His gaze dropped to mine, suddenly as I was lost in his eyes, that had shown me another side. Alison crept out of the kitchen and Avery followed us leaving me uncomfortably searching the ground, instead of facing his fiery eyes. yes

I fumbled with my hands as I shyly brought my head up as I saw his eyes shooting cupid arrows across the island.

"Outside", he pointed as he stepped out, and I followed him. He cracked the door open as he sent the guards in the area away giving us the privacy we deserved, he led me to the treehouse, the treehouse, where I had shown my trust in him, but right now it lacked.

I followed him as he climbed on the shaking ladder, he went up gracefully. He sneaked glances, to make sure I had made it alright, I pulled myself up and he took my hand up.

We stood there, lost, stuck. Until the first words flowed out of his mouth, his calming voice not in rage made me feel safe and secured.

"I'm sorry", he pleaded as his eyes locked with mine, his eyes wandered my face looking for emotion, looking for anything to let him know that we were okay.

"I'm sorry, too", I looked down as we stood at the entrance looking for a distraction, we had never been this awkward together.

"Baby, it's not your fault, I'm the one who said those awful things to you and I didn't tell you when I should've", he apologized as he caressed my cheek, I looked down at his firmly polished shoes, and his perfect suit, just like this morning, everything in place.

"I get it, it's fine it was work it had nothing to do with me anyway", I looked back as I smiled at him sincerely as his face slipped from sweet to mischief.

"Well, I..", he looked around the room as if he felt responsible in a way as I stood there feeling as if I had overreacted just to make a fool of myself.

"Nolan", I raised my voice as he tried to find the words to say that I was involved in some way and I wasn't ready for it.

"Someone is taking money from our accounts and putting them in an off-shore account under your name, they have all of your information and they sent us threats", my head became blurry as I imagined who would've done this, who would've had the opportunity and the resources to do all this.

"Why didn't you tell me?", I shrieked as he tried to calm me down in a silenced way, as he brushed my locks of hair behind my hair.

"I just thought I could figure it out on my own and you didn't need to know", he should've told me, and he knew it too, deep down he knew he should've told me that someone was using my name.

"It's about me, and you didn't have the decency to tell me", I asked him as I adjusted my shoulders showing confidence.

"I'm sorry, I knew it would worry you", he was right, and yet again he was right. It wouldn't have only scared me but sent me up and down the coast checking in every now and then for my checks with Daniel. He wouldn't do this, or would he. He has money, enough money, he wouldn't need too.

"Do you know who", I asked knowing it was best to move on and to figure out how to take back my life, I didn't want to be controlled in every aspect, I was controlled enough.

"We need your help, you know your life better than we do, and well things aren't matching up", he informed me as he sat down, I agreed to help him, knowing he must've been worried about his company as well.

"Just promise me one thing", I asked him as he smiled at me as he held my hand gently, and caressed my cheek with his other.

"Anything", he kissed my hand as those butterflies were revived and flew like a tornado in my stomach. His kiss was gentle, but mischievous leaving me wanting more.

"No more secrets, if it's about me or you, I decide what I want to know, okay", I told him as he interlocked pinkies with me and kissed ours as he held it closer, I closed my eyes tight hoping that he would hold to this promise and never break it.

"Promise", he held me tightly as he kissed my cheek softly, not knowing where our boundaries were, I leaned in and lunged on his wild lips, he kissed me back as my butterflies danced happily.

"Okay, why don't we go back to the house, and I can show you the files and everything", he said anxiously to fix this or to see at least what was going on.

We left the treehouse hand in hand, as the others ignored us as we skipped through the house and we began working.

"So they basically moved your original account to this crappy facility "Ocean Shores", and I think they drained it all out too before they made the other account and transferred money from our account into the other one.", I froze, I had moved my money into Ocean Shores, I paid around $75 a month to keep it in there, and to have good security.

"Ocean Shores is my bank", he looked at me confused as he looked back at his papers were he saw the torn down shack, with little seashells on the front.

"Why, wouldn't your dad want you to have a better bank?", he asked the question I had wanted to avoid the rest of my life, why didn't my dad care?

"That's my account, I only have one, I just started over by myself that's all", I rubbed my hands through my hair, hearing the words by myself gave me a whirlwind, I was never by myself, there was always someone watching. Always.

"Don't you have an account in his name, like a trust fund", he frustrated me as it was as if he couldn't believe that there was no 500k in a bank with my name on it all from my daddy, well I didn't have either of those.

"I don't okay, so can we just drop it", I chugged down some water as he put the papers away and pulled up my bank statements, my credit score, was okay for someone who didn't have a credit card, but I did have a bank account, and I paid my bills on my apartment.

"Okay, but someone did rob you, you only have 500 dollars in here", he said as he waited for me to react to my "missing money", but I stood still, for that was just the right amount that was in my account.

"That's right", I spoke softly as his eyes blew out of proportion and I knew his mouth couldn't wait to open and ask me all of his noisy questions.

"Okay, uhh, that's fine, I'll just let mom know we can eat now", he left the room, still blown away and I was glad he didn't have any comments to make or questions to ask, I was done talking about my finances.

I followed him as he went to play with Leah and he invited me as all the eyes were being singled in on us. His arm crept around me as I tucked my head into his chest and he smiled as the others around us did too, exchanging relieved looks.

"I'm home", Clay announced as he carried hand in hand his work briefcase, Alison rushed to the door, to kiss him as I didn't even wanna think about what they would be doing tonight. Clay dropped his bags as he indulged in his wife's longing lips.

"Get a room", Avery yelled as they finally broke apart and she blushed as she came back to the family area. Clay slipped his shoes off and took his coat off, as he sat down on the couch next to his wife, who curled on top of him.

"Seriously get a room", Avery said as she turned away as Alison straddled Clay and he seemingly loved it, Leah's wandering eyes distracted her from her toys as she caught the eye of what her parents were doing.

"Mommy, what are you doing", she asked as Alison quickly got off of her husband and simmered down next to him as she looked embarrassed of her actions.

"Oh nothing sweetie", she said as Leah smiled at her and continued playing with her barbie dolls. Alison burst out laughing as we all joined in, the poor innocence of this child could've been easily taken.

"What has gotten to you Ali?", Clay joked as he caressed his wife's hair while admiring her gleaming eyes and rosy cheeks.

She whispered into her ear as a shocker came to Clay's face as Clay whispered back, I think for the sake of their children being in the room, they made sure that no one could hear them as they whispered into each other's ear.

"Well, I'm starving why don't we eat", Alison popped up as she ran to the kitchen as everyone followed her and began unpacking the boxes of Chinese food, I put down plate after plate, as Nolan "accidentally" kept bumping into me, as he slid across from me as he pushed up against me, while the cabinet pushed up against him.

Every now and then as we passed there would be an occasional sorry, as he chuckled softly and made his movements against me as slow as possible.

We all began to sit down, as Nolan pulled out a chair for me after thanking him for his gracious act, I sat down and he kissed my cheek as he sat down next to me.

We all ate, as we avoided the talk of business or sex, it was a simple family dinner of new memories filled with old stories, that sent everyone in laughs as we listened to Alison tell everyone about Avery's first encounter with stage fright.

"Clay had to bring her down from the stage, and she never ever went up on that stage, until she wanted to model and that was everything for her", she said as Clay gleamed at Avery, who was laughing with embarrassment.

"Oh come on, I'm not the one who you should be making fun of, Nolan fell into the fishing pond", those last words sent everyone laughing except for me and Leah, who sat next to her mom, picking her food as every now and then she would take a bite.

As they realized I was the only one who didn't know about this so humorous tale, they all wanted to have a chance to tell me, except for the man who blushed next to me and insisted that I wouldn't want to hear it.

"So I had taken Nolan out for fishing and it was his first time and I was going to teach him but being the smart-alec he is he just had to try it out before we had even put on our life jackets and so he reeled back his fishing rod and he pulled back and kept it there for a while and he hit his back and because of the shock it sent him right into the water" they all laughed and added on their own comments about the way to the hospital and his scar.

"I want to see it", Everyone chanted along as Nolan kept refusing as he kept shaking his head, while he laughed his poor lungs out.

"I'll show it to you later", he spoke softly, as he winked at me, and the rest of the table broke into more funny stories, and it was all a good time until they asked me.

"What about you, Natalie do you have a funny childhood story?", Clay asked me as I politely didn't know how to say no, because for most of my childhood I was in a beaten-down room, being beaten alive by my own father and a she-devil who I couldn't despise of any more than I already do.

"Uh, none of them are coming to mind", I said politely as the vibe of the room slowly went to carefree to worried, I adjusted my hair as I swooped it over to

the other side, exposing my bare neck.

"Well, there is one my mom she had a love for sewing and she didn't ever stop, she had made dresses with her best friend at a boutique they owned. We had gotten a customer that day and they had both stepped aside to help a customer with her fitting, now this man he needed his dress tailored, and so I told him I could help, I was 6 and he seemed to believe me. He let me measure him as I began writing his measurements. He left and I ended up stapling his pants together, he came back and waited for me while I finished school, I brought him his pants as he tried it on and he said he loved it, the next night the grammy's were on and there was a man who I had stapled his pants for and he had worn it just how I had stapled it and my mom and I couldn't stop laughing as all the photographers took pictures of him", I told as they burst into laughs at the end, we went along as we all got started into our own conversations, as I sat there missing my mom more than I could handle.

I excused myself from the busy table as I rushed off to the bathroom, I locked the door as I wiped away the dripping tears, as the knocks of the doors, filled my ears.

"It's me, do you want to talk", Alison's soothing voice calmed my hesitant voice as I opened the door while checking my face in the mirror.

"Yes, I'm fine, just one of those days", I brushed it off as we both walked back to the dining room, it wasn't one of those days, this was every day, every day I missed her, every day I wished I could see her smile, every day I wished she was here instead of me.

I took a seat in my chair as a hand appeared on my thigh as I put my hand over his, as he argued with his sister over something.

"You okay", he whispered into my ear making sure no one else heard as he kissed my earlobe tenderly and I smirked at the gesture and brushed it off.

"Yes, I'm fine", I held his hand as I kissed his earlobe back as he smiled and thanked me, we finished up our food as a sleepy Leah wandered over to me and began sleeping on my shoulder. The everyone else cleaned up as I carried her up the stairs to her fairy princess room, I tucked her in as I gently kissed her head and she smiled in return and dozed off to sleep.

I made my way back downstairs, passing graduation pictures of Avery and Nolan, and Leah dressing up as a fairy as she danced by the pool.

I entered into the alive group of adults who all had a glass of wine empty with them as they began pouring more wine into their now half-full glasses.

Alison gave me a glass as I dipped mine slowly knowing someone had to be the driver for tonight since Mr. Johnson went home.

A cheerful Nolan cuddled up against me feeling my body, as he roamed in search of something. He was definitely drunk, as I smelt the strong vodka from his lips.

"Don't you need to drive home", I asked him as he kissed my neck lovingly but at a faster pace than we normally did and in front of his parents.

"I was thinking why don't we stay here, it's safe, I don't have to worry about anyone cause we will be together", he made a good point for being drunk and he kissed my lips as he opened his mouth and spilled some of the vodka into mine, I swallowed it as he looked even more alive than before.

"That was sexy", he whispered into my ear as I blushed at his provocative attitude and how upfront he was being.

"We will be going to bed, I mean we're going to have sex, there are rooms everywhere, you can even go to your rooms kids", Alison stood drunk as she leaned against Clay who had two bottles of vodka in his arms while he supported Alison with the other. They ran up the stairs, exchanging laugh after laugh.

"Well I'm going to sleep, Coles out of the country anyways and here I get homemade food", she gleamed as she skipped up the stairs, as Nolan cuddled up next to me.

"My queen, come to the kings' bed", he stood gallantly up as he reached out for my hand and I took it as he drunkenly walked me through his fairytale land and we finally made it to the bed.

I put him to sleep as I took off his tie and his shirt, and his pants leaving him shirtless and pantless, with just his boxers left on. I ravaged his closet looking for a shirt for me to wear as I found a big jersey with our last name, I settled into bed as he cuddled up next to me.

"I love you", he kissed me as I whispered it back to him as he smiled widely and pulled me on top of him as he began to sleep.

The night came as I stepped out on the balcony as I saw the men in black were still there, Nolan called me from the bed as I opened the door and he pulled me back into bed with him.

"You were just lying when you were talking about the sex thing yesterday, right", I asked nervously as he cuddled up against me and he knew that I needed an answer eventually.

"I mean I'm a man a man needs sex", he said as I smelt the vodka on his breath as I laughed it off and kissed his lips as he fell to sleep. He was right a man's needs must be met and I hadn't met any of them.