“That doesn’t sound like the Nolan I know, baby. He is a good man and always has been. He loves you…”“But this is going to affect him negatively,” I cried. “His public image is ruined because of me and…”“You don’t Nolan well if you think he cares about that kind of stuff over his family,” Mom argued heatedly and desperately wanted to believe her but right now it felt as though the whole world was crashing on my head and there was nothing I could do about it.Mom didn’t stop there, she continued to defend Nolan’s honor. “Nolen is his child too, remember? We are women and we are emotional and Nolan would be the same too if he were in your shoes, which he is. You have to call him, Coco, this is a hurdle you both need to cross together.”I sniffed. “Okay, mom.”And right as I was about to hang up the doorbell rang and my heart beat sped. I walked quietly to the door and opened it and Nolan immediately swept in and pulled me into a hug.I collapsed in his embrace, clinging tightly to him

Coco’s POV“What the hell are you doing here?!”Jason held up his hand. “I am not here to fight, Chantelle. Good morning.”“Keep your greeting some place hairy where the sun don't shine!”Jason’s eyes shone with humor. “I don’t know, you might want to take a look.”Groaning, I reached for the door, stepped back, and started to swing it shut when he held it open and held his other hand up. I pushed but he was much stronger and his eyes turned pleading.“Please, l-let me start over. This wasn’t how I wanted this to happen. Look, I know you don’t trust me and you would rather see me in hell –““Good, now fuck off!”“Chantelle!” his voice was forceful, then his voice dropped and he added softly, “You look like hell.”Against my better judgment, my shoulders slumped and my guards dropped as tears pooled in my eyes again. Jason saw this and walked in slowly, his hand reaching out from me. When I shied away from him, his hand dropped to the side and he sighed.“I heard about what happened. I

Coco’s POVI sat down with Sophie for a long time and honestly, I wanted to remain silent while crying my eyes out and looking very ugly. Sophie, ever supportive, remained by my wait and waited for me to gather myself together.I don’t know how long we stayed the way we were but at some point, my eyes were too dry to cry anymore and I snatched a tissue from the box in front of me and blew my nose. When I snuck a glance up at Sophie her face was drawn with concern.I threw the tissue aside, hugged myself, and moved back so that I was resting my shoulders against the couch.“I should have a master class in foolishness,” I said in a croaked voice.Sophie was brutal with her response. “Self-pity. Is that really your defense against your foolishness?”I looked up at her shocked at the hardness in her voice. She still looked concerned for me but there was a brutal honesty etched in her face, one that I am sure that she has held back from me until this day.“You let this man into your home k

Coco’s POVSophie and I were barreling through the streets in her car heading toward Nolen’s school. We had taken 2 wrong exits twice in our haste but eventually, we found our way.Sophie was driving and she looked over at me to make sure I was alright. I smiled at her to assure her that I had my emotions under control. A look in the mirror told me that I may have my emotions under control but my physical appearance was anything but that. I looked like something a mouse dragged out of a hole. How possible is it to lose so much weight in only approximately 48 hours?I had forgotten to eat throughout those hours, only wine and some water from Sophie’s kitchen kept me alive. Sophie had forced a hot dog and a bottle of water into my hands, encouraging me to eat it since, in her own words I ‘won’t want to scare Nolen looking like the grim reaper.’ I was finally able to eat a few bites even though I could barely taste a thing.We were nearly there when my phone began to ring. And when I pul

Epilogue.“3…2…1!”The rope was cut and the doors of Cocoland were thrown open. Cheers erupted from the guests gathered in front of the building.Sophie, Penny, Paul, Fiona and everyone else who was a friend was clapped and cheered. Nolen was running wildly between everyone’s legs and was the first to enter the building.Yolanda clapped and hugged me cheering.“We did it!” She shrieked and kissed my cheek.Mom was next. She nearly lifted me off the floor as she hugged me close to her enormous breasts. “I am so proud of you, baby!” She searched for Yolanda and hugged her close too. “And you too. Look at you. My girls have wrong into women,” she cried. “I am so proud of you. I know your dad is too.”I felt Yolanda’s eyes on me and I realized she was watching to see if I would break down again but I didn’t. Instead, I responded to Mom’s comment with a smile.“Yes, he is.”We made our way into the building and I almost swooned. I still can’t believe that this – this belongs to me.Cocolan