Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 89985 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89985 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
I glanced around the room. My guards had already eaten some of the food. They refused to dance or have a drink. They were all still on duty, and I curled up on the sofa, pulling on a little blanket to help warm me up.
Maybe this had been childish of me, and I’d made a big mistake in trying to make this day special for him. I didn’t know.
I rubbed at my temple. What did you get a guy who had everything for his birthday?
At the sound of the door opening, I tensed up and glanced over the back of the sofa, watching as Peter stepped into the main penthouse. He’d changed clothes, and he ordered the guards out. He ran a hand across his face, and then turned toward me.
“You changed?” I asked.
Did this mean he was with a woman? Peter glanced down at this clothes, and then ran fingers through his hair before coming toward me. I was tense. What if he was with another woman? I didn’t like it and was angry.
He sat down in front of me, and I waited for him to tell me the truth. “Ivan called me tonight because he needed me to take care of business.”
“Okay,” I said.
“Niamh, your father is dead,” Peter said. “And your mother died a few months ago.”
“What?” I must be the world’s worst daughter because I suddenly felt free. “They’re gone?”
“Yes.”
I hadn’t even realized how trapped I’d felt. That feeling was gone. My father was dead and so was my mother. It meant I didn’t have to run anymore. I no longer had to be afraid to live, to be myself. I was so happy.
“I’m a terrible person,” I said, covering my mouth, because I simply couldn’t contain my laughter.
“You’re not a terrible person,” Peter said.
“Who is happy about their parents being dead?”
“I was.”
“I can understand why you were.”
“The same as you,” Peter said.
I licked my lips because the truth was, it wasn’t the same. It wasn’t nearly the same. Peter’s life had been worse than mine. His father had been a monster. He had to fight to survive to prove he wasn’t weak. I took beatings and verbal abuse, and yes, I was afraid to sleep at night because when my father was around, he’d wake me up to take out his anger on me. Mine wasn’t the same as Peter’s.
“This means you’re free to make your own choice, Niamh,” Peter said.
“Oh.”
“I want you to hear me out first. I don’t want you to make any rash decision. I don’t want you to … leave. I don’t want you to make the choice of freedom. You can, by all means, do that, but I don’t want you to leave. I don’t want you to disappear or to go. I’m … I know I’m not the ideal kind of guy. I’m not sure what love is. I’ve never felt it before, but what I do know is that I love waking up next to you in the morning. I love hearing you talk and listening to you sing, even though you’re also not very good at singing.”
This made me laugh. And I felt tears sting my eyes.
“I … I wanted our baby,” Peter said. “I wanted it so much, he or she, I didn’t care, and I want babies with you. I want to grow old with you.” He glanced behind me. “I want to come home on my birthdays to surprise parties. I don’t have the first clue about being a dad, but I know I want my kids to look forward to me coming home. Maybe I’ll teach them how to survive, but I’ll do it our way.”
I loved how he said “our way.”
“I’m asking you, Niamh, no, I am begging you, to choose me, because I do honestly believe if I know what love is, then I know I love you.”
The tears that had been glistening in my eyes started to fall down my cheeks.
“Fuck, I didn’t want you to be sad,” he said. He reached out and wiped away my tears. “I’m sorry. I’m not good at this.”
I pulled the velvet box out from beneath the blanket. “I was going to give you this tonight. It’s for your birthday.”
He looked at the box.
“Don’t worry, it’s not a bomb or poison, but look at it.”
He took the box from me and opened it up.
“I didn’t know what to get a man who had everything, but then I realized you didn’t have everything, but you could. You didn’t have a woman who loved you, but I do. I don’t know love, Peter, but I know how I feel, and I love you. I love you with all my heart, and I want to be your wife. I want to have children with you, I want to grow old with you. I want it all with you. Does that make me greedy?”