Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 27953 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 140(@200wpm)___ 112(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27953 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 140(@200wpm)___ 112(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
“Can I ask you something?”
“You can ask me anything.”
“And you’ll answer it?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Has Matteo been staying here?”
“You mean at night?” I nod. “Would it bother you if he didn’t?”
“I thought I was asking the questions.”
“He’s been staying at his condo in the city.”
That feels like the final blow. “I’m sorry. I’m really not hungry.” I get up from my chair. “Think I'll go lie down.”
“All right.” Emma sighs, not fighting me about it.
If he doesn’t have to be here, then I don’t have to be in his stupid bedroom. I plan to remedy that immediately.
9
MATTEO
“Are you going to get up anytime, boss?” Sergio asks. I groan, my head pounding. Was I hit by a fucking bus? No, Mona O'Haire was the one who hit me. Even when I sleep, she’s there, driving me insane.
“Fuck off.” My whole body hurts.
"I assume you don't want an update on Mona, then?" I open my eyes to see the high ceiling in my office. I must have fallen asleep on the couch here. I sit up, making my headache worse. Three days of hell. That’s what I’ve been in, and I did the one thing I told myself I never would. I drowned myself in alcohol. It was the only way I could find sleep. Never in my life have I been turned this upside down.
I went over to my desk, popped something for this headache, and chased it down with water before motioning for Sergio to spit it out.
“You can’t keep this up.”
“I didn’t ask for your opinion. Now, out with it.” I usually spend most of my time in my condo in the city, but since Mona, I've been staying out on the estate more often. Well, that was the case until a few days ago. I knew staying at the condo was just another way for me to keep her out of sight. To keep her hidden. To not give in to the urges I have for her.
“She’s been keeping to the bedroom.”
Days ago, I wanted to keep her locked in it. Now I'm frustrated that she refuses to leave it. I run my hand down my face. “Is she eating?” I am keeping track of everything.
“Not really. Emma lured her out of the room by telling her she’d talk to you about letting her call her sister.”
“Her sister.” I vividly recall the younger girl who clung to Mona's arm that day. She’d worn glasses, and her hair was not as fiery as Mona’s. “We can’t set up a call.”
“I know.”
Things are more than a little contentious right now between the O’Haires and me. I have no loyalty to them. None of the heads of families are going to call me over them. The situation with them will escalate eventually. If not soon, then I'll pull the trigger on it myself.
“Anything else?”
“Yeah.” Sergio is attempting to suppress a smirk.
“What?” His evasiveness is starting to piss me off.
“She took all her stuff and moved it to another room.”
I grab my phone off my desk to check for myself. It’s fucking dead. I grab the bottle of scotch off the table and chuck it as hard as I can against the wall. It explodes. She wanted space, so I gave it to her. That’s over.
Now she’s gone too far. My little rabbit has no idea how nice I’ve been.
“We’re leaving.”
“Might want to clean yourself up first,” Sergio suggests.
I take a breath, nodding before I head to do exactly that. In the meantime, I try to come up with another plan. I can’t go on like this anymore. Mona is mine. She'll be my wife and mother to my children. They wanted to marry her off, so be it. They’ll get what they want. Well, the marriage part anyway.
I’m sure Mona didn’t really have a choice in what she did. She probably went along with whatever her family asked her to do. It’s all she knows. Still, it’s hard to believe when I stare into her eyes. There is so much innocence there. It drew me in. She was the first woman that ever called to me. I had never experienced such temptation in my life before. I prided myself on it. I wasn't weak like so many others.
“Are you leaving?” Nikolai asks when I exit my bedroom. He’s been staying here for the past few weeks. There is something going on with him. He denies it, but I know him better than he thinks I do.
“I need to get back.” He nods.
“All right.”
“I heard you’ve been at the club on the south side almost every night.” The same one where I’d met Mona.
“Is that a problem?” Nikolai asks.
“No.” It would be if he'd been getting drunk and acting like a fool, but they say he's only hanging around. That he’s even broken up a few fights, which is a new thing for him. Reports from my other men say it seems like he’s watching the place. “You need to tell me anything?”