Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 127249 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127249 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
It’s not easy to smuggle your lover into your room when your parents never leave the condo. I can sneak out for short periods of time without raising their suspicions but never for a whole night. My father is way too protective of my chastity to let me sleep over at a friend’s house.
Dante and I have been planning this night for months. My father is attending the birthday party of the pakhan at his vacation house outside of town. The pakhan demanded a private audience with my father, so he doesn’t have a choice but to go. Refusing will be disrespectful. As it’s too far to return after the meeting, he’ll have to stay the night.
My mom always sleeps in. As soon as she goes to bed, I’ll slip out and meet Dante down the street. We’ll spend the night at a guesthouse. Dante has this sweet notion that taking me to a hotel will make me feel cheap. He’ll smuggle me back into the condo before my mom wakes up.
Needless to say, if my father finds out, he’ll be furious, not only because Dante is his enemy but also because my betrothal to Mr. Stein has been made public since his poor wife passed away a few months ago.
Yet it’s too late for that. My wedding to the repulsive Joni Stein will never happen and that’s not only because Dante promised he wouldn’t allow it.
Standing in front of the full-length mirror in my bedroom, I cup a hand over my flat stomach where our baby is growing. I haven’t told Dante. I want to do it tonight. But this baby changes everything. This baby gives me hope. This baby means my father will have to see reason. I don’t know what caused the rift between him and Dante, but given the situation, surely my father can put that behind him. He won’t have a choice but to make an effort for the father of his grandchild.
Dante keeps on telling me he’ll make this right, but how can he do that if he can’t even come near my father? I don’t know what he’s planning because he won’t share that with me. Whenever I bring up the subject, Dante just says I have to trust him.
I do. I trust him with my life, but we’re running out of time. I’m three months along. I’ll start showing soon. I have to convince my father to annul the contract with Joni Stein before it’s too late. It will be so much worse for my parents if I do nothing and let the situation escalate into a scandal.
We can break the contract now and pay the damages that are due. By the time I marry Dante, the gossip will be forgotten. And if not, I don’t care. I just want to be with the man I love, the father of my baby. I tried, but my father wouldn’t be swayed. This is the only argument that can win him over.
As soon as my mind is made up, I smooth out my dress and take a deep breath. Walking into the hallway, I listen for sounds. Emily, our housekeeper, left a good hour ago. Instead of keeping her here until five each day, my mom lets her go as soon as her work is done.
From the classical music coming through the closed door of my mother’s room, I gather she’s relaxing in a bath. It’s a daily ritual. We have dinner at six sharp, and my father likes her to look her best, even on the evenings he doesn’t eat with us. She takes the better part of an hour to do her make-up and hair.
Leander is holed up in the entertainment room, drinking whisky and watching porn with his headphones on to hide the loud sex moans from my father. As usual, my father is in his study where he works all hours of the day and night.
Scavenging every morsel of courage I possess, I lift my chin and carry on to his study. My mom taught me if I focus on positive outcomes, I have a better chance of achieving them, so I envision how I’ll tell Dante later tonight when he holds me in his arms that my father has given us his permission if not his blessing to marry.
My heart pounds in my chest when I knock.
My father’s gruff voice reaches me from the other side of the door. “Come in.”
I go inside and close the door behind me.
My father sits in front of his laptop with an empty glass at his elbow. The half-empty bottle of vodka isn’t a good sign, but I take another deep breath and walk to his desk.
He studies me from under his eyebrows. “What do you want?” He checks his watch before adjusting the cuff of his sleeve. “I’m leaving soon.”