Page 44 of Ma Belle Marguerite (Hidden Secrets #1)

Isabella

W hile waiting for Rex to come to bed, I decide to message the girls. It’s been too long, and the hundreds of missed texts and phone calls are a sign that I should call them back. I have been such a shitty friend lately.

I dial Giselle's phone number first. When she answers, I say, “One minute, please hold,” before dialing Camille to do a group call. “Hey ladies, sorry I've been so MIA lately.” Before I can continue, Giselle cuts me off.

“Yeah, where the hell have you been? You haven't answered any of our messages biatch!” Yep, that's Giselle.

“Sorry, there's been a lot going on, and I don't even know where to start.” I’m overwhelmed just thinking about everything that has happened in just a couple days.

“How about you start at the beginning? Last we heard, you were going out to supper and possibly moving in with Rex. Since then, it's been crickets. Thankfully, we knew you’d be safe with Rex and didn’t need to bust his door down.” And that's my Camille, the calmer, more sensible one.

“Okay, okay, ladies, settle down. Let's start by saying we did move in with Rex. Mostly because someone broke into my home and shredded everything that I own in my room.” I lay back on the bed and get comfortable, this will probably be a long conversation.

I get cut off by Camille this time. “And you didn't tell us this? What the hell! That is a big deal.”

“Yeah, well, that's minor details actually. Do you remember Rex's brother Cole?” My body lets out an involuntary shiver.

“Yes, that slimy son of a bitch that we never liked, what about him?” Leave it to Giselle to get right to the point.

“Well, basically he kidnapped me and brought me to a bunker that belongs to Rex. Then he drugged me. Oh, and he was there with my half-sister Amara. By the way, I have a half-sister! Remember that girl who used to watch everybody in high school?” I know I’m rambling but I can’t seem to stop.

“Is she the one that had a crush on Rex and was all stalkery?” Camille has a better memory for details out of the three of us.

“Yes, that is the one. Well, she’s the one that has been trying to kill Rex, but that's not the point. Cole tried to kill Rex and me by blowing up the bunker while we were in it. I was outside, but Rex was still in there.”

“Okay, that's it! We need to video chat.” Camille sends a request to turn on our cameras, and I debate whether to accept it, but decide, why not ?

“You're looking pretty good for someone who got blown up.” Giselle has a smirk on her face.

“I didn't get blown up smart ass. Rex almost got blown up. He lost some of his men in the explosion. Be nice!” I chastise her.

I will just throw everything else at them in one shot; otherwise, we’ll be at this all night.

“Anyways, later I got shot at, and my arm was grazed, which led to finding out that Rex is the father of my twins.” I take a moment to let that thoroughly soak in.

Saying everything out loud is making it all feel more real and less like I am in a fucked up dream.

I can see on their faces once they realize what I just said.

“What kind of dramatic movie is your life right now? A half-sister, new baby daddy, getting kidnapped.” Camille speaks first, her face still showing confusion.

“No, she needs to be on Jerry Springer. Wait, what do you mean Rex is the twins' father?” Giselle picks up on that part first as all the new news starts to sink in for them.

I take a deep breath before I start to explain.

“Rex and I have decided it’s best not to tell the kids, or anyone else, with everything else going on.

We found out that Rex is their father through him having the same blood disorder that Remi has.

” I know we said to keep this quiet, but I need to talk to someone besides Rex about it and I know my girls will have my back.

I take another quick breath. “They don't even know about anything I’ve told you. It needs to stay that way.” I don’t think they would tell the twins, but stranger things have happened lately. “I don't even know where to start telling them things. Which is where you guys come in. I need your help.”

“What do you need? We can be there in twenty minutes with supplies.” Camille is already up and moving from her couch, opening her fridge looking for wine.

“I just need to talk a bit before Rex comes upstairs. We have his parent's old joint bedrooms, but he seems to gravitate towards my bed most nights.” It's not that I’m complaining; I sleep way better with him beside me.

“Do the kids know about you and Rex being back together?” And it seems like it’s right to the point with Giselle tonight.

“No, because we aren’t back together. We’re just fooling around.” I think. Well that’s all it is supposed to be. My heart says otherwise.

“Right, and I’m the queen of China.”

“Oh, stop it, Giselle. You know she likes to deny everything until she is blue in the face.” Camille laughs out as she sets a bottle of wine on her counter.

Why are they ganging up on me? They’re supposed to be on my side. “Thanks, ladies. This conversation has been very enlightening.”

“Relax, we are just bugging you.” Camille gives me her teacher's face. “You know we love you and will do whatever it takes to make you smile. Your new sister, who we need to talk about, won’t be replacing us. Blood or not.”

“I know. I feel like I am drowning, and the water keeps getting deeper the more I try to swim to the top. I need a break!” I hear Rex clear his throat. Crap, what has he heard?

“Is your boy toy there?” Giselle is not helping the situation.

I can feel my face going red. “K girls' time’s up, I guess. I’ll call again when I get a chance to discuss everything else. Love you both.” I blow them a kiss and quickly hang up before they can say anything else to embarrass me or get me in trouble.

“Have a good chat, Ma Belle ?” Rex has an amused look on his face. It’s nice to see his handsome smile that makes his eyes crinkle at the sides.

“I did. How long were you there listening?” Hopefully, he walked in at my last words. I don’t want to have to explain myself to him right now.

With a slight smile still on his face, he walks towards me, “Not too long. However, it was long enough to hear your last comment.”

Sitting beside me on the bed, he takes my phone and puts it on the nightstand. And here we go, another lecture.

Instead, he surprises me, “I need you to tell me when you’re feeling this way.

I’m here for you, and I want to be your rock.

The one you lean on and trust with everything you need.

Physical, emotional, whatever it is, come to me, and I will do everything in my power for you and the kids.

I promise.” His eyes are pleading with me to believe him.

Hearing these words from him that I have been missing my whole adult life brings me to tears. I don’t know what I have done to deserve a man like this, but I’ll do what I can to keep him. I don’t want to let this go again.

I lean close and kiss him on the cheek. “What I need is you to cuddle me to sleep. We can talk about everything else in the morning.”

Nodding to me he gets up and we both quickly strip down to our underwear and get into bed. We only have a couple more hours before we need to be awake and start figuring things out.

“ Bonne nuit , Ma Belle Marguerite,” I feel him kiss my neck just below my ear as he cuddles up to my back. I’ve missed him saying goodnight to me like this.

“I love you, Rex,” I whisper as I fall asleep.