Total pages in book: 18
Estimated words: 16561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 83(@200wpm)___ 66(@250wpm)___ 55(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 16561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 83(@200wpm)___ 66(@250wpm)___ 55(@300wpm)
Off in the distance, I see Daisy struggling against her father’s hold.
“No,” she yells, and the sound of her voice sets my body ablaze. I start moving toward them, but I feel like it’s not fast enough. I’m at the end of the alleyway now, and they still haven’t noticed me.
“You will marry him of your own will, or I will make you,” her father growls, inches away from her face.
Daisy shakes her head, and then her father lifts his hand, pressing it against her mouth. She struggles against his hold, panic filling her eyes, and all my restraint snaps. I see red, beyond red, my body vibrating with rage.
Crossing the space that separates us, I grab her father by the back of the neck and slam him into the nearest wall. He staggers but manages to stay on his feet. Blood trickling down his forehead.
“You can’t just take her, she’s not yours,” he sneers as he tries to make a grab at her. I’m beyond words now but feel the need to tell him one single thing. Shielding Daisy behind me, I growl.
“She doesn’t belong to anyone. She is a person, not a thing, and I won’t let you, or anyone else, hurt her.” Turning, I take Daisy’s hand into mine and start walking down the alleyway and back toward the hotel.
“You won’t get away with this,” her father yells after us. I don’t dare look at Daisy, not even when we enter the hotel or the elevator. I wait until we’re in the room, with her body secure in my arms, till I look at her. With one glance, every ounce of my anger and sadness from her earlier confession disappears.
I don’t care what I have to go through to keep Daisy, but I’m going to do it.
“I’m sorry, Carter. Sorry, you had to see that, sorry, that...” She’s a blubbering mess, and given the situation and her emotions, it’s completely understandable, but I need to know everything so that I can make things right for us. So that I can protect her.
“Don’t be sorry. I don’t care about them. All I care about is you. Tell me what happened, tell me everything so I can make it better.”
Daisy gazes up at me with tears in her eyes, her cheeks are a soft pink, and she looks thoroughly exhausted.
“For years, since I was a little girl, my father drugged me. That’s why everyone thought I was crazy because he was giving me pills that made me that way. Just recently, he stopped giving me the pills, but I didn’t know any of that. It took me a while to put the puzzle pieces together. When my head first cleared, I thought it was a fluke, I was scared I would lose my mind again. On a whim, wanting a chance at freedom, I left and went to a bar, got drunk, and had sex with some guy. I just wanted to feel normal for once.”
Jealousy pools deep in my gut, but I don’t let it fester. I’d been with my share of women, and the past is the past. Daisy is my future.
She sucks in a breath and then releases it. “That’s how I ended up pregnant. I have no idea who the father is. I don’t even remember his name. I’ve been panicking ever since I found out because I knew if my father found out, he would make me get an abortion, and though the child wasn’t planned, I want to keep it. Then I discovered he was trying to marry me off, and I figured if I had sex with you and pinned the baby on you, maybe…”
It all slowly pieces together. “You thought you’d be safe?” I whisper.
She nods her head, tears streaking down her face. I wipe them away with my thumbs and gently press my lips against hers. I wish like hell, I would’ve been there for her when we were teenagers, maybe, just maybe we would’ve discovered all this sooner.
“I can see you thinking, stop. None of this was your fault, and nothing could’ve been done.
“I have to find a way to keep this baby and protect myself and my mother from my father. I still don’t know if he is drugging her or if she is really sick. I have never seen him give her anything, but I’ve been wondering if maybe he gives it to her in a different way. Either way, I need to get her away from him, I have to.”
“We will. I’ll make certain your father gets what is coming to him.”
“We? After everything I told you, you still want to help me? Want to be with me?” Shock fills her features.
“Yes,” I smile. “I’ve wanted you for years. I wasn’t lying to you when I said that. That baby inside of you. It’s mine. You are mine. I don’t care what anyone says or thinks. All I care about is you. It’s always been you, Daisy.” I cup her cheeks and gaze deeply into her eyes, she looks as if she’s afraid.