have I.”
“Yeah, but he’s a really nice man and you’re a really nice mom. You guys are perfect for each other. You just need to stop arguing over me so much and then you’ll see what I see.”
Everything was so easy when you were a seven-year-old who hadn’t yet experienced heartbreak. “I wish it were that simple, baby, but sometimes life is more complicated than that.”
Jaylen protested, “Daddy would marry you. Just stop arguing with him so much and you’ll see.”
Ryla laughed. “Okay, baby, I’ll stop arguing with your daddy.”
“And then you’ll get married?” Jaylen persisted.
“If you say so, sweetheart.” Ryla kissed Jaylen on the forehead, then stood and walked out of the bedroom, wondering how in the world she could explain the true facts to her daughter without crushing her spirit. Not to mention the fact that each day she spent with Noel brought back sweet memories of long ago when she loved him and he loved her.... Things were definitely getting more complicated.
Chapter 8
N oel was standing before a roomful of reporters asking one personal question after the next. Ever since he’d announced his candidacy for the House of Representatives, Noel had been trying to get some press. However, an ex-baller running for a House seat just wasn’t sexy enough for the media. But now that he had some baby mama drama going on, the media was all over him.
“So when did you discover that you had a daughter?” called out one of the reporters.
“Is Jaylen happy to finally have her father in her life?”
Then the questions got more severe. “Did the mother think you would be a bad influence on her daughter? Is that why she didn’t tell you about the child until now?”
“So does this mean you’re back to your old love ’em and leave ’em ways? And can we expect any more children to pop up?”
Noel was swimming in a sea full of questions that he didn’t want to answer. He braced his hands on the table in front of him as he contemplated walking out without answering any of their rude and insulting questions. “You know, I am running for the House of Representatives. Do you want to ask any questions about my plan to bring more good-paying jobs to our community? Or my thoughts on some of the issues that are at stake in this election?”
“We want to know if you plan on impregnating any more women without marrying them or providing support for the child?” another rude reporter yelled out.
Ian stood. “If anyone has questions concerning the House seat that Noel is running for, we’ll be more than happy to respond, but this is getting a bit ridiculous.”
Noel glanced toward the open doorway and noticed Ryla and Jaylen walking in. He wanted to bring this interrogation to an end right now so his daughter didn’t have to hear any of the awful things being said. Then as he stood up preparing to leave the room, a reporter in the front said, “Three of your ex-girlfriends were interviewed this week. They confirmed that they don’t have any illegitimate children by you, but considering your wild ways, they all think that more illegitimate children of yours will soon be popping up in need of DNA tests.”
Noel’s eyes were on Ryla. He saw the look of humiliation on her face, and at that moment he realized why she had fought so hard to keep both herself and Jaylen out of his world. Now he realized that she had probably been right about not bringing Jaylen on the campaign trail. But his need to have his daughter by his side overruled his common sense.
Noel stood and turned to the reporter, ready to blast him for daring to call his precious child illegitimate in his presence. Then suddenly Jaylen ran toward the stage, looking out at the sea of reporters, and took them on as if he had been giving her lessons on how to defend herself all her life.
“You can’t call me names!” she shouted over the noise of the crowd. Then she said, “You can’t call me that word, because I belong to
“Yeah, but he’s a really nice man and you’re a really nice mom. You guys are perfect for each other. You just need to stop arguing over me so much and then you’ll see what I see.”
Everything was so easy when you were a seven-year-old who hadn’t yet experienced heartbreak. “I wish it were that simple, baby, but sometimes life is more complicated than that.”
Jaylen protested, “Daddy would marry you. Just stop arguing with him so much and you’ll see.”
Ryla laughed. “Okay, baby, I’ll stop arguing with your daddy.”
“And then you’ll get married?” Jaylen persisted.
“If you say so, sweetheart.” Ryla kissed Jaylen on the forehead, then stood and walked out of the bedroom, wondering how in the world she could explain the true facts to her daughter without crushing her spirit. Not to mention the fact that each day she spent with Noel brought back sweet memories of long ago when she loved him and he loved her.... Things were definitely getting more complicated.
Chapter 8
N oel was standing before a roomful of reporters asking one personal question after the next. Ever since he’d announced his candidacy for the House of Representatives, Noel had been trying to get some press. However, an ex-baller running for a House seat just wasn’t sexy enough for the media. But now that he had some baby mama drama going on, the media was all over him.
“So when did you discover that you had a daughter?” called out one of the reporters.
“Is Jaylen happy to finally have her father in her life?”
Then the questions got more severe. “Did the mother think you would be a bad influence on her daughter? Is that why she didn’t tell you about the child until now?”
“So does this mean you’re back to your old love ’em and leave ’em ways? And can we expect any more children to pop up?”
Noel was swimming in a sea full of questions that he didn’t want to answer. He braced his hands on the table in front of him as he contemplated walking out without answering any of their rude and insulting questions. “You know, I am running for the House of Representatives. Do you want to ask any questions about my plan to bring more good-paying jobs to our community? Or my thoughts on some of the issues that are at stake in this election?”
“We want to know if you plan on impregnating any more women without marrying them or providing support for the child?” another rude reporter yelled out.
Ian stood. “If anyone has questions concerning the House seat that Noel is running for, we’ll be more than happy to respond, but this is getting a bit ridiculous.”
Noel glanced toward the open doorway and noticed Ryla and Jaylen walking in. He wanted to bring this interrogation to an end right now so his daughter didn’t have to hear any of the awful things being said. Then as he stood up preparing to leave the room, a reporter in the front said, “Three of your ex-girlfriends were interviewed this week. They confirmed that they don’t have any illegitimate children by you, but considering your wild ways, they all think that more illegitimate children of yours will soon be popping up in need of DNA tests.”
Noel’s eyes were on Ryla. He saw the look of humiliation on her face, and at that moment he realized why she had fought so hard to keep both herself and Jaylen out of his world. Now he realized that she had probably been right about not bringing Jaylen on the campaign trail. But his need to have his daughter by his side overruled his common sense.
Noel stood and turned to the reporter, ready to blast him for daring to call his precious child illegitimate in his presence. Then suddenly Jaylen ran toward the stage, looking out at the sea of reporters, and took them on as if he had been giving her lessons on how to defend herself all her life.
“You can’t call me names!” she shouted over the noise of the crowd. Then she said, “You can’t call me that word, because I belong to
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