Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 40311 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 202(@200wpm)___ 161(@250wpm)___ 134(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40311 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 202(@200wpm)___ 161(@250wpm)___ 134(@300wpm)
Plus, the billionaire was already starting to wind down the show for his parents, giving me a great big glass ring instead of a diamond.
My heart wept. Every tear that trailed down my face was another ounce of hope sapped, another joule of vitality gone. The phone fell from limp hands and I collapsed on the living room floor.
I should just take the ring and wear it. Yeah. That’s what I should do. Walk around with this big pink glass ring on my finger because that’s all I’d ever get.
Pain slashed through my chest once more, making me gasp.
But I couldn’t put on the fake ring. It hurt just looking at it, the glass burning an image on the backs of my eyelids.
It represented my stupidity.
My foolishness.
Everything that I’d never have.
The impossible, out of reach for a poor girl who works with her hands.
Oh god.
Tears dribbled from my eyes and into my mouth and I gasped, trying to catch my breath. What next?
Because this wasn’t how I pictured it while taking the pregnancy test this morning. After missing my period and then vomiting for twenty minutes, I knew I had to check. And it was true. Evan Lincoln’s fertile seed had done its duty, and now I had a baby inside me. Evan and I were going to have a child.
But he never wanted a child.
He never wanted me.
So I was going to have Evan’s baby. Alone.
The glass ring had showed me that much at least.
I sniffed again and stood on shaking legs, smearing my cheeks with pumpkin and flour. I couldn’t stay here. I loved the animals at DoggyMart, I loved the city, I loved Evan. But I had more than myself to care for now. I had a baby to think about now.
So I had to go because this was Evan’s city … and my broken heart wouldn’t let me stay.
12
Evan
Henry’s an asshole and I was done with him. That was that.
There was no anger anymore. No recriminations. No hate.
I was just done.
Because it was all about the future now, and that meant Maggie. From this clusterfuck, something amazing had happened, and that was my beautiful brunette. With her by my side, anything was possible. It was going to be tough for sure. I was going to put in long hours building my own empire, but better late than never. It should have happened a long time ago.
And with the right woman, the world was my oyster.
I squeezed my hand around the pink diamond in my pocket.
Oh shit, oh shit. Because I wanted to propose. I wanted to bend my knee not to my father, but instead for the sweet thing who deserved my love and loyalty.
Maggie.
“We’re here, sir,” my driver’s voice rang out.
The limo pulled to a slow stop outside the female’s place, headlights cutting through the darkness of her neighborhood. I levered myself out, pulling at the dark suit. Holy shit, was I nervous? Sure enough, my heart thumped hard, palms a little sweaty.
Fuck. The girl had me wrapped around her finger. No worries, this was going to be the best day of her life.
And with several loud raps, I knocked on the door. But oddly Maggie didn’t answer. I checked my watch again. Yeah, she was already done with work at the pet store and should be home by now.
I knocked again, louder this time. Then called her on my cell phone.
Again, no answer.
Was she sick or something? Is that why she couldn’t come to the door? I grabbed the key she kept under the mat and unlocked the apartment.
My heart caught in my throat, before exploding with a series of deep, painful throbs.
Because it was completely empty.
No clothes. No signs of Maggie. Just the furniture that came with the place, the walls bare and plain. I spun around in the empty apartment with disbelief. What the hell?
Furiously, my hand scrabbled at my cell again. And this time, I left a message.
“Where are you, Mags? I’m at your place. There’s—” No, I couldn’t ask her something like that over the phone. “Just call me when you get this.”
The phone clicked off, leaving me with ominous silence.
What the hell was going on? I’d just seen the brunette yesterday. Why would someone vacate so fast? Did she break her lease?
The mysteries swirled, but I’d get a hold of her. No worries.
But then a flash of something caught my eye, and I bent, slowly retrieving the object from a corner of the apartment.
A diamond? No. A glass copy of the one in my pocket.
What the hell?
Oh shit! The jeweler completely fucked up and sent a glass diamond to Maggie. Why the fuck would he do that? Was this some sick joke?
The real gems are locked up safe at all times, insured to the hilt with security guards standing by. So why the hell had he sent a glass bauble to Maggie? For kicks?