Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 126682 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126682 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
“I’m sorry.” There’s nothing else I can say. “I’m sorry I put you in danger.”
She sighs. “Believe it or not, I understand. It’s going to take Richard a while to come around though. Despite what happened, you’re my friend. I was worried sick about you and Sav.” She moves her gaze to my stomach. “How’s Claire? Livy told me. It’s a pretty name.”
“Thanks.” I clear my throat. “The pediatrician is happy with her progress.”
“I admire Sav for what he did. I’m sorry for what happened to him, but I’m glad he saved you.”
“Where do you want to go from here?”
“I want honesty.”
“I can’t always give you that. You understand why.”
She looks away.
Silence stretches while she considers my answer.
After a beat, she gets to her feet. “That’s not going to work for me. I can’t put my family’s lives in danger, and if you can’t be open with me, I won’t have the facts to assess the risks.”
I follow suit. “I understand.”
Her smile is apologetic. “I didn’t take your call because I didn’t want to do this over the phone.”
I drill the toe of my sneaker into the carpet. “’Kay.”
She walks around the table and pauses next to me. “I hope everything will work out for you, and I really hope Sav will be fine.”
“Thanks,” I say, following her progress to the door with my gaze.
It feels like that day when Zack, the security guard at the firm, told me he didn’t want to be associated with me. Yes, Saverio didn’t give me a choice before. But I always knew the day would come that I’d have to choose. And from now on forward, I always choose my husband.
Livy walks into the entrance just as I see Tersia off.
“It didn’t go well,” Livy says with sympathy when I close the door.
“No.”
“It’s not easy being on the outside.”
I’m not sure it’s easier on the inside.
The door opens again.
A guard sticks his head around the jamb. “Mrs. De Luca, there’s a woman outside who says she’s your mother.”
Livy and I look at each other quickly.
“What does she look like?” I ask.
He holds up his phone and shows me a photo.
I blow out a shaky breath. “Send her in.”
“Anya,” Livy says with a note of worry in her voice.
“Don’t worry.” I open the door wider and fix my gaze on the stocky woman who marches up the driveway. “I won’t let her take advantage of me this time.”
“Well, knock me over with a fucking feather,” my mom says as she stomps up the steps, tipping back her head to gawk at the house. “This place is fucking huge. Looks like a palace.”
“Mom.”
She stops in front of me.
I don’t step aside to let her in. “What are you doing here?”
Pulling her eyes into slits, she cranes her neck to the side and looks over my shoulder. “Look who the cat dragged in. Hello, Olivia.”
“Mary,” Livy says in a toneless voice behind me.
“You’ve got some explaining to do,” I say.
“Aren’t you gonna invite your mama in?”
“How did you get here?”
She grins. “Hitchhiked.” She drags a sly gaze over me. “You look good. Expensive.”
“You haven’t answered my question, Mom. What are you doing here? Why did you break out of the center?”
She adopts a shocked expression, but her acting is poor. “Saw the news.” Slamming her thigh, she cackles like a hen. “Bam! That must’ve been one big fucking explosion.”
“I’m fine.” My tone is dry. “Thanks for asking.”
“Oh come on.” She rolls her eyes. “I came as fast as I could.”
“Is that why you stabbed Bertrand?”
She shrugs, her grin in place. “How else was I supposed to get to my little girl? You could’ve been dead.”
Livy scoffs.
“You could’ve called me,” I say.
“Bah.” My mom waves a hand. “Don’t make such a fuss over nothing. Bertrand is a tough guy. Fucking asshole deserved more than a cut in the arm. He’ll survive.”
“I should call the cops.”
“On your own mother?” she shrieks. “What kind of a daughter are you? Here I am out of concern, worrying my poor stomach into barfing, and this is the welcome I get.”
“Cut the crap, Mom. I wasn’t born yesterday.”
She scratches her chin. “I need money and a place to crash.”
“You can’t stay here.”
“What?” Her upper lip curls. “Are you going to throw me out on the fucking street? Don’t you give a damn what happens to me?”
“I do, which is why I pulled a lot of strings to get a place for you at the center.”
Spreading her arms, she says, “I want another chance. I changed. I swear it. I thought you were minced meat. Made me realize shit. Made me realize what I’d been missin.’ So there I was, bawling my eyes out, thinking I need to make this right.” She wipes the back of her hand over her eyes. “I want to live with you again. Just for a while. You can test-drive it, see how it goes.”