Chapter 18

Kadeem

He couldn’t explain it, but as Susan moved to undress him, all he could see was Chelsea’s face. He could perfectly picture her, the way she’d been the last time he’d seen her. Her hair wet, worry in her eyes as she held him in the water.

It almost made him forget where he was then, but he snapped out of his thoughts as he felt Susan’s hands reach for his belt. Without hesitation, she began to undo his buckle, causing Kadeem’s body to convulse before he was gently grabbing her wrists.

“No,” he said then, blinking away the lingering images of Chelsea as he pushed away his girlfriend.

“I’m not in the mood,” Kadeem stated, keeping her away from him as he stepped back. However, the damage was already done.

Susan’s eyes quickly began to fill with tears, her body shaking as she swallowed Kadeem’s rejection. He could see her anger rising, her lips parting as she prepared to lash out at him.

“How about a new Bentley?” Kadeem asked quickly, trying to stop her tantrum. “I know you’ve wanted one. I can make a call and have it ready for you tomorrow.”

Much to his relief, he watched as Susan took a breath, rage disappearing from her eyes. He even put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her more.

“Really?” She asked then.

“Of course,” he said. After all, she was the mother of his child and he wanted to give her what she wanted. Plus, it gave him the perfect scapegoat.

Susan laughed then, excitement overtaking her as she bounced on the bed.

“Thank you, honey!” She called out. “You’re too kind.”

Following her words, Susan once again came toward him, ready to throw her arms around him and deliver a kiss to his cheek. However, he dodged her advances once more.

“I need to shower,” he insisted. “I won’t be long, but don’t wait up. I know you're tired.”

From there, Kadeem harshly turned his body away, leaving Susan behind as he finally escaped to the bathroom. Once more, images of Chelsea filled his head again.

~

Susan

The following day, Susan paced in her kitchen, beyond herself as her mother sat calmly at the counter.

“He won’t sleep with me, mother!” Susan admitted harshly. “I tried last night, and he wouldn’t even kiss me.”

She then stopped, cursing under her breath as she shook her head. “Damnit,” she scolded. “How am I supposed to get pregnant if he won’t have sex with me!?”

“It’s that woman,” her mother said coldly then. “Chelsea. Ever since she appeared, she’s been turning Kadeem’s head and distracting him.”

Susan burned in response, gritting her teeth as she thought of the new trainer.

“You need to get rid of her - dispose of the threat,” her mother insisted next. “And you need to hurry up and get pregnant. Then you have to make Kadeem propose and become his wife.”

Susan nodded as she took in the plan, her hard gaze moving to the floor.

She could get rid of Chelsea - she’d do anything. But for now, she needed to make sure she became pregnant as soon as possible.

If Kadeem wouldn’t have sex with her, then she’d find another way.

~

Susan gave a sexy smile at the man in the hotel bed, running her hands over him as he stared excitedly. Her smirk only grew by how ready he was to please her.

This was only the first step of her plan, but it had been incredibly easy to initiate. All it had taken was a quick phone call and Bob - who happened to be Kadeem’s uncle - had immediately dropped his daily responsibilities to meet her.

After all, this wasn’t the first time they’d slept together. They’d been friends with benefits for years - sneaking around behind Kadeem’s back for a thrill.

But tonight wasn’t just about fun, she needed Bob to help her.

Climbing onto him, Susan held a packaged condom between her fingers, still smiling at Bob as his hands ran over her thighs.

“How about we try something new?” she asked, throwing the condom to the side as she touched him again. “I want to feel you.”

Bob stared at her in disbelief, but didn’t resist as Susan raised up her hips, soon lowering them again as she felt him slide inside of her. Immediately, she moaned from the pleasure and how her plan was clicking into place.

The two continued to move with one another, quickly growing more heated. However, she soon saw how Bob’s brow furrowed, his muscles growing tense as he was reaching his climax. He never lasted long the first round, but Susan didn’t mind - especially now.

“Come inside of me,” she coaxed him. “Please. Please.”

Wanting to make her happy, Bob then groaned loudly, his hips becoming clumsy as he officially released. Susan sensed his warmth as he filled her, smiling to herself as she got just what she wanted.

And once he was done, she climbed off of him and made sure his seed stayed inside of her, hoping it would help her chances of getting pregnant.

“You’re amazing,” Bob said, rolling over to give her a kiss on the cheek. “I’m so glad you called.”

“I needed to release some stress,” she replied flatly.

“What’s the matter?” Bob asked, gently rubbing his fingers along her arm.

Immediately, Susan sighed, staring up at the ceiling.

“I think Ardal is back,” she stated bluntly.

“What!?” Bob said. “But that’s impossible!”

“I know,” Susan replied, but still she held onto her suspicion. “There’s this new woman at work who goes by the name ‘Chelsea.’ I can’t shake the feeling that she’s somehow Ardal.”

“No,” Bob said, shaking his head. “That can’t be true. You know we got rid of her six years ago when we paid that truck driver to hit her. I confirmed myself that she died of dystocia slightly after.”

“I know,” Susan said again. “But there’s something off about her. I swear she’s Ardal - even if she’s different.”

It was annoying. There was a resemblance between Ardal and Chelsea, but there were also clear differences. Ardal had been weaker, fragile and Chelsea was confident and outspoken. It was hard to believe they could actually be the same person.

And yet, Susan was worried that they somehow aligned.

“I need you to look into her,” Susan said then, turning to Bob. “Investigate Chelsea and see if she’s actually Ardal.”

“And if she is?” Bob asked.

To that, Susan breathed, looking up at the ceiling again with a fierce stare.

“Then we’ll have her killed again.”

~

Kadeem

Sitting in a chair within Mateo’s office, Kadeem kept himself completely still as the hypnotist stepped in front of him. The men shared a nod, falling into their usual routine as Mateo slowly raised his pocket watch in front of Kadeem’s eyes.

“Just relax. Breathe slowly,” Mateo ordered quietly. “And focus on the watch.”

The man then began to swing the watch in front of Kadeem, leaving the Alpha to follow it with his eyes. As it swayed, he felt his stare fogging, his eyelids becoming heavier.

But then his vision blurred completely, making the pocket watch and Mateo suddenly disappear…