Chapter 37 Ayrie got three hours of sleep . Xochtl scared the shit out of them . She clings to me as Cevin and I pack up my office . Tessa and Maria are also here with us . None of us say anything as I slip the pictures on the wall into the foam sleeves before putting them in the box . I do feel like crying , but the more I fight it the angrier I get . " Altaha , " I look up at poor Sullivan . All this " Hey , " " I'm so sorry , " he sighs . it is going to fall on him again just when we were starting to get to know one another better . " It's not your fault . I'm the one that should be apologizing ," I go over to the desk to take the plans I'd been working on to give to him . " What's this ? " " Those are the plans for the storage rooms and the design floor . That's how far I got . I hope they help ," " Thank you , " he nods . Ugh , I hate the sympathy on his face . " Is there anything I can do for you ? Maybe I can talk to Xo ? " " No , even if she changed her mind . I won't . It would have to be one hell of an apology , " I admit . He glances over my shoulder to see Maria and Tessa . He nods and excuses himself . It took a little time to pack my things up . When I'm putting Ayrie into the car seat Maria comes over to me and rubs my back . " I know I said I was going to wait for you to think about it , but I couldn't , " she says sheepishly . I laugh . " I'm sending these to the B.E.A.C.H. house . We also packed up everything in your apartment . It'll take a couple of weeks for the renovations to be done , but the house is yours , " " You didn't have to do that ," " I did , " she takes my hand when I shut the door . " Xo and I hate each other . It's- I am so sorry she came at us like that . I invited her over to try and keep things civil but she went after my son and I got a little kooky . He's my baby . At this point , it's kind of a reflex . Knight can be a dick , " " I know . Thank you for trying , but honestly with the way she reacted . I don't think there was ever going to be another outcome . I think it's better this way anyway . I've always kind of wanted to work for myself and I think I can make that happen now , " " Whatever you need , all you have to do is ask , " she nods and looks over my car . " Would you like to drive ? " " Yes , " she says excitedly . " I've always wanted one of these , " I laugh and climb into the passenger seat while she goes around . I look up at the building and try to shake it off . Maria doesn't say anything as tears slide down my face . We're back on the ranch when my phone pings . Xo : I want to meet you . Alone . PA : You know that's not going to happen . Xo : You don't know what it is you're in the middle of . PA : He's their father . Xo : He's not what you think he is . PA : It doesn't matter . Sides were chosen . You made yours very clear , I'm his mate . That means something to me . It should mean something to you as well . 1/3 16:46 Fri , 9 May Chapter 37 林 会 1 % 餘 20 The little dots come up and then go away a couple of times but she doesn't send anything anymore . As soon as we arrive , Maria starts giving orders . Knightly is by the barn where they keep the horses with Aizen in one arm and his hand tucked into his pocket . He's saying something to him and Aizen is locked in . Ayrie holds up one of my favorite cameras and I crouch down with her to show her how to zoom in and take a picture . When he turns to us , she giggles and snaps the picture . It's a really good one . He smiles brightly at her when she runs over to him to show him the picture . " Momma , " Aizen comes over to me when Knightly sets him down . I can't count how many times they've kept me together . It kills me that it's something that has ever had to weigh over them . I've been told many times that they don't know , but they do . Ayrie wouldn't have nightmares and Aizen wouldn't be worried about either of us . Having them this close helps me breathe better " You okay ? " Knightly asks when I stand up again . " Yeah , " I nod . " Thave to go into the city later , " he informs me . Okay " Mommy , can we paints ? " Ayrie asks and hands me my camera back . " Yes . I can use some painting time , " I agree . " I want the pink one , " " But that one has all the pretty blues , " Aizen groans as the two of them run towards the house . If that's what we want to call it . " That is a very expensive camera you let her run around with , " he says worriedly . " She's been taking pictures for a while now . The photographers at the runways loved her asking questions . This one is new so she doesn't know how to work it yet , but she'll get there , " " They're very creative , " " Yeah , they like to paint because i have watercolor paints for my sketches . Ayrie has a knack for it and Aizen just uses the colors to practice his writing , " " Why does he like that ? " he smiles . I tense up and take a deep breath . " You okay ? " " Yeah , he picked it up as a distraction . A few months ago . Ayrie got a really bad cold . She was really sick , " " No , " he shakes his head . " We don't get sick , " " Well , she was sick . Neither had been sick before that . She had a really bad fever and the doctors didn't know what was wrong with her . She was like that for about two weeks . We couldn't go near her because they didn't know if it was contagious . Aizen took it very hard . He wasn't eating and it was the only thing I could think of to distract him at the time I thought I was going to lose her ," " Do you have the medical records ? " " Yes ," I nod " I'd like to see them : Was that all that was wetting with her ? " " No , she had this rash . I thought it was an allergic reaction at first and then hand , foot , and mouth disease . But things just got worse and worse as things progressed . Do you think maybe Kendra tried to do something to her ? " " Was she the one taking care of her then 2/3 1 % 20 Chapter 37 The little dots come up and then go away a couple of times but she doesn't send anything anymore . As soon as we arrive , Maria starts giving orders . Knightly is by the barn where they keep the horses with Aizen in one arm and his hand tucked into his pocket . He's saying something to him and Aizen is locked in . Ayrie holds up one of my favorite cameras and I crouch down with her to show her how to zoom in and take a picture . When he turns to us , she giggles and snaps the picture . It's a really good one . He smiles brightly at her when she runs over to him to show him the picture . " Momma , " Aizen comes over to me when Knightly sets him down . I can't count how many times they've kept me together . It kills me that it's something that has ever had to weigh over them . I've been told many times that they don't know , but they do . Ayrie wouldn't have nightmares and Aizen wouldn't be worried about either of us . Having them this close helps me breathe better . " You okay ? " Knightly asks when I stand up again . " Yeah , " I nod . " I have to go into the city later , " he informs me . " Okay ," " Mommy , can we paints ? " Ayrie asks and hands me my camera back . " Yes . I can use some painting time ," I agree. " I want the pink one , " " But that one has all the pretty blues , " Aizen groans as the two of them run towards the house . If that's what we want to call it . " That is a very expensive camera you let her run around with ," he says worriedly . " She's been taking pictures for a while now . The photographers at the runways loved her asking questions . This one is new so she doesn't know how to work it yet , but she'll get there ," " They're very creative , " " Yeah , they like to paint because I have watercolor paints for my sketches . Ayrie has a knack for it and Aizen just uses the colors to practice his writing . " " Why does he like that ? " he smiles . I tense up and take a deep breath . " You okay ? " " Yeah , he picked it up as a distraction . A few months ago . Ayrie got a really bad cold . She was really sick , " " No ," he shakes his head . " We don't get sick ," " Well , she was sick . Neither had been sick before that . She had a really bad fever and the doctors didn't know what was wrong with her . She was like that for about two weeks . We couldn't go near her because they didn't know if it was contagious . Aizen took it very hard . He wasn't eating and it was the only thing I could think of to distract him at the time . I thought I was going to lose her ," " Do you have the medical records ? " " Yes , " I nod . " I'd like to see them . Was that all that was wrong with her ? " " No , she had this rash . I thought it was an allergic reaction at first and then hand , foot , and mouth disease . But things just got worse and worse as things progressed . Do you think maybe Kendra tried to do something to her ? " " Was she the one taking care of her then ? " 2/3 16:47 Fri , 9 May o Chapter 37 " Yeah , They were sixteen months when she started working for me . Ayrie doesn't remember that it happened , " " It sounds like- " he pauses and my heart starts to race. " It sounds like wolfsbane poisoning , "