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)
Chapter Three
“I can’t believe we never even thought to call,” Aria said.
She laid across her bed, twirling the cord of her phone, feeling like an old-fashioned schoolgirl, in an eighties romance movie.
Isabella chuckled. “I know, right. I’ve been wanting to call you for what feels like a lifetime, and today I thought, what the hell.”
They’d been on the phone for an hour already.
“I’m going to have to go soon and put the kids to bed.”
Aria could hear them in the background.
Her sister sighed. “And once they’re gone, I’ve got the whole house to myself, and I’m going to enjoy a nice, relaxing bath, maybe open a bottle of wine, read a good book, or listen to some music. I like books, I just … since being married, I don’t enjoy romance novels.”
“Why?”
“Can’t deal with the lies, Aria. I mean, the sex can be fine, you know, but it’s just sex, and then it can be … I don’t know. Marriage is not what I expected.”
“You think sex can be fine?” Aria asked. This was the last thing she wanted to talk about.
“Okay, sex by myself and a good book can be a lot of fun.”
Aria frowned. “I don’t see the big deal. I don’t like sex.”
“You don’t?”
“No, I don’t. It’s … horrible.”
There was silence on the line. Aria hated the silence.
“Can we talk about something else?”
“I think you should tell me about how horrible you think sex is,” Isabella asked.
Aria felt her cheeks heating. “It’s … it’s painful, and there’s nothing to be enjoyed. You know how it is, and I don’t think it’s that good. I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be so tactless.”
Isabella laughed. “Oh, honey, it doesn’t have to be that way. Yes, sex with your husband might not be what you’re looking for, but have you ever read one of those books I gave you? There are different ways for a woman to get her enjoyment, and you don’t always need a man to give it to you.”
She was about to ask more questions but then there was a large bang on Isabella’s side. “I’ve got to go. Until next time.”
Before Aria had chance to say goodbye, the line died on her, which sucked.
She looked at her phone and then reached up and dropped it back into the cradle, before rolling over onto her back. Sex. She had stopped reading the romance novels since her wedding night.
Dante had not swept her off her feet. This was worse than an arranged marriage. There was nothing arranged about this. Dante had been blackmailed into marrying her. At least with an arranged marriage there was a small chance of them falling in love. She would never love Dante.
Since he had left this morning, she’d been trying to figure out where her father would keep evidence that had made professionals unable to locate it. She knew her father had more properties than the main family home. He’d been rewarded them by his own father.
Aria ran a hand down her face. He wouldn’t trust a safe deposit box, or any other means. Her father would keep it close to him, which had to mean at one of his offices, possibly in the safe, but it wouldn’t be one that was easily located. It would have to be in his bedroom.
Her parents didn’t share a bedroom, at least not in the time she’d been aware of her parents’ living situation. As a kid, she didn’t pay much attention to them.
Then, after watching movies and lots of TV shows, she started to ask questions, to which she’d often get told to shut up.
That had to be where he’d keep the information. She didn’t have a clue how she was going to get into her father’s room. Her stomach started to grumble. She had forgotten about dinner, and she had even allowed the staff to leave for a half day. She was given permission to do that.
In the large house, she was never alone. There were always soldiers lurking about, watching, keeping an eye. She was used to seeing guns and men ready to act. Growing up in similar circumstances made it easier to live with.
She stepped out of her bedroom, still putting on a robe. Soldiers were everywhere, and they would look away, but she valued her privacy and dignity. No one was ever going to accuse her of catching the eye of a soldier. She’d heard many tales, most of them gossip or rumors. However, in her world, when a woman went missing, with no body to be found, and rumors began to circulate, there was a chance it was the truth.
Aria couldn’t help but wonder what life was like for other people. The people who were not part of any mafia or family that had strict rules to follow. All her life, she’d constantly been told what to do. Over the years, she found herself watching strangers, seeing the way they walked and how they were with one another.