Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 164263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 821(@200wpm)___ 657(@250wpm)___ 548(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 164263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 821(@200wpm)___ 657(@250wpm)___ 548(@300wpm)
He takes off after me and we laugh as we run and as we get to the top of the hill I see Harold, Charlotte and Spencer waiting for us with a small table set up on the grass. There’s a silver ice bucket, a bottle of champagne and five flutes.
“They knew?” I laugh as I gasp for air.
“They knew.” He smiles as he catches up to me. “From the minute they met you, they knew.”
“What happened if I had said no?” I pant.
“Then I would have killed you and buried you in the field so that nobody ever found out.” He takes my hand in his and holds it up in the air as if he just won a title fight and they all cheer and jump around in excitement.
“FaceTime your father and brother and sister,” he says. “I want them to celebrate with us.”
“I hope my dad answers.” I take out my phone.
“They’re expecting your call.”
“You called already?” I get a lump in my throat.
“Of course I called them.”
Oh….
“I love you,” I whisper through tears, he grabs me and takes me into his arms and to the sound of cheering in the distance, he kisses me with everything that he is.
A moment so perfect that it will forever be burned in time.
Forever his.
EDWARD
The fire glows, flickering warmth filters through the room and I know there’s something I have to do before the day ends…an elephant in the room, I have no idea how to bring this up without ruining the perfect day. But then if I don’t, tomorrow it will be worse…it’s already eating me alive.
Alora is lying with her head on my lap as I sit with my feet up on an ottoman and a glass of red in my hand. My fingers aimlessly run through her hair and every now and then she lifts her hand to look at her ring as if still in disbelief.
“Doe.” I twist my lips, trying to find the right words. “There’s something we need to run over.”
“Yeah?” She looks up at me with those big, beautiful innocent eyes.
“Umm….” My stomach sinks…. Fuck.
“What is it?” She sits up.
“I….” My eyes hold hers.
“Edward, spit it out.”
“I have something that I need you to take to your lawyers when we get home.” I stand and open the drawer and pull out a large white envelope.
“What’s in that?” She frowns.
I sit back down, put it on the coffee table and puff air into my cheeks, wishing I was anywhere but here having this conversation. “It’s a prenup.”
“Okay.” She shrugs and looks around the room. “Where’s a pen?”
I frown as I stare at her. “No, no.” I shake my head; she obviously doesn’t understand what this is. “It’s not something that you sign willy-nilly. You take it to your legal team and they negotiate with my legal team.”
“Willy-nilly?” She smiles as she gets up and walks to the desk. “Who says willy-nilly?”
“I do.” I smirk. “Will you be serious for a moment, please?”
“I am being serious.” She pulls out a drawer and grabs a pen and clicks it. “Let’s go.”
“No, Alora.” I take the pen from her. “This is a ninety-eight-page document. You are not just signing it without legal representation.”
“I don’t care about money, Edward, you know that.” She snatches the pen back from me. “If we break up I don’t want a penny of yours. I already have everything I need.” She begins to flick through the pages. “Wait a minute.” She looks up at me. “Is there anything in here about children?”
“What do you mean?”
“The only thing I would want is equal shared custody of my children.”
“Oh….” I frown. “No. God no, there is nothing about children at all. This is a monetary-only prenup.”
“Okay.” She flicks through to the last page.
“What are you doing? Read it, take your time. This isn’t something you just sign.”
“I don’t need to.”
“Alora, don’t be ridiculous.”
“I trust you, Edward.” She smiles over at me. “I know you would never….” She shrugs. “You know.”
“You shouldn’t trust someone this much, Alora.”
“I trust you with my heart and that’s the only thing of value that I have.” She signs her name on the last page and dates it. “And your heart is the only thing I would ever want. If we break up and I lose that, no amount of money would ever compensate for losing you.” She leans over and kisses me. “I’m going to take a shower babe, see you upstairs?”
I nod, the sound of my heartbeat echoes through my ears.
I listen to her go upstairs and I stare at her signature on the last page. She didn’t even read it.
She trusts me.
Alora Sorenson is the only person apart from my family who has ever trusted me.
Ever really loved me.
I pick up the thick wad of paper and its envelope and walk over, open the safety grill, and put it into the fire.