Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 26537 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 133(@200wpm)___ 106(@250wpm)___ 88(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26537 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 133(@200wpm)___ 106(@250wpm)___ 88(@300wpm)
“You want to tell me what’s wrong?” she asks.
I think for a moment. Should I confide in Emma, who’s the daughter of the man I hate? Then again, Rick is my babydaddy, and she’s going to find out about her new sibling sooner or later.
“So remember when you said I might be preggo?” I begin.
Emma perks up, straightening on the bed.
“Yes? And?”
“Well, I am,” I say in a low voice. “Your dad impregnated me.”
Emma literally claps her hand with joy, her expression filled with joy.
“Oh my god, this is so wonderful! I mean, you’re excited right? You’ll be a young mom, but everyone says that giving birth early in life is easier than waiting until you’re forty—”
I cut her off with a sharp look.
“It’s not wonderful because your dad knocked me up on purpose, Em. He betrayed me.”
My friend squints, puzzled.
“What do you mean? You guys were using the shot, right? You know that no contraception is a hundred percent fail-proof.”
I shoot her a cold look.
“No, Rick did something a thousand times worse. He made me think I was getting a shot of Depo Provera every three months, but actually, he was shooting me up with sugar water. That’s right, your dad was giving me a placebo as part of a devious scheme to get me pregnant.”
Emma looks momentarily surprised, but then her pretty features settle into sympathy.
“I’m so sorry,” she speaks in a low tone. “I knew my dad was desperate, but I never thought it would come to this.”
I stare at her.
“What do you mean, Rick’s desperate? Desperate to meet women? Desperate, as in he’s a desperate guy in general? I don’t think so. That doesn’t sound right, not even a little bit.”
My pretty friend bites her lip for a moment, looking away. But then her gaze swings back to me.
“How much has my dad told you about himself?”
I stare right back at her.
“A lot. We’re together all the time. I basically live at his house now.”
Emma nods thoughtfully, her gaze faraway for a moment. Then she turns back to me. “But did he tell you about how I grew up in Florida with my mom? And how he hardly ever saw me, except for the occasional holiday? Not even every other holiday, because my mom was a bitch and was intent on keeping me in Florida. I probably only saw Rick three or four times a year, for a few days at a time.”
I stare at my friend.
“Okay, yeah, he did mention that your mom had primary physical custody, and that he battled long and hard to be part of your life. But that’s over now, Em. You live here, he lives here, and he texts you every day. Rick is absolutely a part of your life.”
“Right,” my friend responds. “Now he is. But he missed out on a lot and really regrets it. Plus, I think he used to try and meet ladies when he was younger so that he could have more kids, but I don’t know what happened. It tapered off for some reason, and I can’t exactly remember why or when, but I did notice that as I got older, he stopped mentioning girlfriends, or lady friends, or anything of that type. That’s why I wasn’t that surprised when you said you met on a dating site.”
I appreciate Emma’s candor, and feel obligated to be truthful myself.
“Sweet Lies isn’t exactly a dating site,” I state in a low tone. “It’s more akin to paid companionship. It’s not like your dad and I were two people who swiped right on each other. Your father saw my profile, saw what I was offering, and paid me to spend time with him. Things took off from there.”
“So sex work,” Emma says without flinching.
“No, not sex work. Well, not exactly,” I hedge. “I was only available for platonic dates, like coffee, dinner, and movies. Of course, I have gotten handsy with some of my more handsome clients in the past, but your dad is the only man I’ve had full-on sex with.”
Emma continues to radiate calm.
“It’s fine. I don’t judge a woman for what she does to put food on the table, and I know you were in foster care before college, so you have a different background,” she says in a low voice. “But that gets to my point. I think my dad was dating women in the hopes of finding a second wife, but that he gave up after a while. I don’t know for sure, but that’s my feeling.”
I stare at Emma.
“Really? I mean, I know I’m biased, but Rick is a good catch. Your dad could get any woman he wants. He’s rich, handsome, and a physician, and there are tons of ladies out there. I refuse to think that he had trouble meeting someone.”