Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 83772 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83772 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
After she cried a while longer, she sat back and looked at me, eyes red and puffy. “He was about to hurt me when you arrived. Was angry that I’d been crying over you. If you’d waited just an hour…” She never finished the sentence.
And I didn’t want her to. “It’s over now. You’re free. We’re free.”
She gave a slow nod before she sniffed. “I didn’t think you were going to come.” Her eyes remained down, like she didn’t want my explanation.
“I wasn’t going to…until Axel talked me into it.”
She lifted her gaze and looked at me.
“I couldn’t risk Axel’s family. But he said you were family too.”
She’d just stopped crying, but now her eyes watered once more. “I love him.”
“He and Scarlett love you too.”
She sniffled again before she wiped her tears with her forearms. Dawn had arrived an hour ago, and the sun shone directly in her face, making her eyes sparkle like a flowing river in the light. With red eyes and puffy skin, she was an emotional mess, but she was vulnerable and real…and beautiful.
“As do I.”
Her eyes had been on the window as I spoke, but she flicked them to me at hearing my words. Her body went still. Even her breathing stopped. Time seemed to stand still as she absorbed the echo of my words.
“I love you, sweetheart.”
I hadn’t touched her things in my bedroom or removed her belongings from down the hall. I’d left it exactly as it was because it was less painful to endure it than to remove it. The vanity in the bathroom still had her cleansers and creams, along with her makeup bag. I’d had my butler put a vase of flowers on her bedside every night like she was still there.
When she walked inside, she stilled noticeably, like she expected a whole new place. She stared at the bed for a long time before she crossed her arms over her chest. She was still frazzled, as she’d been on the plane, and she needed more time to decompress. She moved to the armchair near one of my dressers and sat down, arms still crossed over her chest.
I wasn’t sure if I should give her space and leave the room. Or if she wanted to get something off her chest. I tried not to wonder if she’d slept with Bolton because I understood she didn’t have a choice in the matter. I’d prefer it if she did choose to sleep with him…versus the other scenario.
I’d rather not think about or discuss it at all.
“I didn’t sleep with him.” Her eyes were down as she said it. “He tried, but I always got out of it.”
I hid my reaction as best I could, but the relief was like the fizz that released out of a just-opened soda can.
“I made efforts in other ways and was able to delay the worst. But it wouldn’t have lasted much longer.”
I was glad I’d listened to Axel. If I’d refused another day, it would have been much worse.
She looked at me like she expected me to say something.
I stared back and waited for a question.
But she didn’t ask it.
All I wanted was to shower and throw her on the bed.
But she seemed in a different headspace. “You—you were sleeping with someone.” She didn’t phrase it as a question but as a concrete accusation.
“There was no one else, Astrid.”
She blinked a couple times. “Bolton said you were seeing someone named Laura—”
“And you believed him?” I asked incredulously. “He wanted you to think that so you’d forget about me. There was no one else, sweetheart. I slept alone every night. The only woman I thought of was you.”
Her chin dropped again as her eyes remained full of sadness, as if I hadn’t just corrected her horrible assumption. “I should have known what he was doing. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize.” I wasn’t offended she’d accepted his lies as fact. Not when he was out of our lives forever. Not when we finally had the fresh start we deserved.
She looked at me again before she stood up. But she didn’t crawl into my chest like she had on the plane. She just looked at me instead. “Now that he’s gone, I can claim his assets and get my own place. I should throw away all of his money, but after the shit he put me through, I feel entitled to it. Can I stay here for a couple days while I figure that out?”
It was such a stupid question that I didn’t know what to say. I just stared at her.
When she grew uncomfortable from my stare, she looked away.
“I told you I love you.”
Her eyes lifted to look at mine.
“Which means everything I already told you. I’m possessive. Jealous. Borderline psychotic. And you think I’m gonna let you leave? You think I’m going to let you live anywhere else but here with me?”