Hatton?” he answered, his voice husky.

“Who was that on the phone?”

“That was Michael’s lawyer. It seems as though the police have some sort of evidence. That’s why they’re able to hold him for more than just questioning,” he answered.

“What kind of evidence?”

“His lawyer doesn’t know yet. All we know is that it’s substantial.”