Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 68810 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 344(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68810 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 344(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
Her husband whitened, and she knew she had hurt him with her tone. But even so, it only made her lash out even more. “Everything you do is pointless!” She hated herself for saying such words, but she just couldn’t stop. Even with shame and pain crowding inside her heart, she realized that an insatiable part of her needed to see him bleed.
“You’re being pathetic.”
But still, he didn’t answer.
“Can’t you see you’re trying too hard—-”
And suddenly, he flung harshly at her, “No, I can’t.” Before she realized what he was about to do, he had already clasped her shoulders tightly. “Because there’s no such thing as trying hard enough. Do you get that?” He shook her as if to emphasize his point. “You’re asking me to kill myself. Because I love you—-”
She managed to wrench herself out of his hold, shoving him back to his side of the car as she sneered, “Love, my fucking ass!” The words came out from nowhere, and she froze, her eyes widening, her lips parting and closing. She couldn’t believe she had said something like that.
When she looked at her husband, it was to see his hazel eyes gleaming, and she had a glimpse of the old, arrogant Kyr as he drawled, “Yes, I do love your fucking ass. No argument on that.”
A choked laugh escaped her, but her amusement vanished when Kyr suddenly swallowed and looked sick.
“What is it?” she demanded, trying but failing not to sound worried. He didn’t answer right away, which only heightened her anxiety. “Kyr?”
His gaze met hers, and this time his eyes were bleak. “I thought...I would never be able to make you smile again.”
Oh.
Oh.
Oh.
And just like that, she wanted to cry.
I love him still.
Why, God, why?
Why do I still love him?
Jerking her gaze away from him, she whispered, “I don’t want you to take me home anymore after this.”
Chapter Seven
Time passed.
Fall had come and gone, and by the time winter had set in, life had settled back into a routine. It wasn’t the same as before, but it was a regular routine, and its consistency made the adjustment easier.
Six days out of seven, the children would be with her, and the first time their father had told them they would be sleeping on the yacht with him on a Saturday night, the twins had been confused and then subdued. It had killed her to see their faces, and it had been on the tip of her tongue to tell them that she had changed her mind and would go with them instead but Kyr had stepped in then, and the burden of breaking their hearts had been transferred to him.
Mama has just started working, he had told them. Let’s give her a day each week to rest, and then maybe next time she’ll join us?
The twins had nodded dutifully, and even though questions had lurked in their dark gazes, neither of them had asked her anything.
Work was still a joy for Pollyanna, but more than that, it was a means for financial independence and she wanted this for both the right and wrong reasons. Insecurities making her competitive, Pollyanna had begun to want to be rich only so she could say to herself she was in equal footing with Ana. Ana was rich now, and so Pollyanna wanted to be, too, telling herself she owed it to her children to be someone who had everything. But deep inside, she knew it wasn’t that at all.
If she and Ana ever met again, she didn’t want to give the other woman a chance to look down on her.
It was that simple, and more often than not, it served as her motivation to work in the most absurdly hectic ways. Tonight was one such instance, with Pollyanna impulsively accepting a rush project. With only less than four hours to conceptualize a theme for a bachelor’s party, she had decided to switch her phone off in order to work without distractions.
She had succeeded, received heaps of praise from the client, but on her way back, her feelings of victory turned into dismay when she opened her phone and saw the flood of texts from the twins.
They were begging for her to come home, and by the time she made it to the front door, her heart was lodged in her throat. She rushed to their room, thinking the worst, only to find the twins sleeping peacefully, curled on each side of their father.
Who would have thought that a simple blowfish look could drive him to his knees? But it was what it was, and Kyr knew if those looks could be bought, he would have paid a million dollars for each of them.
It had been so damn long since he had last seen her. Her security team gave him his daily reports, and they had learned to include scores of photos with them. But it hadn’t been enough.