Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 167(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 167(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
“I know and I understand you feel hurt, but I just … it’s not quite as simple that they put you in a home when you were a baby, Luca,” Tillie said. She couldn’t help but feel her own sadness overcome her at what she had found out. “Please, just look at the file and you don’t even have to read it. I’ll tell you what I found out.”
Seconds passed where Luca looked at her and there was a strong frown on his face. Her heart raced as she hoped he didn’t hate her.
“Olivia and Issaac Winters were married at the tender age of eighteen. Issaac didn’t have any surviving family, as he’d been moved from place to place—a foster kid, until he was about twelve years old. Then, he settled in a small town and met Olivia Bergman. They were sweethearts, never parting, and considered the strongest couple where they lived. At eighteen, it came as no surprise to anyone that the young couple were to marry. The only family Olivia had was a younger sister, who she took care of. Olivia’s family perished in a fire a few months after they married, and Mildred, the sister, was the only person to survive. She moved in with Isasac, and his adoptive parents died in a plane crash a year after they were married.”
“Holy fuck,” Luca said.
She had supplied the pictures, had even gotten DNA, and she’d put a lot of resources into learning about Luca.
Olivia and Issac were married for five years, when they finally got pregnant with you. After losing her family, Mildred seems to have encountered a rocky past. She found drugs, and her sister and brother-in-law did everything they could for her. The pregnancy was a huge success, and they had you for a year.”
Luca looked up from the file and stared at her. “A year?”
“Yes. Mildred had gotten so bad that they had no choice but to send her to a good rehab, and according to the documents, Mildred had gone willingly. Her sister wanted to get clean. On the way back one night, it had snowed and the roads had gotten treacherous. The car veered off the road, colliding with a tree. Your mom and dad were killed instantly. You nearly died,” Tillie said. “It took them several hours to find you and with the cold, well, it wasn’t good. But, you survived and being the only member, you were given to Mildred, who was now an adult, and after rehab, she tried. She had you for six months, but … she ended up in the hospital. Losing her support structure of your parents and everyone else sent her over the edge. Mildred didn’t make it and there was no one else to take you. Nearly two years old, you were sent into the foster care system.”
Luca looked through the file. “I was never told any of this. I was never shown any of this.”
“Some of the documents were lost, and I had to find a private investigator to locate the other information. It’s all in there, though. You were loved and wanted by everyone.” Silence fell over the room as Luca looked at pictures and read a few documents.
“What would you have done if you didn’t find this out?” Luca asked.
“What do you mean?”
“That I had parents that didn’t love me?”
“Oh, I’d have burned it and left it all alone. I would never have hurt you with something like that.” She nibbled the bottom of her lip and waited. “Do you hate me?”
He got up from his chair, rounded the desk, and then went to his knees before her, cupping her face, and she stared down at him.
“I could never hate you, Tillie Winters. You are my wife, and I think it’s only fair that I tell you right now that I love you.”
She opened her mouth, a little taken aback by what he’d just said. “You love me?”
“Yes, I love you. I am in love with you, and that is never going to change. From the moment you walked into my office, you have been turning my world upside down, and I don’t give a fuck because I love it. Being with you is the best part of my life.”
Before she could say another word, his lips attacked hers and she melted against him, not wanting to let go.
She loved this man, and this was more than she could have ever imagined. Luca loved her and she loved Luca. It was like a dream had finally come true. She wanted to jump for joy, but instead, all she did was pull him closer to her.
There was, however, a second piece of news.
Tillie tilted her head toward his ear, and whispered it, “I’m pregnant.”
She’d been feeling rotten for a few weeks, but after a couple of hours, she always felt fine. Each time, she had put it down to something she had eaten, but then her mother had asked if she’d taken a pregnancy test.