AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sitting next to her now feels like a deep breath after hours under water.
Then there’s a sniffle, a stifled sob.
“Lai—”
“Don’t!” she explodes, whipping her attention toward me. “You had no right to show up like this without warning.”
“I didn’t exactly get a warning, either.”
Natascha certainly didn’t.
Her jaw tightens. “You had eight months to tell me who you really were.”
“It wasn’t relevant until now.”
“Actually, it was relevant the moment you offered me the job.” Her hands clench around the edges of her seat. “I’m giving you my child.I deserve to know who I’m giving her to.”
I open my mouth to say something, but I have nothing to say in my defense.
She’s right.
“I wanted to keep you separate from that part of my life,” I admit instead.
“My mother is a cancer patient with no chance of recovery, Arsen. She doesn’t deserve to be woken up in the middle of the night to hear that her only daughter is in danger because she decided to adopt her child out to the wrong kind of people.”
One wrong word snags my attention. “‘Adopt’?”
Laila’s cheeks redden. “I had to tell her something.It’s not like I can hide what’s going on when I’m ginormous.” She tucks her hair behind her ears. It looks silver in the moonlight. “And then I had to come up with some story tonight to explain whatever the hell is going on now, but she’s confused. She’s scared. And she’s already so sick?—”
“You can explain everything to her tomorrow when I have her moved to my house.”
“We’re moving intowhere?”
“It’s the safest place for you right now. I need to keep you close. Because of the baby.”
I expect her to argue. She didn’t even like the idea of Dominik acting as her security at first, though she clearly changed her mind about that. Instead, she starts making demands. “Evelyn has to be moved, too.”
“Who?”
“Mom’s live-in nurse. I would have thought you’d know her name, considering you’re the one paying her salary.”
My hands squeeze around the steering wheel. “Is there anyone else I need to move into my house? Some friends of yours? A couple of alley cats and a pet rock? I had no idea I was running a fucking orphanage.”
I wait for her to snap at me for being cruel and heartless and a liar, but she doesn’t say a word. When I look over, her eyes are trained on the mansion looming large in the distance.
Adamov Place is silhouetted in moonlight. It’s eerily beautiful in the dark, and Laila takes in every detail as I navigate up the long drive. Gables rising high into the night, copses of trees dotted around the property like watchtowers. Fountains trickling black water. When we pass the additional security guards stationed along the perimeter, she shields her hands protectively over her belly like they would hurt her if I gave them the word.
We don’t speak as I park, step out, and lead her up the front steps and through the house.
Our footsteps tap against the marble staircase. Laila is gripping the railing, panting by the time we’re only halfway up the stairs,but when I press a hand to her lower back, she recoils away from my touch.
Stubborn woman.
At the end of the hall, I push open a door and usher her inside. “Your room.”
I refrain from telling her that my bedroom just so happens to be located right next door. I also leave out that there’s a hidden entrance that adjoins the two rooms, giving me direct access to her if I ever need it.
I figure she’s had enough new information dumped on her for one night.
