Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 64571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 323(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 323(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
I drop everything onto my bed as my phone starts to ring again. I’m sure he’s logged into the cameras to check on me. It’s annoying. I’m not a toddler. Now if he wants to stalk me for sexy reasons, I might be okay with that, but what can I say? Captive romance is my favorite, but this is no romance.
I grab my phone and answer it. “What?”
“Still in a bad mood, I see.” I glance around my bedroom. He better not have a camera in here. “I was calling to let you know to pack. I have a work trip I need to go on, and you’re coming.”
“What? Why?” Any other day I’d be excited, but now I’ve got plans! The hell? He doesn’t usually take me with him. Why this change all of a sudden?
“You wanted a trip. I’ll send you the details, and I’ll be late tonight.” I already know that.
“I don’t want to go. I’ll stay here like I always do.” I don’t say “stay home” because this isn’t my home any longer. It’s a fancy-ass prison.
“Lily—”
“I don’t want to, okay?” I push back.
“We’ll talk about this later.” I’m not going, so whatever. We don’t need to talk about shit. Instead, I needle him.
“Have fun on your date.” I want to smack myself for my lack of self-control, but jealousy can consume me when it comes to him, and I hate it. That’s a big part of why I need to get away. It’s hard to forget him and move on with my life when he’s always right on the edge, lingering. There’s no escaping him. He’s everywhere somehow but also not here.
I don’t understand what his plan is. Am I supposed to live here for the rest of my life? It’s mind-boggling, and I’m over waiting or trying to figure it out.
“It’s not a date.”
“Whatever.”
“Does that bother you?” His question catches me off guard.
“Does what bother me?” I ask right back, stalling.
“If I were to date.”
“It’s not my business.” The line is quiet. “Well, this has been fun, but as you know, I’m busy doing nothing, and I should get back to that.” I don’t wait for a response before hanging up. To really needle him, I turn off my phone, knowing without a doubt that it will ruin his little dinner date. I’m a brat, but he’s the one making me stay here, so he’ll just have to endure it.
I grab my controller from its dock, turn on my gaming system, and pull up Discord. This is where Teddy and I do most of our communication.
“I’m here,” I say when I come online through my mic. “He lingered today.” She knows who he is that I’m talking about.
“What do you mean?” Teddy whispers. “Is he on to us?”
“I don’t believe so. He mentioned a trip he has to go on for work.” I’m so not going. I’ll be standing my ground, but is Teddy right about him being on to us? I don’t believe so.
“Really?”
“He said it was last minute, and he’ll give me more details later, but I think we’re still good to go.” This plan will work. I won’t have it any other way. I can be as stubborn as Tristan when I need to.
“Either way, I can hang around until we can strike.”
“Strike?” I laugh. Teddy is so down with all of this. “I think we’re good. We have to be.”
“We got this.” Teddy sounds way more confident than I feel. It’s not going to be simple getting out of this building without Tristan finding out and a bodyguard hot on my ass.
“I’m excited to see you. It’s been forever.” I’m going to give her the world’s hardest hug. Even thinking about it makes my eyes burn with tears. I miss affection. You don’t notice those small things in life until they’re gone.
“Me too.” Teddy lost her grams a few months back, and I know she’s lonely too.
She, however, loves being locked away in her family estate. This will be a big adventure for her. She’s putting herself out there. A lot of people are assholes to her. They don’t understand her or even try, and honestly, they should mind their own business if they don’t like it. No one needs your comments. People always want to put others in boxes.
“Are you bringing a lot of stuff with you?” she asks.
“No,” I say without hesitation. Tristan would know if I was packing a bunch of shit. “I want him to see that I don’t need what he gives me. That’s why I’ll be just fine without him.”
Tristan does fill my life with very exciting things. I have clothes and jewelry that cost out the ass. Sure, my dad made a good living, but we weren’t rich. I often feel as though Tristan’s trying to buy me off to keep me in place. It only goes to show that after all this time he doesn’t know me at all.