Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 101796 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101796 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
Okay, did I cease to exist or something? My hands tighten around the knife and fork I’m holding, and I let out a deep breath through my flared nostrils. The last thing I want to do is start a fight in front of this gold-digging bitch and her freak daughter, so I force myself to stay quiet.
What a shame that he was so fucking miserable all these years when it was just the two of us. I had no idea.
“It’s going to be so wonderful,” Irene gushes. “I’ve always dreamed of the same thing. Haven’t I, sweetheart?”
She turns to her daughter, who has yet to look up from her plate as she shovels food in like it’s her last meal. There’s a sharp movement under the table, and Elliana jolts a little. Did she get kicked? Irene only tosses her bleached waves over her shoulder, pouting her inflated lips.
“Sure,” Elliana mutters and bobs her head. “You always wanted to have big holidays.”
Yeah, and she couldn’t afford them, so she had to marry somebody who could.
This is a complete joke, but the worst part is how deliriously happy Dad looks. He’s making a fool out of himself. He’s a fucking cliché. The guy who is too blinded by pussy and a big pair of tits to see what’s happening in front of him.
This woman does not love him. She’s using him, not just for money but for status. She’s gone from living in a rental duplex to moving herself and the bug-eyed little freak across from me into a big, comfortable house with enormous rooms, a pool in the back, and anything anyone could want.
I’m supposed to sit here and play nice? We’re supposed to pretend to be one big, happy family? It’s almost enough to make me choke on my food. I don’t want any part of this.
It feels like forever before we’re all scraping our plates. Thank fuck. I can’t wait to get away from this table. The air in here is so thick I can barely breathe. There’s too much going on under the surface. The way Irene keeps staring at Elliana, who won’t look up from her plate. The way Dad keeps joking around, trying to keep the mood light.
I almost want to tell him he’s part of the reason everything is so tense. He’s trying too hard. It’s too obvious. He’s only making it worse.
At least it’s over. When I push my chair back from the table, ready to take my plate into the kitchen, I’m hit with a rude awakening.
“Where are you going?” Dad asks, narrowing the dark blue eyes that are so much like mine. “We haven’t had dessert yet.”
Fucking hell. “Since when do we have dessert together right after dinner?” I ask.
“Since we now have Irene and Elliana with us, and it’s important to eat together as a family.”
Isn’t it nice that he cares so much about this family shit now? Not that he’s ever been a bad father or anything, but we’ve never really been the dessert right after dinner kind of people. Most of the time, we never even have it. It’s like everything has to have this big, hollow ceremony around it now. Who has time for that?
“Here, let me take that for you.” Irene smiles down at Elliana, who only sits back in her chair to give her mom room to take her half-empty plate. She never did eat the rest of that lasagna.
“Eyes bigger than your stomach?” Dad asks with a chuckle. Fuck, he is so oblivious. I almost want to laugh.
Elliana murmurs something I can’t hear, staring down at the table while Dad and Irene giggle their way into the kitchen like a couple of lovesick teenagers. They’ll probably make out in there. It’s almost enough to make me wish I hadn’t eaten so much since it wants to come right back up again.
Now we’re alone. The two of us.
Lucky me.
I fold my arms, staring at her, daring her to look my way.
Who does she think she is? Sitting there with that tight jaw like she’s pissed off at the world? She hit the fucking jackpot—big house, respected stepfather, all the money she has probably ever wished she could get her greedy little hands on. And still, she sits there with a fucking chip on her shoulder like it’s her life that’s been turned upside down by this sham.
That’s exactly what it is. One big sham.
“You don’t get to be a gold digger and be rude at the same time.”
She doesn’t react to my muttered comment. It’s like I never said a word. All her reaction does is up my need to get to her.
“What, your mom was so busy looking for a rich guy to support her that she didn’t bother teaching you manners?” Except for the tiny shudder that moves through her, she still doesn’t react.