Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 113837 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 569(@200wpm)___ 455(@250wpm)___ 379(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113837 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 569(@200wpm)___ 455(@250wpm)___ 379(@300wpm)
“You okay?” he asked, backing out of the parking spot, then coming to an abrupt halt as the man in the scooter whizzed past.
“She sided with him.”
“What do you mean she sided with him?”
The car barreled over a speed bump before he turned onto the main highway.
“My mom’s cut me off, and that means she took Dad’s side. And she hates him.”
For Irina to agree with William, hell must have frozen over. I’d never had my parent’s love, but I had their money, and to a degree, Irina’s affection. Now I had neither.
Bellamy’s phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket and stared down at the screen, swerving into another lane. “What the hell kinda number is that?”
I snatched it from him. “It’s French.” I didn’t have my phone, but my dad had Bellamy’s number…so, I answered it. “Bellamy’s phone.”
“Drucella.” My mom’s voice came over the line. “Where are you?”
“In the car.”
“Are you with him?”
“Yes.” We stopped at a red light. A massive truck pulled up beside us, the rumble of the engine shaking Bellamy’s car.
“You moved in with him, darling?”
“Yes!”
“Where exactly are you living? In the ghetto?”
“Oh my god. Mom!”
“Irina, darling. You’ll make me feel old calling me Mom.”
The light changed and Bellamy sped off, weaving in and out of traffic. “Does she want to tell me to wear a condom too?”
Shooting a death glare at him, I held up a hand. Now was not the time.
I argued back and forth with her for the next five minutes until we pulled up to his house.
“Mom, I have to go and get the groceries out of the car.”
“Put me on video call. I want to see where you’re living.”
I stared at the front of the tiny house my mother in no way would approve of. She had no idea the struggles most people face. “No,” I said.
“If it’s acceptable, I’ll reactivate your credit card.”
“It’s acceptable.”
Silence.
Bellamy glanced at me before reaching across to open the door. “She sounds like a fucking delight.”
“She’s probably drunk.” It was the most likely excuse I could come up with.
I climbed out of the car, rounding the back when the phone beeped with a video call request.
She would keep trying until I accepted, so I took a breath and answered.
Mom came into view, diamonds around her neck, and a half-empty glass of Champagne in her hand. If I had to guess, the twinkling lights in the background was the view of Monaco from her yacht. “Well,” she said. “Let’s see it.”
Just then, Bellamy leaned over my shoulder. “Hey, Momma. I see where my Baby Girl gets her good looks from.” Then he kissed my cheek.
And my mom’s blush matched my own, like she was a freaking teenager. Oh my god.
I cleared my throat. “Just remember, not everyone lives in what looks like a five-star hotel. It doesn’t mean it’s not acceptable.”
I went inside the house, hurrying past Carol with a wave and cutting into Bellamy’s room.
The last thing I wanted was for Carol to hear my mother judging the home Carol had been generous enough to invite me in to.
“This is Bellamy’s room.” I did a quick spin around.
It wasn’t flashy of course. It was just an old bed and a dinged-up chest of drawers. A few car and football posters.
“I am perfectly fine here. Dad got unbearable. He took my phone. Basically called me a whore. Threatened to have Bellamy arrested…”
“Your father’s always been unbearable. And you are not a whore.” She drained the rest of the Champagne from her glass, then held it up in the air for someone to refill. “Speaking of your father, he sent me Bellamy’s records--Is that what you call them? Prison report card. Whatever it is...”
“Of course he did.” It didn’t surprise me one bit that he’d managed to get hold of them.
“Darling, believe me, I understand the appeal of boys like that.”
The bedroom door creaked open and Bellamy stepped in, flopping down on his bed.
“They’re dangerous, and exciting. I once dated a man who had been to prison, you know? It was a rush.” She fiddled with the strand of diamonds around her neck like just the thought of said man made her flustered. “But you are eighteen and beautiful and intelligent, with the whole world at your feet. If you were dating him, fine. But you moved in with him! That’s…”
Insane? Like I didn’t already know that.
She shook her head. “You have to see there’s no future in this.”
I wanted to walk out of the room, so Bellamy couldn’t hear her berating him, but I had a feeling he’d think I was hiding things from him.
“Those are dad’s words, not yours.”
“We’ll talk about it when you get here.”
Bellamy’s gaze immediately locked with mine. I didn’t miss the subtle clench of his jaw before he grabbed the football from the floor and started tossing it in the air. Like maybe he could ignore everything she’d said.