Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
A crash comes from downstairs, and I quickly shut the door, making sure it doesn’t make a noise that would disturb my sick girl. I don’t know what her hearing percentage is, but if she has a fever, the ear gear can amplify sounds, and that can’t feel good. I lock it and then wipe my face before turning to find Audrina watching me.
I somehow find my voice, and it sounds like gravel as I ask, “Is she okay?”
Audrina bites her lip. She tries to speak but pauses. She clears her throat, but then she grimaces before shushing the little girl, who startles at the sound. That means she can hear, but how well with that shitty ear gear? Once she is calm, Audrina looks back at me. “She’s been getting some really bad ear infections lately. I am waiting for the doctor to call me back.”
Anger vibrates throughout me. I don’t yell, but I tell her sternly, “Because she has shitty earwear. You know better—”
“Stop it,” she demands, sitting up but continuing to rub her back. “You don’t get to come in here and start demanding shit.”
“I don’t?” I ask incredulously. “You kept my daughter from me.”
Audrina presses her lips together. “She has what I can afford.”
I gawk at her. “You could afford more if you came back to your life.”
“That—”
“Or better yet, allow the father to provide for her,” I snap, and her eyes widen. “Or even better, tell the fucking father.”
Her eyes narrow to slits. “Very rich coming from you since I don’t see a paternity test lying around, confirming she is yours.”
Now we’re glaring, tension dark and thick between us. Once more, the brush fire that is us surrounds me, and I allow the burn. Crave it. “I don’t need one when you gave birth to my sister’s twin.”
“Could be hers,” she throws out defiantly, and my glower deepens. She shrugs, knowing her joke fell flat.
“She is mine,” I say with a confidence I didn’t know existed.
Her gaze doesn’t falter as she holds mine. That’s one thing about Audrina I always admired. She doesn’t ever cower. She stands her ground and can go toe-to-toe with anyone. That is why her leaving caught me so off guard. “Yes.”
I have so many questions, but one is flashing like a neon sign in my brain. “What is her name?”
Audrina rolls her lips, glancing down at our daughter as she tucks some hair behind her ear. “Arwen Thaddea Hawkins.”
More questions hit me as if someone is standing over me with a game-day bucket of frozen pucks. But the logos on them aren’t from the IceCats and whoever we’re playing.
Nope. They read Thatcher vs. Audrina.
I swallow past the lump that forms in my throat. She doesn’t have my last name. I look from Audrina to our daughter, whose sweet cheeks are still so red. Her nose is so dainty and small, like a little elf. Her name fits perfectly, and the love I feel for the little girl takes root deep in my soul. I know why Audrina named her Arwen since we’re both nerdy Lord of the Rings fans, but her middle name holds me up. “Thaddea?”
She shrugs. “I wanted her to have a piece of you, and Thaddea was close to Thatty.”
Everything just fucking aches. “But you didn’t give her my last name?”
Her gaze is unwavering. “They wouldn’t let me since you weren’t there to give your consent. You are on the birth certificate, so the name can be changed if you want.”
I don’t even hesitate. “I do.”
A pregnant pause settles between us. I watch as a tear spills over, rushing down her cheek as she nods. “Okay.”
“Okay,” I say, because I need to keep her talking. “I’m surprised you named her after me.”
She looks away, wrapping the baby’s curls around her fingers. “I loved you at the time, so it made sense.”
My gaze burns into her profile. “Loved? I didn’t realize you had those kinds of feelings for me.”
She scoffs. “Yeah, you never asked. Instead, you accused me of being a whore, and I ran. But it’s all good. I have been over you for years now. What’d you think? You’d come back, and things would go back to like before? Everything and more has changed, Thatcher. I am not that girl anymore. I am a mother.”
“To our daughter,” I remind her, ignoring the other shit. I don’t believe for one moment she’s over me. She’s deflecting, and that’s fine. I’ll keep shooting until I score.
“Semantics,” she says, waving me off. “We’re just fine.”
“Are you?” I ask, and unable to help myself, I look around the room, disgusted that this is where she has my child living.
“Yes,” she snaps, her eyes wild.
I shake my head. “Audrina, what the hell are you doing?”
She cocks a brow at me. “Soothing my daughter.”