Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 30098 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 150(@200wpm)___ 120(@250wpm)___ 100(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30098 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 150(@200wpm)___ 120(@250wpm)___ 100(@300wpm)
She had pinned her hair on top of her head, and she wore a skirt and a shirt that she felt emphasized her curves. In the past couple of months, she’d spent a little money on some new clothes, and was trying to work with her body. Her mother’s advice was to hide it. Juliet, one of the women who’d befriended her who worked in the house, gave her different advice.
She wanted to try something new and she did like the way she looked now. At least, she had accepted how she was supposed to look. She was never going to be the svelte figure of her sister, or the models that graced the covers of magazines. Her ass was always going to be too big, as were her hips and breasts. Her stomach was never going to be quite so flat. If a lifetime of diets hadn’t taught her that, nothing would.
She took several steps into the dining room and came to a stop. This was odd. Dante sat at the head of the table, breakfast already laid out, and he was reading the paper.
“You’re up early,” he said.
Aria wanted to pinch herself to see if she was dreaming, but she also didn’t want to show that kind of weakness in front of him.
“You’re still home,” she said.
“Yes.” He closed the paper and put it down on the table. “Would you like me to give you a round of applause for that observation?”
“Why are you home?” she asked.
“It has been brought to my attention, sweet wife, that the only way to knock you up is to spend a little more time doing the deed.”
She clenched her hands into fists.
“What? No, you don’t need to do that at all. The arrangement we have is fine,” Aria said, and she felt her head start to pound.
Dante didn’t say anything, he just stared at her for several moments. “Sit down. Eat.”
She had been hungry before her encounter with her husband, but now, any kind of appetite had vanished.
The urge to run away was strong, but instead, she walked toward the table, pulled out her chair, and sat down.
She could do this. It would be easy. Dante would get tired of taunting her, then he’d leave, and she could come up with a plan to get what she needed. Freedom was within her grasp. All she needed to do was take it.
Looking at the food available wasn’t helping her sickness. She never had an elaborate breakfast. Usually, she was a bowl-of-cereal kind of girl, or some toast. She also loved a nice cup of coffee to get her day started.
She tried her hardest to ignore her husband and glanced over at the food on offer. Picking up the first cereal, she began to pour herself a bowl, being cautious on how much she ate in front of him. She might have started to accept her body as her own, and appreciate it, but eating in front of Dante was a whole other problem.
With her cereal poured, along with the milk, she made herself a cup of coffee and took a long sip. This was all she needed in the morning.
She was pretty sure she felt Dante’s gaze upon her, and when she turned her head, he was there, staring. The temptation to ask him what he was staring at was strong. Instead, she gritted her teeth and looked back down at her cereal. She could barely taste it, her nerves were getting the better of her, and she knew it was because of Dante.
Did he enjoy making her nervous?
Was this some kind of twisted game to him?
Aria had no idea, but ever since they had struck that deal last night, she’d been determined to figure out a way to find the evidence he needed. She knew, if she succeeded, there was no way she’d ever be able to go and see her family again. At first, that made her incredibly sad. Then, once she took the time to think about it, she didn’t care. The only person she cared about, who had been kind to her, and if she was honest, the only person she actually loved was her sister, Isabella. Once she was free, their family couldn’t stop her from going to see her sister.
“What has you smiling?” Dante asked.
She hadn’t even realized she was smiling. “I am?”
“Yes. You look happy. If I had known my presence was going to bring this much joy to you, I’d have stopped by sooner.”
There were two options for her to take. One was to simply ignore his taunting and let him believe what he clearly wanted to believe. The other was to tell him the truth.
“My smiling has nothing to do with you being here and everything to do with our deal last night.” She wasn’t trying to be cruel.