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Authors: Beverly Montgomery

BOOK: A Burning Secret
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Tony and Sasha
have
been dating for
six
months and everything is going great for them.
They are together at least four times a week and
they enjoy their intimate time together.

They are both very committed to one another
however; Tony was about to get a big surprise!
Prior to swearing his love and commitment to
Sasha, Tony had been dating a young woman
named Cecily Long.
His daughter, Tyler was unaware that he was
seeing Cecily because Tony would drive to Cecily’s
home in Sunset City to see her.
Sunset City is a
small town right outside of New York City.
Tony and Cecily dated one another for a while
but they had mutually decided to go their separate
ways because Cecily cared more for Tony than he
did for her and Tony told her that was not going to
change.
One day, Cecily phoned Tony at his job to let
him know that she was eight months pregnant and
she was due to deliver his baby in about four
weeks. Tony was flabbergasted by Cecily’s
announcement.
“Are you crazy?” Tony questioned.
“That cannot be my baby!”
“I haven’t had sex with you since we broke up
over 8 months ago.”
“You’re right, and that’s why I am phoning
you!” Cecily said fuming about Tony’s reaction.
“At first, I considered giving the baby up for
adoption but I decided to keep the baby and raise
it myself without telling you.”
“However, I decided that it took two to make
this baby and my baby deserves to know his or her
father.”
“Why you little, floosy!” Tony yelled out loud
while holding the phone away from his ears.
“Floosy, you didn’t think I was a floosy when
you were making love to me every Friday night for
four months straight,” Cecily fumed.
“I told you that I wanted sex only and you told
me that you were taking birth control pills, Tony
argued.
“I
was
on the
pills
but something
went
wrong.”
“That’s right something did go wrong and that
was me getting involved with you in the first
place.” Tony was more than upset with Cecily but
he knew that he could have ensured that Cecily
didn’t get pregnant by wearing a condom.
But that fact didn’t keep him from being angry
and he tried to bargain with Cecily.
“What do I need to do to make this problem
go away?” “How much money do you want?”
Tony was trying to resolve the problem and he
thought if he offered money to Cecily, she would
both give the baby up for adoption and leave him
alone.
“I don’t want anything from you Tony.”
“I am simply letting you know that you are
about to be a father.”
“Well, Tony said, I’m already a father to my
daughter Tyler and she is all I can handle right
now.”
“I don’t want another child.”
Cecily told Tony that she had been dining at
the Montague Restaurant in Montclair a few weeks
ago and she saw him being very cozy with a
woman.”
“Is
that why
you decided to contact me,
Cecily?”
“Is that what this is about?” Tony asked.
“You are jealous
of
seeing
me
with another
woman.”
“No, but seeing you with her, made me realize
that I needed to let you know what’s going on with
me and your child.” Cecily answered.
“Stop saying my child because that is not my
child that you are carrying!”
“I want proof because I will certainly not take your
word for it!” “I won’t a blood test.”
Cecily told Tony that she understood why he
was so upset but she told him that she was sure the
baby was his because she stopped seeing other
men when she started dating him because he had
asked her to.
Tony realized that it was too late to second
guess what Cecily was telling him because he knew
that the bottom line is that he could very well be
the father of Cecily’s baby.
His concern though
was how he would break the news to his daughter
and Sasha.
Although Tony tried to be rational about being
the father of Cecily’s unborn child, he still argued
with her insisting that she should have talked with
him before deciding to keep the baby.
But nothing he said made a difference to Cecily
because
there was
one
thing for
certain, she
couldn’t undue the pregnancy.
The baby was going to be born with or without
Tony’s agreement.
Tony wanted to meet with Cecily in person so
he asked Cecily if they could meet at her home the
following day and she agreed to see him but she
warned Tony that she would not give her baby up
for adoption and she told him if that was what he
was hoping for he was wasting his time.
Tony was
aware that he
would not get
anywhere with Cecily unless he had a clear head so
that he could make good decisions about Cecily
and the baby.
When Tony hung up from talking with Cecily,
he knew that he needed to go home for the day
because he wouldn’t be able to focus on his job.
Tony is a Senior Engineer for a large engineering
company and it requires him to be meticulous and
focused.
So John left for the day and headed home
where he saw Tyler in her room studying.
He
chatted with her for a few minutes and then said to
her, “I hope you know how much I love you.”
Tyler smiled at her Dad and then got up from
her chair and gave him a big hug.
Tony went upstairs to bed but he couldn’t
sleep because he
wondered what and how he
would tell Sasha about Cecily and the baby.
Sasha and Tony had both agreed to leave the
past in the past but Tony hadn’t counted on
Cecily’s big surprise.
Also, he had been so uncertain about having a
baby with Sasha so he knew that she would be hurt
if not devastated by his news. Tony reasoned that
he had to find a way to make it right for everyone.
The next day he drove to Sunset City without
having a chance to tell Tyler he was leaving.
Tyler was still sleeping and she looked peaceful
when Tony looked in on her so he saw no cause to
awaken her.
While driving, Tony was trying to analyze the
entire situation with Cecily to determine what did it
all mean, he knew no matter what, someone would
be terribly hurt by his actions but then he thought
I did not set out to hurt anyone.
Tony believed
that he was clear with Cecily about his intentions
so there shouldn’t be any expectations on Cecily’s
part except for him to provide for the baby.
On the other hand, he was thinking that Sasha
would probably never see him again when he tells
her about Cecily and the baby.
When Tony reached Sunset City, he phoned
Cecily to let her know he was about ten minutes
away.
Cecily didn’t answer the phone so Tony went
to her home where he saw a familiar face leaving
Cecily’s home. It was Justin Taylor, Sasha’s ex.
Tony wondered what Justin was up to and
what was going on with Cecily and Justin?
Tony recognized Justin because he had seen
him on the News a while back because he was the
lead prosecuting attorney and responsible for the
conviction of three high ranking executives who
embezzled millions from their company.
Tony watched Justin pull off in his red sports
car and then rung Cecily’s door bell. Cecily quickly
answered probably thinking it was Justin.
She looked startled when she saw Tony and
asked him how long he had been outside.
Tony said angrily, “Long enough to see you
with Justin Taylor.” “What’s going on Cecily?”
“Nothing is going on?”
“Whose baby are you carrying?”
“Are you pregnant with Justin’s baby because I
am convinced now that you are not pregnant with
my baby?” Tony said.
Cecily broke down crying and then said,
“Okay, the baby is not yours.”
“Justin has been scheming to get Sasha back ever
since he found out that she was dating you and he
even hired a private detective to spy on you and his
ex-wife.”
“I use to date Justin but the baby is not his
baby.”
“And it’s not mine, right!”
“No, Tony the baby is not yours.”
“Justin told me to say it was yours so that his
ex-wife would find out and leave you.”
“He said Sasha would never stay with you if
she found out you were having a baby with another
woman.”
“So let me understand this; you were going to
set me up that way!”
“Well Tony, look how you reacted to me
when I told you that you were the father.
Your
response was horrible!”
“How much was he Justin is offering to pay
you?”
“He was going to pay me $50,000."
“So who is the father of your baby, Cecily?”
“Dante Moore is the father of my baby.”
“We have dated off and on for a long time.
“We met in college and he lives in Montclair
and is a very wealthy businessman running several
high end restaurants including the Montague.”
“Oh, so that’s why you were there?”
“No, that’s not why I was there.”
“I told you Justin was spying on you and
Sasha so he knew your every move and where you
would be.”
“He asked me to go to the Montague to spy on
you as well and that’s when I first saw you with
Justin’s wife.”
“She is his ex-wife!”
“Whatever Tony!”
“Tony, I am so sorry about all of this, I never
wanted to hurt you but he offered me all of this
money.”
Tony was in disbelief and so angry he thought
he better leave before he did something he would
regret. He stormed out of Cecily’s home obviously
angered by the lies conjured up by Sasha’s ex.
However, Tony was relieved that he was not
the father of Cecily’s baby and even more relieved
that he wouldn’t have to say anything to Tyler.
However,
he
immediately
and
everything.
did need to talk to
Sasha
he
would need
to tell
her

Tony phoned Sasha and she was very short
with him but then Sasha said, “Justin phoned me
to tell me that you are keeping a secret from me
and he wanted to come over to tell me all about
it.”

“However, I told Justin that I would talk to
you about whatever the secret is so I will see you at
my home about 6 p.m.”

“Okay, Sweets!”

 

“I will see you then but I can tell you not to
worry because it’s one big lie created by Justin.”
“Okay, now you have my attention!” Sasha
exclaimed.

Justin had betrayed Sasha
by
telling
her
mother about Sasha’s true profession so she could
only imagine what Justin had done to Tony.

Still Sasha was anxious to talk with Tony in
person plus she was dying to have him make love
to her again but she couldn’t allow her mind to
think about this right now.

Tony arrived promptly at Sasha’s home and
then suggested that they go out to a restaurant so
they could talk with calm heads because he thought
that this would be a better strategy but Sasha didn’t
want to go to a restaurant to talk.

She believed whatever Tony had to tell her was
pretty serious because he appeared to be trying to
do everything to avoid telling her about his secret.

Tony decided to just come out with it so he
said, “First let me say it again, I love you very
much!” “I have never felt what I feel with you
with any other woman including my wife.”

“Sasha, when you and I were last together you
emphatically said that our past partners were the
past and we would leave it there so I saw no need
to provide
you
with intimate details on every
woman I have had in my life.”

“But when I first met you, I was seeing another
woman, it was never serious but it was an intimate
relationship and that’s all it was for me.”

“Justin found out that I had been dating her
and knowing that she was pregnant with another’s
man’s baby he convinced her to lie and tell me that
the baby was mine.”

“He went so far as to spy on you and me and
he offered Cecily $50,000 to say the baby was
mine.”

Sasha
had let Tony have
his
say without
interrupting him but she couldn’t believe what she
was hearing.

“What the heck are you talking about?” Sasha
groaned.

 

“So you are telling me that you were going
with me and another woman?”

“No Sasha, I stopped seeing her a month after
I met you because I did not want to ruin any
chance of getting with you.”

“Tony, I have been around the block a few
times but I never saw this coming!”
“What Justin did was wrong, very wrong but
you got up on your high and mighty when the man
tapped me on the shoulders at the dance club and
all along you were seeing someone else.”
“No, that was way before we got serious about
one another.”
“News flash Tony, I was always serious about
you! I need time to think about this. It’s too
important to me.”
Tony reached out for Sasha and she pulled
away.
She was dying inside because her body
ached for him but she needed time to think.
She had been married to one fool and she sure
as heck didn’t want another disappointment. She
told Tony she wanted to chill their relationship for
a couple of weeks and then they both could see if
they were simply a match physically or did they
truly love one another.
Sasha had to be sure. Tony pulled Sasha closer
to him and she tried hard to resist him but she
couldn’t so they kissed passionately.
They both
wanted each other badly but Sasha told Tony to
leave.
Sasha immediately phoned Justin to tell him
that he was a cruel and pathetic man.
Justin
continues to swear his love for Sasha but she
wasn’t in the mood to hear his crap because she
was outraged by what he had done to Tony and to
her.
To make matters worse, he had the nerve to
tell Sasha that he did it for her because he wanted
to show her that no one is without baggage and
secrets.
“You’re crazy Justin.”
“But I love you Sasha.”
“No, Sasha said, you love you and I want
nothing more to do with you.”
“Don’t phone don’t write, don’t bother me,
Just leave me alone, Justin!”
“Okay, if that’s what you want but you mean
you don’t want to feel me inside you like you use
to love to do when we were married?”
“Remember
how
you
called
it
your
thunderbolt.”
“I call all of them thunderbolt so don’t go
acting like you’re some kind of stud or something,”
Sasha was angered by Justin failure to realize the
seriousness of what he had done to her and Tony.
“Sasha you really hurt my feelings with that
last comment.”
“Well, leave me alone, Justin.”
“Okay, if that’s the way you want it but I will
give you one more chance to change your mind
otherwise someone
else
will have me all to
themselves.”
“I doubt that but have a nice life, Justin.”
“Goodbye Justin!”
When Sasha
hung up
from
talking, and
hollering at Justin, she was very clear about what
she needed to do in her life and it didn’t include
Justin or Tony.
She knew now that she loved Tony but he was
too willing to buy his way out of the problem he
had with Cecily.
Cecily had shared that bit of information with
Justin after her confrontation with Tony.
In a lot of ways, Tony was no better than Justin
except that he was a better lover but even that was
not enough for Sasha.
It wasn’t so much that he knew how to use his
equipment so well but Tony knew how to romance
the mind and sometimes that is a bigger turn on
than the actual lovemaking itself.
But Sasha knew that she needed to be strong
and she needed to move on at least for now so that
she could get a clear mind about what she wanted
to do with the rest of her life.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN

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