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)
“She came to me for help,” he stammers as he wraps a towel around his waist.
“Obviously.” I growl as I look at the photo of him shirtless and holding her in his arms. “I know what she needed help with.” I storm from the sauna.
“Get back here.” He scrambles to pick up his clothes.
“Go fuck yourself.” I grab my handbag and he runs after me and grabs me from behind, he throws my bag on the floor and holds me, my arms down by my sides.
“She thinks someone is trying to kill her and she came to me for help,” he stammers. “I swear to you that’s all it was.”
“When was this?”
“Last week.”
I fight out of his grip. “So she was here last week, in my home. In your fucking arms while you are undressed and you didn’t mention it once?” I shriek. “Not. Once.”
“Because I knew this is how you’d react.” He tries to throw it back on me. “That’s why I didn’t tell you.”
“Ha.” I pick up my bag from the floor. “You gaslighting prick.”
“Where are you going?”
“Home.”
“This is your home,” he growls.
The waiters appear with a tray of our dinner.
“No. My home doesn’t have booty calls come to it,” I scream. “You fucking sleazebag.”
Their eyes widen and they freeze on the spot, they glance at each other, scared for their lives.
I march down the stairs.
“Alora,” he yells. “Get back here.”
“Go fuck yourself.” Adrenaline is surging through my veins and I can hardly see through the rage. I stumble out the front door and across the gangplank.
“Stop her,” Edward yells from the balcony above.
“Miss Sorenson.” Marcel runs along beside me as I march up the boardwalk. “Come back inside.” He grabs my arm.
I rip it out of his grip. “Touch me again and I’m calling the fucking police.”
“I must insist.” He grabs my arm again and I completely lose control and turn and rip it from his grip.
“Leave me alone,” I cry.
Edward comes running up the boardwalk. “Alora,” he says sternly. “Calm down.”
I trusted you.
His silhouette blurs.
“Come inside so we can talk about it.”
“I want to go home.”
“This is your home.”
I angrily wipe the tears from my eyes. “Marcel, can you take me to my place please?”
His eyes flick between Edward and me.
“I’ll drive you home myself,” Edward replies.
“I don’t want you to drive me anywhere.” My nostrils flare as I try to hold it together.
I can feel my world collapsing around me.
I trusted you.
“Come inside and talk for ten minutes and if you still want to go home then I’ll let you go.”
“You’ll let me go?” I screw up my face as my anger resurfaces. “Can you hear how fucked up that is?”
His eyes hold mine.
“You don’t get to tell me what I do.” I turn my back and start walking.
“Alora,” he growls.
I turn like the devil himself and am now well aware that we have an audience, every yacht’s staff is now out on deck listening. “What?” I fume as I fight to keep my voice down.
“I want you to come inside,” he says softly. “Leave us, Marcel.”
“Yes, sir.”
Marcel disappears up the boardwalk and he comes to me. “You said you wouldn’t leave when the chips are down. You promised,” he says softly.
“Yeah, well.” My eyes well with tears. “You promised to be faithful.”
“I was, I swear to you. Come inside and we can talk about it.”
“I just want to go home,” I whisper.
His face falls. “Doe, don’t cry,” he whispers as he takes me into his arms. “I swear on my life I didn’t touch her.” I pull out of his grip and step back from him. “I love you, there’s no way I would risk that,” he whispers as he reaches for me again. “Come inside.”
I look back to the yacht to see all of the staff there waiting and watching. I’m officially the town fucking idiot. What do they see when I’m not here?
“I just want to go home tonight,” I say.
“We need to talk about this.”
“Tomorrow.”
His eyes search mine. “I want to come with you.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t want you to,” I snap, annoyed.
“Nothing can be sorted when we’re apart.”
“I need some distance, Edward.”
“Don’t say that.”
I know he’s not going to let me go unless I’m civil.
“It’s fine. I just want to go home and calm down and have the night to myself and we can go out for lunch tomorrow.”
“I don’t want to be apart from you.”
“It’s one night.”
His eyes search mine. “Is it one night?”
I cross my arms, unsure how to reply.
“Alora, I promise you. I didn’t touch her. She came to me for help. I was working out downstairs and that’s why my shirt was off. She turned up crying and scared because someone had just tried to run her over and I hugged her.”
My eyes hold his. Is he lying?