Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25357 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 127(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 85(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25357 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 127(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 85(@300wpm)
At first, I was frantic. I called all over the place, and almost dialed 9-1-1 to report a missing person. But finally, my contact at the Hotel Nova told me that Danielle had stopped by that afternoon, and gotten re-hired as a member of the housekeeping staff. What the hell? Why in the world would she do that? I was non-plussed, in addition to being totally despondent.
But if it’s space she wants, then I’ll let her have it. Maybe she’s dealing with some personal issues, like a family emergency or family illness. Or maybe, she’s trying to support her ailing mother as she transitions to supportive housing. If that’s the case then I’d like to be there for Danielle, so she doesn’t have to go through it alone, but I also don’t want to overstep.
Or maybe she’s not having family issues at all. Maybe the curvy girl’s just having second thoughts about our relationship, which I hope isn’t the case. But I want to give her some time to think things over, and as a result, I’ve been trying to keep my distance.
Yet I can’t go on much longer without seeing Danielle, especially when I know nothing. I’m driving myself crazy wondering about her. Wondering how she’s feeling, what she’s doing, and whom she’s with. Is she eating properly? Drinking water? Working too hard? The not knowing is killing me.
As a result, I decide to distract myself. Flora wanted to meet with me to go through a couple of boxes from the orphanage we used to live at. She really wants to find a few pictures from when we were younger, and she refused to take no for an answer, so I agreed to assist. I rented out the same suite in the Hotel Nova because the boxes are dingy and dusty from being in storage so long, and I didn’t want to ship them out to my mansion. But as soon as I’m done with this shit, I’m going to go to Danielle’s apartment to try to talk to her.
But Flora and I haven’t even started going through the boxes when the door to the bedroom bangs open. We both turn in confusion, and my eyes widen when I see that it’s Danielle standing there. A big smile comes onto my face as relief floods through my veins.
“Danielle! Sweetheart, what are you doing here? Why have you been ignoring all my calls and texts?”
“You two are fucking disgusting!” she shouts. I furrow my brows in confusion, opening my mouth to ask her what she’s talking about, but she cuts me off quickly. “You are disgusting perverts who like to watch each other have sex. Don’t you think that’s wrong when you’re siblings?”
Flora looks completely surprised. Her red lips part in shock, and she’s trembling as she stares at Danielle.
“Danielle—” she begins, but my woman shakes her head, lifting a finger to silence her.
“Don’t try to explain it,” she says in a disgusted voice. “I don’t even want to know.”
But somehow the wires have gotten twisted because Flora and I aren’t biological siblings. Or siblings in any sense, actually. Instead, we were orphans who looked out for one another when we lived in the same group home, decades ago.
“Danielle, it isn’t what you think,” I begin.
“Oh yeah? Then what is it?” the curvy brunette demands, her eyes practically shooting fire. “What could possibly justify a brother and sister being sexual together?”
“Danielle, that is enough,” I snap. “Flora, do you want to explain?”
The raven-haired woman immediately shakes her head.
“No, I’ll let you handle this, Barron. Clearly, I’m in over my head,” she says before slipping past Danielle and exiting the bedroom.
When the door clicks shut behind her, Danielle turns back around to glare at me, and I sigh before taking a seat on the bed. It seems the weight of the world is on my shoulders … and now, I have to explain what’s already a sad situation.
10
DANIELLE
Barron sighs as he runs a hand through his ebony locks.
“Danielle, this is not what you think it is.”
“Yeah, you’ve said that before,” I huff. “So, tell me what it really is then.”
“Well,” he murmurs. “For starters, Flora and I aren’t biologically related. We’re not biological siblings, so we don’t share genetics or DNA.”
I side-eye him, staring at him with a suspicious gaze as I try to figure out whether Barron’s telling me the truth or not. Yet his eyes are honest as they stare into mine, and my heart races in my chest as the wheels start turning in my brain. If they’re not biological siblings, then…well, that changes everything.
“You’re not really related?” I question skeptically. “But you two look very much alike.”
Barron chuckles, nodding his head a little. “We get that a lot, but I don’t see it. Just because we both have black hair and blue eyes doesn’t mean that we’re automatically twins,” he says in a wry voice.