Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 101101 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 404(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101101 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 404(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
“Kane,” I choke out, unable to handle another moment of his distance, “when we get home—”
His phone rings, cutting me off, and I sigh in annoyance, wanting to talk to him about what’s going on with him. Not too long ago, he said he didn’t want any walls between us. What’s changed since then?
“Yeah,” Kane says to whoever is on the other end. “Okay, let me drop Brielle off and make sure she’s safe, and then I’ll meet you there.”
“You’re leaving?” I ask once he hangs up, the hurt in my tone evident.
“Eddy found footage of the guy who had dug up my father’s grave and linked him back to Carlos Santiago. Matteo’s men found him, and they’re holding him at the warehouse.”
Since I know this is life or death, I simply nod in understanding.
“What were you saying before?” he asks.
“Nothing. It can wait until you get home.”
After Kane ensures I’m inside and the guards are in place, he takes off, leaving me to shower alone. I’ve just taken off my dress when my phone rings with a number I don’t recognize.
“I’m looking for Brielle Antonov-Morgan,” the person says on the other line.
“This is she.”
“This is Timothy Reynolds. I own the plaza where your studio is located.”
“Oh, yes! How can I help you?”
“A vandalism has been reported at your place of business, and we need you to come down to speak to the officer.”
“What?” I gasp. “Someone vandalized my studio? Why didn’t the alarm go off?”
“Yes, ma’am. Unfortunately, the alarm was down, and we’re trying to pull up the footage, but the software is a bit outdated, so we’re not sure who is responsible yet, but the police are investigating it. I suggest bringing any insurance paperwork you have so it can be attached to the statement, and then you can start the process of filing a claim in the morning. The damage looks to be pretty bad.”
“Okay, thanks,” I choke out, feeling like the hits keep coming.
First Kane pushing me away.
Then the gala being ruined.
Now my studio, which was in the process of being renovated, has been destroyed. Not only will it set the timeline back, but I hate that I’m being sucked into my brothers’ bullshit. I have nothing to do with their business, yet I’m being dragged into it anyway.
Not bothering to remove my makeup, I throw on a pair of shorts and shirt and then go in search of the insurance documents. Since Kane was the one who helped me acquire it, he has a folder with all the paperwork. He told me he’d make me copies for my own records, but he hasn’t gotten around to it yet.
I look through the folders on his desk, but none of them are it. I consider calling him, but he’s probably at the warehouse by now, and I don’t want to disturb him. The studio is my baby, and I need to handle it.
I open his side drawer since I’ve seen him put folders in there and flip through them. I’m about to close it when the label on one of the folders catches my attention—Divorce Papers.
My heart drops.
Has Kane been married before? He told me he had no desire to get married until he met me, so that doesn’t make any sense.
I pull the file out and set it on the desk when something else catches my eye—a pharmacy bag. I open it, and my heart stops when I see what’s inside. Birth control pills.
The same ones I use.
The same ones I took and still ended up pregnant.
Oh God.
I pull the bag out to deal with it later, then open the file. It’s a petition for dissolution of marriage. My eyes descend to the names—Kane Morgan and Brielle Antonov-Morgan.
My stomach roils, and since there’s no way I’m going to make it to the bathroom, I lean over the garbage can next to Kane’s desk and throw up everything I ate and drank this evening.
He wants a divorce.
After everything he went through to force me into this marriage. After spending months trying to convince me that he actually cared about me. He wants a divorce.
I look at the date on the paperwork and find it’s a few days after he found out I was raped and forced to have an abortion.
“… you’re now damaged goods.”
A single tear slides down my cheek as my father’s words play on repeat in my head.
I’m pregnant with Kane’s baby.
And from the pharmacy bag, my guess is, I’m pregnant because he fucked with my birth control.
Against my better judgment, I let him in.
I fell in love with him.
And now he no longer wants me because I’m damaged goods.
“Meow.”
I glance down at Molly circling my feet, and I pick her up, holding her close to my chest.
“C’mon, pretty girl,” I say through a sob. “We need to pack.”