Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 88841 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88841 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
He tenses his jaw, and I stay quiet, not wanting to say the wrong thing. Finally, he sighs and shakes his head.
“Violet, go watch TV while your mom makes dinner.”
“Can I … can I go to the bathroom?” she whispers, breaking my heart.
It’s my job to keep her safe, and I’ve failed. Ryder told me not to go anywhere without him or security, and I messed up. Now, we’re both in danger.
“Go ahead,” he says. “Just keep in mind, if you do anything stupid, I’m going to have to hurt your mom. And I really don’t want to do that.”
Violet whimpers but nods in understanding.
Once she’s in the bathroom, Brian looks at me. “You fucked up, Kira. And it’s going to take some time to make things right. But hopefully, things will go back to normal soon.”
This man has seriously lost his ever-loving mind if he thinks I have any intention of letting anything between us go back to normal.
“You can start by showing me you can still be a good wife,” he continues. “There’s food in the fridge. Go start dinner.”
Violet comes out of the bathroom, and I smile softly at her, wanting to scoop her into my arms, but refraining because I don’t want Brian to get mad and do anything stupid.
She sits on the couch, and Brian hands her the controller so she can watch TV. He sits on the couch next to her and opens his laptop. Since she seems to be relatively safe, I start on dinner while I try to think of a way out of here.
I make a simple grilled chicken dinner with steamed broccoli and rice. While we sit at the table and eat, Brian talks about what’s going on with the law firm he’s a partner at, like it’s a normal day. I respond when he asks me questions, not wanting to upset him, and quietly encourage Violet to eat because I know she must be starved.
After dinner, I do the dishes and then give Violet a bath. Brian is out in the living room, working on his laptop, so while I wash her, I whisper so only she can hear.
“You’re doing so good, sweet girl. I don’t know how, but I’m going to get us out of here, I promise. You just keep being good. Okay?”
She nods and then wraps her arms around me. She’s wet, but I don’t care. I hold her tight and whisper, “I love you more than all the stars in the sky,” while she silently cries in my arms.
“I love you more than all the stars and the moon,” she whispers back, “and I really miss Ryder and Addie.”
“I know. I do, too, but we’ll see them soon.”
After her bath, I help her change into pajamas that Brian brought with him because he thought of everything, proving that this has been planned, and then I tuck her into bed. I hate that she’s sleeping alone in the room, but that’s what Brian said needs to happen.
“Is she sleeping?” he asks, not even bothering to look up.
Before we met Ryder, I thought it was normal for a guy to not help with bedtime or kiss his child good night. I thought it was because Violet wasn’t Brian’s, but now, I see that not all men are like this. Ryder says good night to Violet every night. He helps tuck her in, and he kisses her on her forehead, telling her that he loves her and to have sweet dreams.
“Yeah,” I tell him, thankful that he’s nothing like Ryder, which means he’ll stay away from Violet because he doesn’t care enough to pay her any attention.
Brian nods, then looks up at me. “Go take a shower. Wash that other man off you. Then, we can go to bed, and you can start trying to prove to me that you’re not a whore.”
I swallow anxiously at the thought of Brian touching me but nod in understanding, not wanting to piss him off.
“Do you have clothes for me?” I choke out.
“In the master bedroom, on the dresser.”
I keep my shower quick so Violet isn’t left alone for too long and then get dressed in the bedroom, thankful that Brian hasn’t attempted to come in. While I’m in here, I see his luggage, and after checking to make sure he’s still busy on his laptop, I search it for anything that can help me. I’m about to give up when I notice his bottle of sleeping pills in his toiletry bag. He takes them to help him sleep. Without them, he’ll toss and turn all night and then have trouble focusing the next day.
Quietly, I open the bottle and pour three into my hand. He normally takes one, so three should make him pass out. Before I close the lid, I add a few more because, fuck it, if it kills him, so be it.