Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 116760 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116760 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
Only people who knew her could do that.
Which is why it really hurt that Hayes thought that. Sure, they’d only known each other a week. But they were basically living together so it felt like they knew each other.
She hadn’t stuck around to hear anything else after that.
Face it . . . you just didn’t want to hear if Corbin agreed with him.
No. It was one thing for bossy, grouchy Hayes to think that. But it would completely destroy her if Corbin had agreed with him.
So she’d fled through the kitchen, then up the stairs to her bedroom.
There was a knock on her door and she froze. “Yes?”
“Hey, dinner is ready. Are you coming down?” Corbin asked.
Bebe placed her hand over her tummy. “Sorry, I’m not feeling that great.”
“Are you all right? Do you want me to come in and check on you?”
“I’m fine. It’s just a headache. Sometimes, they make me feel nauseous. I think I’ll just lie down and try to have a sleep in the quiet.”
There was silence and she wondered if he’d left.
“Okay,” he said. “Everything’s all right? You’re not seeing double or anything?”
Lord.
He was so nice.
Please don’t let him think those things about me.
Bebe took a steadying breath. “No. I’m fine.”
“And you have painkillers?”
“Yeah, I do. I’m all good, Corbin. I’m a big girl. Been taking care of myself for a long time.”
Such a liar.
It almost hurt to say those words. Because she wanted to wrap herself up in his care. To let him coddle and protect her.
“Just because you can take care of yourself doesn’t mean you always have to. Sometimes, it’s all right to let other people look after you. To just let go.”
Not in her experience.
She hadn’t had much care and attention from her parents when as a child. Or an adult.
Maybe she really was a poor little rich girl.
Then, she’d been so starved for attention that she’d found it in all the wrong places.
And she’d ended up in a bad, bad place.
Don’t think about that.
About him.
Yep. There was the indigestion.
Corbin seemed genuine but trusting people didn’t come easily to her.
“Thanks,” she said. “I appreciate that. But there’s really nothing you can do. I’m just going to lie down in the quiet.”
“All right. Well, if you want some dinner or anything else, you can message me. Or Hayes.”
Yeah, she definitely wouldn’t be messaging Hayes.
Deep breaths.
“Got it,” she called out.
She listened to his footsteps as he walked away. Then she let out the breath she’d been holding in a whoosh, feeling light-headed.
Note to self.
Do not hold your breath too long.
Lying on the bed, she attempted to quiet her mind. But her brain kept playing those words over and over again.
Even worse, other words came back to her.
Strangers commenting on her size, her clothes, her attitude.
Rich brat. Doesn’t live in the real world.
Placing her hands over her eyes, she fought back the tears.
Look at her. So skinny. Obviously has an eating disorder.
Bebe bit down on her lip.
All the money in the world can’t buy class. Or brains.
Crap. Crap. Crap.
You need me, Belle. I’m the only one who loves you. Who will ever love you? Because I’m the only one who understands you. That’s why you need to listen to me.
A sob broke free. She wasn’t going to calm down like this.
Deep breath in. Let it out slowly.
Draw a box in your mind. One. Two. Three. Four.
But it wasn’t working. Nothing was.
No one will ever love you like I do. But you need to behave to keep my affection, Belle.
Asshole. He was an asshole and none of it was true.
You’re being too sensitive.
Why was she letting him do this to her?
You’re being irrational.
He couldn’t hurt her anymore unless she let him.
It’s your fault I did that, Belle. All. Your. Fault.
Nausea bubbled in her stomach. Damn indigestion.
If you were normal, none of this would happen. But you have needs only I can meet. Remember that. No one else would love you if they knew.
Getting up, she raced to the bathroom. Falling to her knees, she leaned over the toilet and vomited up everything in her stomach. Which wasn’t a lot.
After flushing the toilet, she managed to stand and lean against the cabinet. Shakily, she brushed her teeth as she stared at herself in the mirror.
Looking back at her was a woman she didn’t recognize. She seemed gaunt. Pale.
Haunted.
She didn’t want to be that girl again. The one who believed the lies she was told. The web that had been spun around her, designed to trap and manipulate her.
That wasn’t who she was.
But as she continued to stare at herself, that web seemed to tighten, digging into her skin. Tears dripped down her cheeks.
“You’re strong. You’re smart. You are in charge of your life. Control what you can. What is right in front of you.”
It helped a bit.