Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 39687 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 198(@200wpm)___ 159(@250wpm)___ 132(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39687 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 198(@200wpm)___ 159(@250wpm)___ 132(@300wpm)
“Laura—”
“But it was a rather interesting trip. My parents were full of information and wisdom for me. You know my mother wanted a house full of children. Lots of boys and girls. She loves kids. Couldn’t wait to have loads, and when she found out I was going to be a girl, she was so delighted.”
“Laura—”
“She was a healthy woman as well. In her prime. She could have been pregnant with dozens of kids, but a doctor was paid to put an end to her dream.”
Marcus went to reach out to touch her, but she pulled away.
“Don’t touch me,” she said.
“Laura—”
She shook her head.
“No, I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to hear lies. I want the truth. I want you to look at me and to tell me the truth. Tell me what she said wasn’t real. Tell me she wanted to blame someone else because she couldn’t have any more children.” Her heart raced, and she felt sick.
He didn’t say anything.
His gaze didn’t leave hers.
The guilt was there, easy to see.
“You … you took away her right to have children.”
“I didn’t do it.”
“You paid someone to do it.”
“I personally didn’t do it.”
“But you knew. Like, you have come to know everything.” She shook her head, hating herself. “Oh, my God. What the hell have I done? You know you could have fooled me. I thought we could have done this. Put aside all of our differences and been able to have a family.” The tears were falling thick and fast.
She tried to get away, but Marcus grabbed her.
He hauled her back against his chest, not allowing her the chance to get away.
“Leave me alone. Get off me. I hate you. Please, leave me alone. I don’t want to be with you.” She tried to wriggle away, but it was no good. Compared to Marcus, she didn’t have the strength to get away.
She felt pain right down into her core, and she couldn’t believe this was happening. “How could you have done this? How could you? What gives you and your … people the right to mess with people’s lives?”
“It all comes down to a fortune.”
“To money?”
“Yes.”
“Are you freaking kidding me right now? Money. All of this is about my parents’ inheritance?”
“If your mother was to have a boy, you wouldn’t have inherited the fortune. They needed you to be the only child so when I married you, the inheritance, the entire Davis fortune, came to me.”
She pulled out of his arms and it was tempting to hit him, but she would never resort to violence.
“It’s why I didn’t have a say in our marriage. I know you wanted the fortune, but I had no idea to what cost. I always assumed my mom had an accident or was sick after having me, but all this time, it was your family. The men you work for. Their thirst for greed and power knows no bounds.”
“The Davis fortune is ours. The empire belongs to us, but through a bad deal it was lost, and they’ve been working to get it back ever since.”
She laughed. “You think this makes a difference? It’s money. It’s a building. It’s not important. Nothing is more important than a person’s life, and you took away the chance for my mother to have several of them. What if one of them could have been a doctor who cured an illness, or something?”
“We can argue over this, but it’s not going to change what happened. It’s in the past. Your fortune is now mine. Just as you are mine.”
She put a hand to her stomach.
“And what if I’ve got a little girl? Will she be hurt? Will you kill her because I’m not good enough?”
“No.”
“I don’t believe you. How can I have ever trusted you? You’re a monster. You and your family.” She took a step back as he made to touch her. There was no way she wanted his hands on her.
“I would never hurt you. I promise you.”
“Your promises mean nothing to me. If your family decides my daughter is standing in the way of their precious plans, they will hurt her. Nothing you or anyone else says will stop them.”
“I will never let that happen. I will die before I allow anything to happen to you or to my kid. I will protect you, Laura, of that you have my word.”
She shook her head. “I need to go lie down.”
She turned on her heel and made her way toward the door.
“For what it’s worth, I never agreed to what happened. Not when I found out the truth, and I will take care of you, Laura. You mean too much to me.”
“You mean my fortune means too much to you.”
She didn’t wait to hear a response.
Making her way upstairs, she didn’t go to their bedroom, but entered one of the guest bedrooms. She curled up on the bed and started to sob.