Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 118965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 595(@200wpm)___ 476(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 595(@200wpm)___ 476(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
We watch the boys for a moment before he speaks.
“Sophie isn’t adapting well at school.”
The news settles like a stone in my stomach. I turn to him. “What happened?”
He stares straight ahead to where Étienne heads the ball. “She latched onto Beatrice again just when I thought she was finally letting go.” He pulls a hand from his pocket and drags it over his mouth. “The teacher reckons I shouldn’t have made her leave the doll at home when she goes to school.” He adds in a wry tone, “Or I should’ve gotten her buy-in for the decision.”
“You made her leave Beatrice behind?” I ask with disbelief. “It’s her coping mechanism, especially when she faces changes, and going to school is a major change. Weaning her off the doll gradually may have been a better approach.”
He chuckles. “The teacher will agree with you. All I seem to do is fuck it up.”
“What about the other kids? How are they treating her?”
“Good.” He braces his forearms on the rail and shoots me a sidelong glance. “The problem seems to be you.”
“Me?”
“She misses you.”
“I miss her too.”
He steeples his fingers. “She insists on moving back here, and it’s not going to happen.”
I swallow a retort. He’s her legal guardian. She should live with him. He has the means to protect her and to offer her a good future. What I want doesn’t matter. “Isn’t she happy at your place?”
“My place.” He utters a wry laugh. “It would’ve easier if it was our place.”
My hackles rise. “You decided to banish me.”
“You decided to cut a deal.”
“I did not—” Exhaustion washes over me. “You know what? Believe what you like. I’m here now, and that’s not going to change.”
He poses the question like a challenge. “Is it not?”
“I’m never moving back in with you.”
A smile curves his lips, but his tone drips with hostility. “Just like you’ll never say my name?”
“Exactly.”
I like my freedom too much. If I must choose between being locked up in a bedroom in his house and living here, my answer will always be the same.
“You’re wrong.” He straightens. “You’ll move back to the new house when you’re pregnant.”
“Why?” I exclaim, battling to get my head around his reasoning.
“I’m not fucking with your health. I want to be able to keep an eye on you. Make sure you’re fine.”
“To make sure nothing happens to your heir?” I ask in a bitchy tone.
“Both of you.”
Right. Because he cares so much about my wellbeing. “Then what? How are the living arrangements supposed to work when the baby is born? If there’ll ever be a baby. You’ll visit us on the odd night? Every other weekend? Make a single mother out of me? Have you ever stopped to think about the logistics?”
He only stares at me, his jaw locked tight.
Then I get it.
Oh my God.
My jaw drops in horror. My words are soft, laced with shock. “You’ll take my baby away from me.”
The lines of his face grow hard. “You’ll always be his mother.”
An astonished laugh bubbles from my lips. How could I have been so blind? I should’ve seen through him. I should’ve realized what his plan was sooner. What a heartless monster. Coldness settles inside me, chilling me to the bone.
He steps toward me. “You’ll see your children, cara.”
I back away. “On the occasional weekend?” Uninvited tears build behind my eyes. The effort of holding them in twists my mouth. “Like Sophie?” I wave a hand toward the upstairs floor where that little girl is hiding. “Like this? Like—”
His stern tone cuts me short. “Sabella.”
“Jesus, Mr. Russo.” I shake my head with contempt. “Thank you for reminding me what kind of a person you are. You tend to do that a lot, you know, just as I’m about to forget.” I wrap my arms around myself. “I owe you a big thank you for these timely reminders.”
His words hold a warning. “I’ll have the proof soon.”
“Good for you.”
“If you have something to confess, it’ll be better for you to do it now.”
“You know what the sad part is?” I close the distance I put between us, pushing our bodies together as I iron out the lapel of his shirt and continue in a regretful tone. “You wouldn’t have had to worry so much about the fact that I may betray you and scheme against you to win my freedom if you hadn’t forced me into this marriage.” I hold his gaze and slide my hand over his chest to the hard expanse of his abs. “If you hadn’t stolen my father’s book, our families would’ve been alive today.” I withdraw my touch, feeling the sad truth of the words all the way to my soul. “If only you’d asked me, I would’ve said yes.”
Something flickers in his black eyes as he watches me with a brooding stare, but I don’t wait to decipher it. I’m so done with this, with him.