Page 93 of Love Unspoken

"Ann, he's in love with Naya. I didn't know he was in love. He hasn't talked to me about her. Why haven't you, Amias?"

"Because Naya isn't ready, Mother, and I didn't want you to come here and ambush her," I ground out.

My mother set her half-drunk glass of wine on the table next to her chair and rose. "I'm staying at The Four Seasons. I'd like to take you and your…fiancée out to dinner."

"Girlfriend," Naya corrected at the same time as I said, "Future fiancée," and Ann cried out, "What's happening?"

"Come on, Ann." My mother stood next to the woman she'd wanted as a daughter-in-law and knew she wouldn't any longer.

"Vivianna?" Ann looked stricken.

"He's in love with her. He was never in love with you. Those are the breaks. Why don't I introduce you to some excellent and available bachelors in New York, Ann?"

My ex-girlfriend stood up and, with a forlorn look, walked in front of my mother to get to my main door. She opened the door, and my mother turned to me and said, "Let's say seven at the Four Seasons?"

"Yes, mother."

Once the door was closed, Naya let out a breath and began to breathe like she'd gone on a run.

"What was that?"

"I think, darling, that was Vivianna Westbrook welcoming you into the Westbrook family."

"And I just decided to move in with you without even asking you." She dropped her face in her hands.

"Come here." I urged her to me, and she leaned into me, her head on my shoulder. "You love me, Little Warrior?"

"I do."

"I love you too."

"This place is too big," she finally told me.

"Okay. Let's look for a smaller place. And you can decide where you want us to live."

She sighed. "I can't afford⁠—"

"Shut up, Naya."

"You can't just do that whenever we talk about money," she protested.

"Okay, fine. Let's talk about money. You have very little. I have a whole fucking lot."

She chewed on her lower lip, something she did when she was nervous.

"You're used to nice things, and I can't…don't yell at me…afford those. It feels wrong for me to have them because I'm with you."

"Okay. Let's flip the situation. Say, I didn't have a lot of money and we were together, how would you feel if I slap at you every time you try to give me something? Would that hurt you?"

She looked stricken. "Oh, Amias. I never meant to hurt you."

"But you are." Fuck it. I'd use emotional blackmail to get her where I wanted when she was unreasonable about irrelevant shit like money. Granted, if I didn't have much, I wouldn't think it was irrelevant, but it was when it came to our relationship. "Wouldn't you want to share what you have with me? Why won't you let me share what I have with you?"

"I don't want people to think I'm with you because you're rich."

"Who gives a fuck what people think? I care about what very few people think. You think Darren would think that?"

She shook her head.