If Paradise Was on Earth: (Huntington Beach BOOK 3) Read online

  IF PARADISE

  WAS ON EARTH

  ________________________________________________________________

  HUNTINGTON BEACH – BOOK 3 OF 5

  REDDY ROSE

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  “If Paradise Was on Earth”

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Continue The Story!

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  Also by Reddy Rose

  Reddy Rose

  If Paradise Was on Earth: Huntington Beach Series

  Copyright © 2021 by Reddy Rose

  All rights reserved.

  Reddy Rose

  If Paradise Was on Earth: Huntington Beach Series

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without the prior written permission from the above copyright owner, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Art Cover: Jopoto

  Editing: Dream Write Learn

  1

  Richard

  R ichard settled Emily in for the night.

  “Goodnight, daddy,” Emily said sleepily.

  “Goodnight, little one. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Richard said, before kissing her on the forehead. “I love you.”

  “I love you daddy,” Emily yawned.

  She was tucked neatly into her single bed, and she fell asleep near immediately as he left the room. It was a little past her usual bedtime, 7 pm, so she was visibly exhausted.

  He went to the back garden, where Alice and he had planted the sunflowers, and he sat there for a while, deep in thought. Richard hadn’t given himself time to process the emotions racing through him, taking care of Emily for the night took priority. But now it was time. He looked up at the stars, and his heart hurt.

  Alice was young and naive, but she was the love of his life. He hadn’t felt anything like this before. Although he thought Charlotte to be his soulmate initially, she was gone now, and he had moved on, in a way. His love for her would never go away, there was so much of Charlotte clear in Emily. The fact that Emily was so interested in art already at such a young age, and her beautiful brown hair, reminded him of her every day. His love for Alice was different, it wasn’t developed over years, it wasn’t long and drawn out, it was quick and hot and furious. It thrilled him, and it made him feel alive for the first time in years.

  He sifted through his mind, trying to understand it all. Charlotte was his first love, and Richard, at the moment, thought that he would never quite feel something like it again. That it was the peak in his love life, and everything else would be a grain of sand compared to the beach that was his love for Charlotte. But he was wrong, it was so much more. There was no comparison. No love was the same as the other. With Charlotte, it was a beach, with Alice, it was the ocean.

  His phone vibrated in his pocket, and he looked at the caller ID. It was Alice. He stared at it a moment and decided to give it a chance.

  “Hello?” Richard said softly.

  “Richard. Please don’t put the phone down, please listen to me,” Alice said hastily.

  “Alice, I didn’t mean to be so cruel to you,” Richard sighed, “I was upset. I am still upset, but that doesn’t warrant my behavior.”

  “Richard, you don’t owe me an apology. If I knew what my parents were up to I would never have allowed it,” Alice said.

  Richard sighed and wiped the sweat from his brow. The evening breeze wasn’t cold, as usual, it was hot and humid.

  “Richard, please listen to me. I will try to fix this. I will use all my might to stop this from happening. I’ll not rest until I fix this, okay?”

  “I love you Alice,” Richard said, “But I am so conflicted. I did a little more research, and I found out more about your family. And about you.”

  Richard chuckled.

  “What did you find out?” Alice said. She sighed.

  He could tell she knew what was coming. Being from such a high influence family, it was expected that reporters would write articles about anything embarrassing that happened. They were true vultures, circling, and waiting. When Alice had her gap year, they never gave her an ounce of peace. Not once. That’s why moving to California was her end goal, so no one would know her name or her face. So, she could start new and get away from prying eyes.

  “You’ve caused quite the ruckus over the years, young lady,” Richard said, knowing she could hear the smile on his face.

  “I...,” Alice started but then chuckled nervously, “I hoped no one would find those articles again. Ugh, not to mention the pictures.”

  “Well, whatever is put on the internet at some point or the other stays there forever.”

  “What did you hear about me then?” Alice said.

  “That you had a bit of a wild phase, trying your best to make as much trouble as possible. In fact, I am surprised by how much you could get done in that year you finished high school. From what I understand, though, you finished high school at seventeen. And you are eighteen now. Alice, you lied to me about your age, and I don’t know how to feel about it. You said that you were twenty. I’m nearly a decade older than you.”

  Alice stayed silent for a moment. Richard’s voice was calm and monotone, so she knew he wasn’t saying this out of rage, but rather curiosity.

  “I’m sorry…”

  “No. You don’t have to be,” Richard said, “That stunt you pulled when your parents had a gala at their estate is quite impressive.”

  “Hahaha, I forgot about that. Red dye in the swimming pool. Yes. It made quite the impact. The only reason my parents held that charity event was so that they, and other rich families, could get big tax cuts from their donations. It upset me that they didn't do it for a truly good cause. Not to actually benefit any charities. It made me so upset."

  “Quite the bold move. No wonder your parents are so controlling,” Richard said.

  “Richard, about my age… Does that put you off? Was that too bad of a lie? Nine years is a big gap. Do you think this isn’t going to work out?”

  “I am already in love with you. Knowing the truth doesn’t change that. My feelings haven't changed for you. We are very different people. You have so much less life experience than I do, but I see that you are trying to improve and trying to grow up. I see that. I notice you. And I will give you all the time and space you need to blossom into the woman you want to be.”

  “Hmm,” Alice said.

  “You’re so good with Emily. She loves you to pieces, and I can’t take that away from her. On a more serious note. We need to figure something out, or else I am screwed. I only make enough to live and to pay my bond off. If I lose the shop, I will likely lose the house after a few months. I can try to sell all the equipment and such, but that’ll only go so far.”

  “I’m going to try, Richard. My parents never budge on these things. I need to make another bold mov
e so that they’ll listen to me, instead of brushing me aside.”

  “Thank you. I can’t lose my life. I love the beach. I love how happy Emily is here, and I love spending time with you here. We have created so many positive memories here and I will cherish them forever.”

  “I love you,” Alice said.

  “I love you too, my sunflower. We’ll discuss everything when we see each other again. This phone call is not enough to get through it all. Goodbye for now.”

  “Goodbye, Richard.”

  2

  Alice

  A lice didn’t know what to make of the phone call. Richard’s actions earlier that night made her expect that he was done with her; that that was the end of their relationship. Not to mention how she lied about her age. She wasn’t ready for him to find out about that yet. It could have been a deal-breaker in their relationship. A nine-year age gap was truly momentous, but Alice only found out his age way long after she had fallen for him. Honestly, she was allured by it. It was why she had to lie about her age. It felt like the right decision at the moment.

  As she laid in her bed and closed her eyes, she slipped into a semi-conscious state of dreaming. She thought of all the ways she could fix this situation, of all the terrible things that would happen to Richard if her parents had their way. How simple it was for them to shatter a life with only a few signatures. She felt sad, and a tear fell down her face and onto the pillow. Alice thought of all the trouble she had put her parents through over the years, with the terrible reporters and paparazzi documenting it all. Then it hit her and she sat up in bed. She had an idea, and maybe this could fix everything. The people she despised would be her way out of this situation.

  Alice retrieved her laptop from its bag and got to work. As she researched different organizations that could possibly help, she made a few fake social media accounts to help move things along. She spent the entire night getting everything ready and hoped for the best.

  She woke in the morning, feeling groggy and tired, but accomplished. If her plan worked, her parents would be forced not to go through with it. Alice wanted nothing more in the world than for Richard to be safe and happy. It upset her so much that her parents could do something like this, with no regard to anyone’s happiness and safety but their own. They really didn’t need to be the way they were. They didn’t have a tough life, there was no excuse for them being so cruel.

  This would be the one way for her to make things right - and hopefully cut ties with her parents. She just wanted to start university in September and leave it all behind. She wasn’t unappreciative of everything that they gave her, it was more a thing of where their money came from, and how they received it. With them owning multiple wineries all around America, they didn’t care to pay their workers a decent wage, and they exploited vulnerable people that had no other choice.

  The only reason she used their money was because she had no choice. As soon as she found herself a part-time job, she would stop relying on them. When she signed up for college, she paid off her full tuition, for the few years that she would study. It wasn’t something that she discussed with her parents before doing, but they weren't in a position that would put them in a bad place because of it. They had infinite wealth and would continue having infinite wealth.

  She hoped that, in a few years, once she finished her degree, and had a job, she could go back to her parents, and prove to them that she was a success and that she didn’t need to live by their standards to have a good life. She hoped that they would be proud of her and that she could live happily, without their constant scornful and disappointed eye.

  She showered and moisturized her beautiful tanned skin, and picked out an outfit for the day. Alice tried to dress as well as possible at all times, since her and Richard could make impromptu plans at any point. She wanted to look good for him, she wanted to impress him. Though she knew he already loved her, she feared that if she put in less effort, he would fall out of love. Maybe it was just a crush, and he felt a strong attraction to her physical attributes rather than loving her, but she tried not to think about it too much. She had deep-rooted insecurities, stemming from her childhood and young teenage years. Being surrounded by such materialistic people, that only cared about appearance, and not anything else that really mattered, made her feel less than. Alice cared more about being out in nature when she was a kid. Playing in the dirt and getting full of mud, where her counterparts would have dolls and girly toys. As Alice grew up, she learned to conform to everyone else’s standards, playing with the dolls and makeup her mother spent money on, and finally putting up a good facade, to convince them that she was like them.

  Her mother was a big contributing factor - making her feel bad about herself since she was a toddler, and as she grew up and went through puberty, would critique her eating habits with a: Are you sure you want to eat that? Pretty girls need to be elegant and thin. It was now clear to Alice that her mother had been shaping her and training her to be married since she was born. All the modesty, and etiquette lessons, just so she could be a weak, timid wife to another millionaire man. It was all business to her family. Nothing more. Alice thought that they should have just had a son, and it would have been so much easier on everyone. They wouldn’t have been as stern and harsh with a boy. They would give him more freedom.

  Fiona knocked on the door and entered.

  “Will you join us for breakfast, my love?” Fiona said.

  She looked particularly good today. Her mother liked hair long and thought it was stupid to cut her hair short just because she was getting older, like most other women. She kept her hair healthy and beautiful, just like Alice's, with frequent trips to the salon. She looked very good for her age, compared to others, but the only reason she looked that good was because she’d spent tens of thousands of dollars a year on skincare. If her mother was in a different financial position, she wouldn’t look as stunning as she was. That’s why celebrities always looked so incredible: they had thousands to spend on their appearance each month, and they had clothes tailored specifically to their body type. The clothes an average person would buy at an average store would never fit them right. Each size was an average one size fits all, but every person’s body was different, and they would never look as good as the celebrities they so worshipped did. It was a sad reality.

  “Sure, mother. I want to talk to you first, though,” Alice said.

  Alice towel-dried her tailbone-length blonde hair and applied some light make up as they spoke.

  “What is it?” Fiona said. She sat down on the small couch near the balcony and waited.

  “Mother, I need you to be honest with me. Why is this marriage thing so important to you? Why do you have to be so persistent with this? Don’t you think it’s best to leave me be and become my own person?” Alice said calmly. She wasn’t looking for a fight. She was genuinely interested.

  "Oh, darling. It's a tradition. That's all. I understand you don't want this life and you disagree with us a lot, but I have no say. Your father's word is the law. I can't go against him. We have been married for so long that I am basically a Rineheart if you know what I mean. And it is my duty to make sure our heir can merge our businesses and branch out. We particularly chose the hotel industry as our next stop because there are a lot of potential mates that are in that industry, so, it would benefit greatly to have you marry a man like that. Think about it, hotels all over the country, on every beach and every coast. It will be glorious,” Fiona said.

  "So, it is all business? I have no choice in the matter whatsoever?" Alice said. She was nearly done with her makeup. She didn’t like her makeup being too heavy, just enough to accentuate her high cheekbones, her plump lips, and her big, blue eyes. It was very hot this time of year, after all, so she didn't want to risk sweating and melting it all off.

  “The short answer is yes,” Fiona said, removing a carved golden cigarette case from her handbag, and lighting it up with a match. Fiona didn’t usually smoke, but she did it
when she was stressed. She hid it from Jeremy. It was a little secret her and Alice had. Aside from the occasional cigar for a special occasion, Fiona wasn’t allowed to smoke. Jeremy found it unladylike to smoke cigarettes.

  “Are you allowed to do that in here, mother?” Alice said.

  Fiona took a deep drag and exhaled the smoke towards the open balcony door.

  “No. But it is my hotel, so I don’t really care,” Fiona said, taking another deep drag, the red coal making a soft popping sound, and she continued: “Alice, you’re still with that Richard boy, aren't you? That’s how you found out about the hotel construction?”

  “He’s not a boy,” Alice blurted.

  “Don’t get so defensive. I am just asking,” Fiona said.

  “So, you are genuinely interested in knowing and have no ulterior motives then?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well then, yes I am. I didn’t stop seeing him. Even when we had fights and such. We keep coming back to each other no matter what. He thought I knew about the hotel being built, and he thought that I was just a pawn used to butter him up so that he would let you build the hotel without a fight. Which was understandable, I guess. It was just such a strange coincidence.”

  “We have to go through with it, little one. There is no other way,” Fiona said. She flicked the cigarette off the balcony and sat back down on the couch.

  “He has a daughter. Her name is Emily,” Alice said, and took the drawings out of the closet and handed them to her mother to look at, “She’s three years old and she’s drawn all of these for me.”

  “He has a child?” Fiona scoffed, “Don’t you think that’s a little too much responsibility for someone your age?”

  “I have to grow up at some point, mother. I mean, September is coming around and I will start studying. There's no harm in growing up a little faster, you know? I’m very good with her. She called me mommy the other day. Oh god, I have never cried such happy tears in my life.”