Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
“I’m calling from the Healing House,” the man said, without bothering to answer her question. “I must inform you that your mother is here but the balance of her bill has not been paid, so it will be impossible to give her a treatment today.”
“What? But I made arrangements—it was supposed to be paid in full!” Aleena protested.
“Well, it hasn’t been. Not a single credit has been paid since her last visit,” he said bluntly. “So we’re going to send her home.”
“No, please!” Aleena begged. “This is all just a big misunderstanding. Please give me some time to call and straighten things out—don’t send my mother away. She needs her treatment or the disease will spread!”
“You can have a few hours—I’ll put her out in the hallway while I deal with other patients.” The male on the other side of the call sounded grumpy and put out. “But if you don’t show up soon or pay the balance, I’ll have to send her away.”
“I’ll get it fixed and you’ll have the funds soon—I promise!” Aleena said quickly. “Just let her stay there until I can get this figured out, please.”
He made a noncommittal noise and hung up, leaving Aleena to stare at her device. She’d been afraid of this—her stepmother wasn’t holding up her end of the bargain!
Desperately, she punched in her father’s number. He didn’t often answer her calls, but she hoped that this time he might make an exception.
The device buzzed in her ear several times and she began to be afraid that he was just going to ignore her again. But finally there was a click as the call was answered.
“Father please, you have to help me!” she began, only to be cut off by a cold, familiar voice.
“If you’re calling to complain about your new life as the wife of that gigantic Kindred you can keep your whining to yourself,” her stepmother said. “Nobody cares how much it hurt when he changed the color of your eyes. It’s part of your wifely duty to spread your legs for him so don’t think for a minute—”
“That’s not why I’m calling!” Aleena exclaimed. “I’m calling because you didn’t keep your end of the bargain—the Healing House called and said not one single credit of my mother’s bill has been paid!”
“And it’s not going to get paid either,” Grindelia’s voice was cold. “Why would I waste money on a woman my husband disavowed years ago?”
“What?” Aleena was so shaken she had to sit down. “You can’t be serious! We made a bargain—I married the Kindred Ambassador in Faleesha’s place and you were supposed to pay my mother’s debt!”
“Well, I’ve decided I don’t like that deal,” her stepmother said coolly. “So you can forget about it. Your new husband is rich enough—ask him to pay your mother’s debt.”
“You know I can’t do that!” Aleena was shocked at the suggestion. A husband never paid for anything to do with his wife’s family. Even to ask such a thing was a grave offense that was likely to get the wife in question immediately disavowed.
“Well then, I guess your mother will die.” Grindelia’s voice had never sounded more cold. “Good riddance, I say. Once a woman has been disavowed and has no husband to serve, she has no reason for living anyway.”
Then she hung up the phone with a final click that echoed in Aleena’s ears.
22
ALEENA
For a moment Aleena just sat there, feeling sick. What was she going to do? Her mother needed her treatments—without them the sickness in her blood would spread to the rest of her body and she would surely die! But now that her heartless stepmother had refused to live up to her end of the bargain, there was nothing she could do.
She couldn’t ask her new husband for money—it was strictly prohibited and though Bear seemed very kind, she didn’t think he would be happy about her asking for fifty thousand credits only a day into their marriage. No, she had to think of a way to raise the money herself—but how?
Immediately the image of her new breast shield popped into her mind. The gold one with jewels that Bear had bought her might cover the costs. Of course, it was wrong to sell such an expensive garment that her husband had bought for her and doing it might get her disavowed, but Aleena couldn’t think of anything else to do. She was beginning to really like and care for her new husband, but she still hadn’t known him very long. She would rather be disavowed than watch her mother die.
She went to get the new breast shield—it was still in the bag the saleslady had put it in along with the receipt of purchase. That was good—maybe she could just return it for the full amount, Aleena thought hopefully.