Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33691 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33691 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
“I don’t care about any of that. I just want to know your price. You don’t need to sneak around. I’ll give it to you.”
“I don’t want anything from you,” my mom hisses.
“A hundred million? Would that be enough?” My mouth falls open. “But you’d have to stay with my father if I give you the money.” Asher sets out the terms that he is agreeable to. Silence follows. My mom doesn’t say a word. I'm sure she’s in shock as much as I am right now.
“Asher.” I call his name. He spins around to see me standing in the doorway to the library. His face actually pales. I walk toward him. My mom's eyes are filled with tears that she’s holding back. I go into protective mode. Because no matter what I feel for Asher, I will not tolerate this.
“My mom isn’t a whore.” I’m so angry and hurt. My heart is breaking, but I know I need to do this. I lift my hand and smack him. My mom lets out a gasp of surprise. “You stay away from my mother, and you stay away from me.”
“Molly.”
“Don’t!” I snap. “I heard you. You promised me.”
“You don’t understand.” He steps toward me. I step back. His eyes narrow on me. I hate that my body responds to him.
“I said stay away from me,” I repeat. “Your promises mean nothing. Did you use me? Was this part of your plan all along?” My stomach turns at the thought of that being true.
“No!” Asher bellows, the sound echoing through the room.
“I think we all need to take a breath here,” Mom says gently. I shake my head no.
“I think Asher should stay the hell away from me.”
18
Asher
The past three weeks have been the worst of my life. I fucked up. No, I more than fucked up. Neither Grace nor my father will let me anywhere near Molly. My own sister isn’t talking to me either at the moment.
After I put some things in motion to get all this bullshit cleared up, I took off to Japan so I could finish things there as well. I need all of this done with. Anything that stands in the way of Molly and me is being handled now.
I made it very clear to her that she has three weeks and I’d be back. The first week I’d spent here piecing together the mess not only I had created, but figuring out who else has their hands in it. Then I took off to Japan and wrapped up everything I needed to.
I’ve been back for a week now. Her three weeks are about to come to an end. I might have given her some space, but since I’ve been back, I’ve been staying in the guest house. It was the only thing that kept me somewhat sane. I hated being away from her, but I also needed to get all of this handled before I could truly start my grovel. When I’m in the guest house, I at least get some stolen glances from her.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Agent Jacob asks.
“I have no choice. She’s a greedy bitch. I gave her enough to live out a life of luxury, and she burned through it in no time.” I shake my head. I don’t even know how someone could spend a hundred million so quickly.
My father had an iron clad prenup when he married Heidi. All she’d walked away with was ten million. It is why she would never leave my father. No, she stayed and made our lives hell so she could live the lifestyle she had become accustomed to. That’s when I’d made her an offer she couldn't refuse. I thought it was one no one could, but Grace more than proved me wrong in that. The Reynolds women couldn’t be bought.
“I’m pressing full charges.” With the amount of money Heidi has stolen under Grace’s name, it’s going to put her behind bars in a federal prison for a very long time. Theft and larceny are only the beginning of her charges. And I want to make sure she pays for not only the damage she did in the past, but the present as well.
“Does your father know?”
I nod my head. I told him everything. There wasn’t much of a choice. It wasn’t long after Molly smacked me that I’d gotten a call about some security footage being pulled that showed Heidi walking into a bank and making the withdrawals. The credit card companies traced the addresses where they’d sent the cards and the IP address she applied for them with.
She really thought she would get away with it. Why else was she so damn sloppy? I think she figured my father wouldn’t notice, but she didn’t bank on the fact that I was a cynical asshole because of her. Thanks to her, I had a tendency not to trust women, so I was having every penny that was spent traced after my father remarried.