Total pages in book: 161
Estimated words: 149338 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 747(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149338 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 747(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
“You’re an asshole, Martinez. A downright fucking bastard. You treated me like shit when all I ever did was love you. I understand why you did it, now. I get that you needed to push me away. But that doesn’t change the fact that you still hurt me. It doesn’t take away the pain you inflicted, the memories that I’ll always remember, and the nights I cried myself to sleep. Alone.”
He grimaced not trying to hide it like he usually would.
“With that said, you also saved my life more times than I probably even know. You protected me, watched over me, took care of me. In a twisted way, you were like my guardian angel. I can’t overlook that, and I won’t. What you did for me when I was kid…” My eyes began to water. “The first time that monster came into my room, I was sleeping. I woke up to the strong scent of whiskey hovering over me. He called me Sophia over and over again as I felt his hands roam all over my body.” I shuddered, a cold chill coursing through me. Shaking off the images, I continued. “I wanted him to suffer. I wanted him to die. It was the first time I experienced true evil in this world. Making me realize the entire time I was with you, Alejandro, in your world. I’ve never felt so safe.”
The serious expression on his face captivated me in a way I had never experienced before. Which only added to the plaguing emotions that ran thick between us.
“You made sure I ended up in a decent foster home, paying for my college, giving me extra money to live off of, saving me from Nikolai, my ballet studio in your penthouse, taking care of me after my accident, spending God knows how much money on the best doctors, the best medical attention, my ballet studio, and everything else in between. Your actions spoke volumes when there were no words. You may have hurt me emotionally, but you’ve always taken care of me physically. No matter what, no questions asked,” I expressed, needing to get it all out.
His calm, serene eyes barred into mine, igniting a fire deep within me. He wasn’t looking at me. He was looking through me. Exactly the way he always had.
I peered deep into his eyes. “You were the villain in your own story, Martinez. In mine, you’ve always been my hero.” Tears slid down my face and he wiped them all away. Skimming his calloused fingers across my cheeks. Pushing the hair away from my face. I wanted to stay lost in his eyes at that moment, savor the way he was looking at me, the way he pulled every sentiment from my body as if it belonged to him. I pulled away from his grasp, instantly missing his warmth. His touch. His love. I needed to finish what I was trying to tell him.
“All the good you’ve done for me, outweighed the bad. That’s one of the reasons I’m here. I owe it to us to see where this could go without any demons on either of our shoulders. No pasts haunting us. Fresh start. New beginnings.”
I took a deep breath, nervous for what I was going to say next. What I already divulged was the easy part. I hadn’t gotten to the hard yet.
“The next and most important reason… is because I owe it to our daughter.”
He was silent for the first time ever. His face was completely void of any emotion.
I let on, “She deserves to know her father. She deserves a family. The one I never had. The one I truly want to try to give her, with you of course.”
More silence.
“Did you hear me, Alejandro?”
His gaze fell to my barely-there swollen belly, letting his eyes linger there for a few seconds, peering back up at my face. He rasped, “You’re pregnant?”
I nodded.
“You’re positive? Certain? This—”
I turned around, reaching for my purse, grabbing it off the table. Pulling out the ultrasound picture, I placed it in between us.
“I’m eighteen weeks along. She’s healthy. I’ve had no complications, just some morning sickness during the first trimester. But I’m fine now. I started to feel her kick last week. I wish you could have been…” I didn’t finish what I was about to say, not thinking about who I was saying it to.
He didn’t stop looking at the picture on his chest. Like he wasn’t listening to a word I was saying. “So you were pregnant the last time I saw you?”
“Yes. I found out that day. I was actually sleeping with that photo. It fell in between the bed and nightstand.”
He glanced up at me. “You’ve been pregnant this whole fucking time? And you didn’t think I had a right to know?” he questioned with so much hurt in his eyes.