Feeling the Weight of Guilt
Chapter 49
Addison’s POV
I hadn’t intended to hurt him, but I knew I had. Maybe that was for the best. Garrett was my past, and Phillip was my future. He immediately came out when he heard Garrett yelling. I felt stronger having him by my side. I wouldn’t say I liked that Phillip had known that Tammy was coming after us and failed to mention that to me. That was information that I needed to know.
I may not get out much, but I did get out. I had unknowingly been a sitting duck. I was glad he updated Colton on what was happening, but I was uncomfortable with him hiding that from
- me. We were going to be talking about that tonight. I didn’t know anything about that and needed to be kept in the loop, especially when it involved my son. I would have stayed where I
was if he had told me this before. I wouldn’t have returned to Frisco to make myself a target.
Tandy mentioned that Corbin was my weakness, and she was right. I would do anything to
protect him. The thought of that b***h hurting him just to get to me was upsetting. She would
do it, too. Now that I heard what she did to Garrett, I was worried about what could happen to
my son.
“Maybe I should go back home,” I started to say.
“No, we are already here. We need to get the work on your home done. I have made plans to
protect you, Addi. I won’t allow her to hurt you,” Phillip told me as he pulled me closer to his
chest.
“No, you just got here. I haven’t even been able to play with my son yet. I will help protect you. I
won’t let her hurt you,” Garrett said.
They practically spoke at the same time, but I think they are both wrong. I believe that it would be best just to approve the changes to the house and then let the crew do the work while I return to my aunt and uncle’s home. I doubt she could if Garrett couldn’t find me; she had no resources. If she had some, they would have been able to locate her before now as she would have a paper trail. She had to have help.
I couldn’t see her being successful on her own. During counseling, my therapist spoke about Tammy a lot. My therapist had received the transcripts from the trial. I had never known that Tammy had incited Tripp and Alden against me. She lied to get them worked up and let them believe they had a chance with me. It took me years to realize that they had been used, too.
Tammy had an agenda, and she used them to promote it. I knew that Tammy had a real issue
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me, and it went past jealousy. She never felt bad for the things she did, and she was
ess. She did the same to her alleged friends. She didn’t have a guilty conscience about
g a horrible person. It never bothered her at all.
+8 Point:
ink you need to come back home. You don’t have to deal with this. I don’t know why Phillip ed to mention that to me, but after hearing that she had attacked Garrett, I don’t believe
Addison is safe here. This is a bad idea,” my aunt stated. I have to agree.
get your things, Addison. We are taking you back home. Garrett, you can visit Corbin there, we are not leaving either of them here. They are not bait, and I will not take this lightly. ir parents know where we live, Garrett. It just isn’t safe for her here, and I won’t bet her life the fact that Tammy can’t get it done. It seems she is quite resourceful when she wants to
my grandfather said as he purposely looked at Garrett’s injury.
have made preparations for this. I can keep Addison safe,” Phillip’s voice was raised. He was tting upset, which was unusual as I had never seen him get upset.
am not going to stay here, Phillip. I won’t be used as bait. Not me, not Corbin. Why didn’t you Il me this? I came here to let Corbin go to school and not let money change him. I want him have a good upbringing, like I had. But I think you are underestimating her. If she could get › Garrett, she could get to me. Plus, you are not staying here the whole time, right? You have › return to Dallas to work a few nights a week. I will not stay here alone and wait for Tammy › come. She hates me. Given the opportunity, I believe she would try to kill me. She would do to keep Garrett away from me. I will not stay here and allow that to happen,” I snapped.
I can’t have you living in fear of her, Addi. Please listen to me,” Phillip held my face in his lands to keep me looking at him. “I am having cameras added after the house’s second floor s painted. I promise you that you will never be alone here. There will always be security here, even if I am here with you. One guy will be stationed downstairs to monitor the cameras as well as two more men outside. I have eight men hired to work twelve–hour shifts to keep you safe. You can’t think that I would ever want to see you hurt. Seeing you cry always hurts me. I won’t let you get hurt again. I want her and whoever is working with her to go to jail for the rest of their lives. With each attack, their charges increase. I want her gone, forever. Only then can
you
be safe. She hasn’t been able to find you. She has been waiting for you. She will only come out of hiding to try and finish her list. I swear on my life, I won’t let her hurt you, baby,” Phillip told me.
He may have a point, but I don’t like being the bait. “I will pay for more security. I also want extra security for Corbin,” I finally agreed.
“I won’t let you use Addison to lure Tammy here. I will do it. I will be the bait. They didn’t finish the job with me. They might return to do that,” Garrett said, passing Corbin over to Tandy to
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Feeling the Weight of Guilt
hold. He stepped closer to me, and I could see concern for me showing in his eyes.
I turned my head away from him. I don’t want to see it. It wasn’t enough. How could I possibly
trust him? My heart was screaming for me to hold him, to hug him. To comfort him. To tell
him how sorry I was for keeping Corbin from him. I was shocked at hearing that Tammy was
behind his attack. They didn’t give much information online about what happened, but I knew
it was serious. It was serious enough that he had lost his position on his team. I knew he was looking forward to the upcoming season. He looked great, but thankfully, my head was on straight now. He can’t be faithful. Look at what he has done in the last two years. He made up
for the time he was celibate.
“I appreciate the offer, Garrett, but I’ve got this. Tammy did enough damage to you. She will come for Addison, and we will be ready for her when she does. It’s a fairly small town. The rumor mill will spread the news that Addison has returned. All we have to do is keep up our guard and wait,” Phillip told him.
“I won’t allow you to use her as bait. What if Tammy manages to hurt her? How will you be able to fix it? Are you seriously going to let him do this?” Garrett turned to look back at my
family.
“We will make sure she doesn’t get harmed. But Addison needs to live her life without worrying about Tammy. I’m not too fond of it either, but I can also add to the security detail. We have several former military members working at my company. We can use some of them if they accept the offer of overtime. I won’t allow Addison to be harmed. Nash has already upped security for Corbin. Even his nanny has been trained in self–defense. We will keep them both safe. You don’t have to worry about them,” my grandfather advised.
“But I am worried about them. I know that Tammy might not be brilliant. But she has had a lot of time to devise her revenge. The only wildcard is Addison. I lived in a high–rise condo with various security measures, and they still managed to get to me. You are overconfident, Phillip. I can’t let you do this. Tammy is not to be underestimated. She will find a way to get to Addison. She has eluded the police for almost a year and a half. What makes you so confident that you think you can beat her?” Garrett asked.
“I’m not telling you anything else about my plans. You already know too much as it is. How do we know that you can be trusted? You worked with Tammy before; your injury could have been much worse, I can’t take a chance of letting you know anything more. You need to stay away from Addison and let me deal with this. You messed up, and she is no longer your concern anymore. You need to mind your own business and stay out of ours,” Phillip shot back. Garrett stepped forward, and I could tell that they were about to come to blows. Garrett was pissed that Phillip would do this without telling me, and I agreed. Tammy was dangerous.
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+8 Point:
Feeling the Weight of Guilt
Corbin and I were both in danger now. I would rather have them come after me than hurt my
baby. But my biggest issue was now staring me in the face.
I had felt a great deal of guilt over hiding Corbin. Once I gave up on my dreams of us being a family, I admit that I wanted to hurt him as badly as he had hurt me. The part I had felt the most anxious about was not an issue anymore. Garrett had come straight to me. It was evident that he still wanted me. For years, I had told myself he would only want Corbin, not me, in his life. That I would be pushed out, and Garrett’s flavor of the day would then help him raise my son.
It had been terrifying living this way, waiting for the other shoe to drop. I wanted to hurt him like he hurt me. Petty? Yes, it was. I wanted him to feel the same anger and frustration I had. The pain of thinking that I wasn’t enough and had been replaced. I thought he wouldn’t care about me, but I was wrong. Every word he spoke showed that he still wanted me. He still cared for me and was trying to protect me. Even more than my fiancé. That I was stunned by this turn of events was a complete understatement.
“Addison, it would be best for us to talk inside, at Tandy and Russell’s home. Nash, you and the boys can go back home. Monty will drive us home later. Alexandra can come back with us. Corbin needs more time with his father. I need to make sure that Addison realizes that she needs to think long and hard before she makes a mistake here,” my grandmother announced.
