Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 92702 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92702 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
He might also get angrier. Or, even worse, dismissive. Cold and cruel, both of which seem to be his specialty. I don’t think I could handle that. I think that might be what finally breaks me once and for all.
“You’ve betrayed me once again.” His voice is quieter now, but somehow, it’s even more frightening. Cold, flat, and totally absent of emotion. I can’t help but shrink a little at the sound of it. “Just when I thought we were getting somewhere, you remind me that I can never be too comfortable with you. I suppose I ought to thank you for that.”
“You’re wrong about this.”
“No, I don’t think I am. You’re lying to me even now. Is that all you know how to do? Lie? Saying anything, so long as it means you are saving your ass?”
“I’m not lying. You’re wrong.”
“Am I? Then please, enlighten me on why you hid that test instead of telling me right away because your special little secret excuse is bullshit. What’s the truth, Alicia? Do you know what the word means anymore?”
I should tell him. Wouldn’t that shock him into silence? “I wasn’t planning on hiding this from you. I would have told you soon. Now, you’ve even taken that from me. The opportunity to tell my husband I’m pregnant, that we’re going to have a baby. Congratulations. You’ve taken away just about everything I was ever looking forward to.”
“Do not make yourself out to be a victim here.”
“I was only telling the truth. Isn’t that what you want? Or would you rather only hear what makes you happy? That’s not how it works.”
“Enough of this.” He’s practically on top of me in an instant, and I press myself against the wall near the door when he leans in close. “From now on, I want to know everything. Immediately. You keep nothing from me, not for any bullshit reason that twisted little mind of yours comes up with.”
Twisted mind? I have to bite my tongue against what threatens to come out of me the moment I hear that. As if he has any room to talk about being twisted.
“Do you understand?”
“Yes,” I grit out, forcing myself to hold his gaze. I’m not going to look away. I will not back down.
“Good. I expect you home right away since I know you don’t have any other classes after this today. Paolo will take you straight there, and it would be for the best if we don’t cross paths. I don’t want to look at you anymore today.”
He thrusts a finger in my face, and his hand is trembling. “Take care of yourself. Don’t even think about doing anything that will hurt my son.” With that, he leaves me, swinging the door open so hard it smashes into the wall.
And all I can do is stand here, shaking, staring straight ahead but seeing nothing in front of me. No, all I see is my future, which has never looked as bleak and empty as it does right now.
18
ENZO
“From now on, you report everything to me and I mean everything.”
“Yes, sir.” Paolo stands straight and tall, but there’s no disguising his discomfort. He’s lucky it’s only discomfort he’s dealing with. I might have decided he’d look a lot better without the back of his head. I might have decided to paint the walls of my study with his blood and brains. It’s still a possibility, in fact.
“If she steps into a store, I want you following her around that store,” I continue. “And once she’s finished making her purchases, I want you looking through that bag. Got it?”
“Got it. It’s just that…” His brows knit together, and I can barely keep a hold on my rage.
“It’s just that what?” I bark when he falls silent.
“She said it was… feminine stuff she had to buy.”
“And you’re that afraid of maybe touching a box of tampons? Jesus Christ. You’re lucky I don’t blow your fucking head off here and now. Do you like living, Paolo?”
“Sir?” he asks, confused.
“Living. Do you enjoy being alive?”
“Of course, yes.”
“Then I suggest you suck the fuck up and remember who’s paying you. And who’s allowing you to get out of this situation with your life. I promise you, you will not get a second chance.”
“Understood, Mr. De Luca.”
“Get out of my sight.” To his credit, he stops short of running from the room—but not very far short. How the fuck did I end up with these assholes in my crew? And she’s a clever one, too. Telling him she was buying feminine products, knowing he wouldn’t search too hard. If it wasn’t my heir’s life hanging in the balance, I might have to congratulate her for being smart.
As it is, she’s lucky she’s carrying my child, or else she would be in a world of pain. There is such a thing as being too clever, it turns out.