Author’s Note:

And here we go…

I haven’t written a live story in a while and I know you’ve all been waiting for one.

I’ve gone through a lot of changes over the year since I last wrote a story live and I thought I could jump out of my lane, but failed a lot of times, succeeded sometimes and really blew myself away once or twice.

All in all, I decided to come back to where my readers really love me and start the live story, plus it gets me off my butt to get things done.

If you’re new to live stories here on The Literary World of Sylvia Hubbard, please click here to find out more information.

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About the story

Taking her virginity was easy, damning her soul will be fun.

Adopted out to another family before he knew his real parentage, the cruel Black’s blood runs through Tyler’s veins.

He was trying to be a nice guy, but when his best friend wrongs him, his revenge will be nothing less than stellar.

Lauren prided herself on saving herself for marriage. Ten dollars a week on her measly income also provided her with a dowry any man would be proud to have, along with her virginity.

Yet, from the first day she met her fiancé’s best friend, her life became hell on wheels and there was nothing she could do about it.

Black’s Innocence is a standalone novel to the Black Family Series. See more of them at:

www.sylviahubbard.com/blackfamilyseries

Author’s Reminder: No it doesn’t have to do with the Stealing Innocence Series. Yes, this does have a short story excerpt from the beginning. Innocent Vengeance | Click here to start reading

Author’s Reading note: I believe I changed Dylan’s last name to Knight. Possibly a trifling cousin of Jacoby Knight’s from Deceptive Nights, (who might make an appearance) but other than that nothing really significant.

To read the other Black Family Series, go to the series page. (Each one is a standalone story and it should be a saga and not a series, but I don’t feel like changing the page name).

 

http://www.sylviahubbard.com/blackfamilyseries

Please make sure you’ve read the short prologue (Innocent Vengeance) prior to starting this chapter to understand what is going on and of course, the official page for this story is here:

https://sylviahubbard.com/blacksinnocence/

Enjoy…

Chapter Four

Lauren felt she had been holding her breath for a whole month, while life passed her by and when she finally came up for air, life was worse than she realized.

Not wanting to face reality, Lauren hid in her home for a couple of more months trying to live off what was in there and never wanting to step outside of the door for fear of the pain she would have to face in her heart and mind. Most times she just slept all day and when she ran out of liquor to drink, she just ate every sweet thing she could possibly find in the house.

By the end of the third month, she was rationing rice and sardines.

The debt she incurred had now doubled and the wonderful job she had was gone. The final straw was this morning when some woman came by and asked when she would be moving out of the property?

Lauren didn’t know what to say and the woman asked, “You are Lauren, Dylan’s ex-wife, right?”

The term ex-wife seemed foreign to Lauren and to come to the realization that term was directed at her felt like a knife being carved in her chest.

Barely holding herself together, Lauren nodded and the woman handed her a card. “HI, I’m Deborah.” The ginger woman was all about a smile that took over the entire circumference of her face, but Lauren was in no mood to return a smile. She was about Lauren’s age, but very pale and looked as if she had a rough life, but was well dressed.

Lauren couldn’t talk, the woman was probably managing life better than she was. After three months she was literally drowning in debt. Drowning was a safe word to use.

Almost a hundred grand in debt was the going total and if Lauren stayed unemployed another month the amount was going up about five grand every two weeks.

Deborah looked a little uncomfortable as if Lauren was supposed to know why she was standing at the doorway with no invite to come inside. “I take it you haven’t read the annulment contract?”

Forlorn and confused, Lauren responded, “Dylan never called.”

“Right.” Deborah opened a leather binder. “In the case of your annulment, you signed all assets over to Dylan. The house, everything inside and on the property and the cars, while you take responsibility of the financial terms.”

“What?” She snatched the binder out of Lauren’s hands, which had a copy of the annulment Lauren had signed. “But he never called or contacted me. I thought… I thought Tyler wouldn’t file the papers…”

She really didn’t know what to think. Lauren had been a shell of a person until now, just letting life run her over.

“I-I need to speak to Tyler,” she demanded.

Deborah pulled out her phone and began to text someone. When she was done, the phone beeped immediately and Deborah looked at the screen a little confused. “He can see you in the morning? He wanted to finalize some items with you concerning the annulment and get the keys to the house and vehicle as soon as possible. He’d appreciate if you could bring them to the meeting.”

The word finalize cut her hard and she couldn’t talk anymore unless she wanted this woman to see her break down in hysterics.

Lauren handed the binder back and nodded. “Thank you,” she barely said before closing the door.

Looking around the house, she sighed in dread. The power had been cut a couple of days ago and she knew soon the gas would follow.

She couldn’t afford to live there anyway and she definitely couldn’t afford the financial terms at this point in her life. She would have to file bankruptcy!

Unfortunately, she had no one to turn to. With no family to fall back on, all her friends and even co-workers looked at her as if she were the Whore of Babylon. No one returned her calls and there was no one to help her out.

She spent her last day in the house just wandering about miserably dreaming about the life she was supposed to be having.

Making dinner for Dylan in a scantily clad house robe and then after he ate, he would gather in his arms, carry her up the stairs and make love to her all night long. She ran her fingers over the custom marble banister she had imported from Italy, stared idly at the crystal chandelier she had bought in Vienna and the masterful works of art she had gotten at auction in Africa.

Every nook and cranny of this home was supposed to be filled with love and laughter by this moment, but now, it looked as if nothing lived there.

She had become that nothing.

Raising the candle she used to light up her way at night, she sank to her knees in the foyer and cried in deep sorrowful misery.

****

Arriving at the private law office, the first thing she wondered if she would see Dylan? Despite what he’d done to her, her heart still swooned.

Lauren missed him and was still hopeful a small conversation would clear everything up.This didn’t make her weak in her mind. No matter what, she believed love would prevail and it was worth hoping and waiting for like she had done all her life.

Lauren wasn’t stupid and lived in the reality her situation was dire and if love wasn’t coming to save her then she needed to do something desperately to save herself.

She was past the brink of being desperate. She couldn’t afford to eat, let alone live. She had just spent the last of her money on hand to catch a cab there because she couldn’t understand the bus system. In the two bags and suitcase, she carried was practically her entire life.

As soon as she stepped off the elevator, Deborah was at the front desk and stood to greet Lauren.

“Ms. Jensen it’s so nice to see you again.” Coming around the desk, Deborah looked at the bags. “Would you like me to hold your bags here while you’re in the meeting?”

Lauren really didn’t like how happy this woman looked. “Is Dylan coming to the meeting?”

“No Ms. Jensen,” Deborah said stiffly. “He’s on assignment in Thailand for a while with a client.”

Lauren’s upset was clear and she handed one bag and the suitcase to Deborah. The other bag she used as a large purse with all her personal items inside she couldn’t trust to anyone.

Deborah didn’t take offense to being given the bags and seem to be happy to help Lauren.

How could anyone have such a great disposition working for Tyler Black? The man grated on everyone’s nerve? What was wrong with Deborah?

“Follow me,” Deborah instructed after grabbing some folders off her desk.

Going into a conference room, Lauren tried not to look disappointed as the room was empty, but obviously, she wasn’t doing a good job because Deborah could read her face like a book.

“This is just a signing. Mr. Knight doesn’t need to be present unless you have some questions, in which case, Mr. Black can always provide answers for you as Mr. Knight’s proxy.”

Lauren wanted to look at Dylan and let him know her love was strong for him, plus she wasn’t a liar, but she also wanted him to know how bad of a situation she was in. He had to feel some type of empathy. He’d have to understand she had signed that foolish agreement while reeling in heartbreak. They’d been together to build love, trust, and friendship with each other. How could he turn away from her so easily, when every second her heart screamed for Dylan?

Saying all of this over the phone seemed stupid.

Deborah began to lay out folders on the table and explained, “These are just receipts to show you’re turning the keys over to the house and cars.”

Lauren dug inside of her bag and laid down the envelope she had put all the keys in. “The key to the greenhouse and shed is also in there. There is also a combination to the wine cellar and the two safes in the house.” She tried to hold back the tears as she wrote the combination on the inside of the envelope.

“Thank you,” Deborah said picking up the envelope and then pointing where Lauren needed to sign.

When Lauren finished signing, Deborah picked up everything and said, “Wait here. I’ll make copies.”

Deborah exited the conference room and Lauren sunk in the nearest chair and put her head down in misery. The hard-hitting reality that she was all alone in the world and truly had no place to go was knocking her in the head and she was fighting everything inside of her not to cry, scream or have a traumatic nervous breakdown.

Lauren didn’t even know where was she going to go once she left the law office?

The door opened and she assumed it was Deborah.

“Just put the copies down and give me a moment, please,” Lauren said, not bothering to look up.

“I have a meeting in here in ten minutes. Giving you a moment will cost me seven hundred dollars. I don’t think you can afford to waste my time.”

Tyler Black filled the doorway with his arms crossed, looking very displeased.

Honestly, Lauren had never really been into white guys, but for some reason, Tyler made one forget what color he was and just concentrate on how damn sexy he looked without even trying. His black hair matched his soulless black eyes and his pale white skin just exemplified how truly arrogant he was. A strong wide long nose matched his chiseled chin and a thick neck for his big head. His height was perfect for his brawny features.

Standing up, Lauren could feel the anxiety attack on the precipice of her soul and seeing Tyler didn’t make her feel any better. Wiping under her eyes to quickly hide the fact she had been crying, she tried her best to put on a brave face.

“I’m shocked you gave up so easily,” he said, actually sounding disappointed.

“On Dylan? No, I haven’t,” she responded proudly. “I think this really is all a simple misunderstanding and once he’s had time to calm down he’ll see what a big mistake he’s made.”

A triumphant smirk spread across his face making the bile in her stomach turn. “I’m only doing the best interest of my client, but I have to admit, I’m impressed on what you’ve accomplished with so little. The House, the cars, the property. I must say, Ms. Jensen, when the assets came in I thought wrong about you.”

Proudly, she said, “Everything you thought about me is wrong, Tyler and like I said, Dylan will see he’s made the biggest mistake of his life and make it all up to me tenfold.”

He came fully into the room and locked the door behind him. “So that’s your big plan. Give him whatever he wants when he decides to wake up and smell the coffee? Suffer now and then reap the benefits of your loving sacrifice?” Tyler snorted walking closer to her but still about five feet away.

As his usual, he was dressed impeccably down to the pristine Italian shoes. Unlike Dylan who didn’t take very good care of his expensive clothes, she could tell Tyler was a man who took real good care of what he owned.

Still, he was a scoundrel, a disrespectful evil man who had been bent on destroying her relationship with Dylan from the beginning.

“I’m shocked you can admit you’re wrong, Tyler.”

“Yes, I’m big enough to admit I was wrong about you.” There was something funny about what he said because he was almost on the brink of laughter. “I take it you’re never going to admit marrying Dylan was the worst mistake you ever made?”

Without hesitation, she said, “No, it wasn’t. This is all a simple misunderstanding. I love Dylan and he’ll love me again when all of this mess is straightened out.”

“You’ve lost your job, you’re destitute, you won’t be able to even afford a decent place to stay? The man has ruined you and you still love him? Want to be with him?”

“Yes!” she said determinedly. The tears of frustration of what she lost because of Tyler came out. “You can’t understand how long I’ve waited for the perfect relationship. I saved myself for Dylan, a hardworking, loving man who treated me like a queen. Why should my love die for him suddenly?”

Tyler tightened up and looked like he wanted to say something but pursed his lips together, looking away from her. “You’re a fool, Ms. Jensen. A stupid fool for loving him.”

Bravely, she walked up to him being only arm’s length away. “You’re a jealous bastard, Mr. Black. An ignorant jealous bastard for helping to break us apart.”

Suddenly, he grabbed her arms and yanked her to him. “Careful, little woman, I’m a man that hasn’t even finished what I started,” he sneered viciously. “If you think you’re miserable now, I can make things even worse.”

Pushing away from him, startled by the rage in those glowing amber eyes, she gasped as fear took over her. There was something dark behind those eyes, a soul filled with so much hatred wanting to get out and destroy everything in its path.

There was a demon inside Tyler Black and she didn’t want to be anywhere near him.

Tyler tossed five hundred dollars at her feet. “I told Dylan you’d be coming today. I asked if he wanted to give you anything for what you’re signing over just as a courtesy for being so cooperative.”

Every proud bone in her body wanted to step over the money and walk out, but she was too broke to allow pride to make her decision. Getting on her knees, she picked up the money.

Tyler chucked. “You look good down there. Maybe that’s where you should be for your stupidity.”

Looking up at him with audacity, Lauren snarled, “You should be used to looking at women in this position because that’s probably the only way anyone wants to give you anything, is if you pay them.”

He stepped away as if she had bitten him in a sensitive place.

Getting up to her feet, she questioned, “How did you know I was destitute, Mr. Black?”

“It’s not hard to find out. You don’t think that gossip monger of a sister spilled the beans everywhere for Dylan? But I really do have to know, how’d you get fired and blacklisted at work? That was a stroke of genius.”

Rolling her eyes, she turned away from him, very sick and tired of seeing him smile and not liking she noticed how good he looked when he did. “I was caught looking up some things on the computer.”

“Things? Unrelated work things? People do that all the time. It’s almost become the norm,” Tyler said, coming behind her and turning her around to make her look at him. “What could you possibly have been looking up to make them fire you?”

Lauren really didn’t want to admit what she had done, but she had a feeling Tyler was not a person that like the word, No.

“I was accused of looking up pornographic material.”

Tyler looked at her in disbelief. “What kind of material?” he questioned on the brink of howling in laughter.

Embarrassed, she admitted quietly, “I was… looking up penis lengths. The supervisor came up unexpectantly behind me and saw what I was looking at and fired me instantly.”

The howl of laughter made the room shake and Tyler had to grip the conference table as he doubled over shaking.

“You’re horrible,” she screamed and started to run out of the room.

Tyler caught her arm at the same time trying to control his laughter but resorted to ugly snorting. “Wait! Wait…” He was trying to catch his breath as he blocked the door.

Again she snatched away from him and stepped back. “I really do hate you, Tyler Black.”

“Stand in line,” he said with a chuckle. “You forget I’m a lawyer. A damn good lawyer.”

“Let me leave,” Lauren demanded. “I’ve amused you enough for a lifetime.”

“Yes, you did, Ms. Jensen.”

Feeling the upset too much, Lauren suddenly burst in hysteric tears. “I am destitute,” she cried out. “Since losing my job, I’ve pushed all money I received to pay off monthly bills. The financial terms are killing me. And now that I’ve turned over the keys to the house, I have nowhere to live.” She sobbed horribly. “I just sold my wedding dress on eBay just so I could have some money to get over here this morning in a cab. Everything I own is… is in two bags at the receptionist desk and I don’t even know where I’m sleeping tonight.” It was useless to use her sleeve any more to wipe the abundance of tears from her face because both of her arms were drenched. Still, Lauren made a paltry effort, but more tears just appeared. She couldn’t stop crying and she hated herself for showing Tyler the misery she was really feeling. “I’m going to have to file bankruptcy to get out of this mess. So I hope that stupid chuckle was worth the pain I’m suffering, Tyler Black because you can go fuck yourself.”

He did sober up and sucked on his teeth looking disappointed she had taken his good spirit away.

Moving away from the door, he stepped toward her closer and said, “I’m only doing what my client has instructed.”

“Shut up, because you’re getting too much pleasure out of your duties. Nothing you could actually say or do could make me believe you feel anything for my situation” she sneered. “Dylan knows my number. I suggest you lose mine and I hope to never set eyes on you again, Tyler Black.”

She moved around his big body and got out of the door. Elated he didn’t bother to follow her, she walked to where the reception desk was located.

Deborah stood up looking just as chipper as ever. “I was going to come bring you the copies but the door was locked.” She handed Lauren the copies.

Taking them and stuffing them in her shoulder bag, Lauren looked back from where she had come. Tyler was not coming out of the conference room. Why was she expecting him too?

Deborah handed Lauren her other bag and suitcase. “Have a good day, Ms. Jensen.”

Lauren took her items and left. Down in her gut, she really thought Tyler was going to come out there and say something else to her.

Foolishly, she would have forgiven him and then turned around to ask him for help finding a decent job. He was about the only one right now that would talk to her.

He knew people and it’d be stupid to burn bridges, plus he was closer to Dylan than anyone. If she stayed in contact with Tyler and put up with his awfulness, maybe she could get closer to seeing Dylan once he was back in the states and make amends to all this mess.