Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 118965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 595(@200wpm)___ 476(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 595(@200wpm)___ 476(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
“Sure,” she says, skipping out ahead of him.
He gives me another intense look before walking from the kitchen.
I blow out the breath trapped in my chest and inhale deeply to calm myself. The last thing I want is to lose my temper in front of Sophie.
Angelo unpacks the groceries while Sophie and I finish our baking. Once he’s sampled the cookies and praised her for reciting the alphabet flawlessly, she settles at the kitchen table with her new coloring book, and he takes me upstairs to the bedroom to talk.
My back goes stiff when he closes the door behind him. I hug myself and face the window. I don’t look at him. I can’t. I’m too angry. Too helpless. Optionless. I haven’t been this furious since the day I confronted him in his hotel room when I discovered he used me to steal information from my dad. Back then, I slapped him. I attacked him physically. I’m not that girl any longer, the one whose heart he broke. I’m a grown woman now, an adult who should be able to control herself better, but I still want to pound my fists on his chest and hurt him like he hurt me.
His voice is soft but insistent. “Sabella.”
My muscles tense further.
“Look at me,” he says.
I don’t want to because there’s nothing to say.
When his warm, strong fingers close around my shoulder, I give a start. He squeezes in a comforting gesture before turning me toward him.
“You’re angry.”
My laugh is wry. “No kidding.”
“Don’t you like the earrings?”
“Are you serious? Do you believe giving me a couple of diamonds will make what you did go away? That you can buy me? Is that how little you think of me?”
He drops his arm at his side. “I don’t think little of you.”
“No?” I glare at him. “Are you telling me you hold me in such a high regard that you threw my birth control pills away and then disappeared for days while I was going out of my mind with anguish trying to bring down Sophie’s fever?”
“I’m sorry.”
The sincerity of the words takes me aback.
“What happened with Sophie will never happen again,” he continues. “I promise you that. I’ll get you a phone so that you can call me in case of an emergency.”
I’m too bitter to forgive him just like that. What he did is inexcusable. But I do need a phone. Swallowing my pride, I ask, “Will I be able to call freely? Anyone I want?”
He doesn’t answer.
Thought so. My smile is resentful. “Only you?”
“Yes,” he says with a solemness that sounds so definite that my anger burns hotter.
I scoff. “Too little, too late.”
“I had business to take care of.”
“Business?” I cross my arms. “Entertaining your friends?”
“No.” He twists a lock of my hair around his finger. “Why? Does the idea bother you?”
I step back, escaping his touch.
He shoves his hands in his pockets. “We discovered a spy at one of my warehouses. I had to put extra safety measures in place. I would’ve come sooner if I didn’t have to spend the week in Bastia.” Studying me, he says without as much as a flinch, “What you’re really angry about is the birth control pills.”
I grit my teeth to prevent the hurt from sounding in my voice. “What you did is wrong on so many levels.”
“I never lied to you about my intentions. I told you that night when you gave me your virginity. I told you when I married you. And I told you when I fucked you in my house.”
Indignation surges through me. “You told me? That makes it right? That justifies your one-sided decision?” I drop my arms, pinning them at my sides as I advance on him. “Have you considered for one minute that it’s my body we’re talking about? That I have to carry this baby and give birth to it? We’re talking about a life—a person—not an object to serve your purpose.”
His gaze plays over my face. “You’ll have the best medical care. A private clinic. A midwife at home. You can have a caesarian or an epidural so you won’t feel the pain. I’ll employ a personal trainer that specializes in postnatal exercises to help speed your recovery. I’ll love our child. I’ll be a good father.”
Betrayal runs like thick, hot lava through me. He hurt me with deceit before, but this is on a different level. How much he must hate me if he can inflict such pain so boldly. So emotionlessly. Did he feel the same degree of betrayal when he concluded that I sold him out? Did the false notion hurt him as deeply as I’m hurting now? Is he capable of feelings so intense, or is he an even colder monster than I imagined?
“So that’s what I am.” Tears of humiliation burn behind my eyes. “An animal for breeding. Like a cow or a bitch.”