Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 92133 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92133 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Tears blurred my vision and I batted them away. I wasn’t going to cry. It had gone from a perfectly good day to a shitty one. Story of my life, but I wasn’t going to let it get me down. I’d look at the positives instead. I got to go out, see a bunch of animals I already loved, and I had my cell phone.
I stayed in the closet, and even when one of the guards came to the room to drop off some food, I didn’t leave the sanctuary of this room.
With my cell phone charging, when it had enough battery life, I began to go through my texts, missed calls, and emails. My main contact was Nathan, the only guy who’d not been wowed by Bethany. He’d seen right through her and had not been impressed.
I looked at all the texts from him.
Nathan: What the hell is happening?
Seriously, you’re giving me the silent treatment.
Adelaide, I don’t like this silence.
Come on, girl, you know I want to talk.
I go away for three months and the next thing I know, you’re living in a different city, married to the guy who was supposed to be seeing your sister.
Adelaide, please talk to me.
I had to stop looking at them. They were constantly asking me to text back. The emails were from him as well. Each one sounded even more sad than the last. There were missed calls from him and from Bethany, but I ignored them all. There was no point in listening to the voice messages, so I deleted them.
Next, I hovered over Nathan’s name. Should I call him? Andrei had said I wasn’t to have any contact with my previous life, but he didn’t get to tell me what to do when he was yelling at me like that. I clicked on the button and made the decision. Some might think it was a stupid one. Putting the cell to my ear, I had no choice but to move onto the floor on my stomach as the cable wasn’t long enough for me to sit.
I waited.
“Adelaide?” Nathan asked.
“Hey, Nathan,” I said.
“Oh, fuck me, thank God you’re okay. I had no idea what the hell was going on, and I was freaking out. I even had to go and talk to Bethany, and you know I can’t stand that fucking viper. What is going on? Is what Bethany said true?”
I smiled. It was nice to hear from a voice I knew cared about me, and he did. He cared about me a whole lot.
Taking a deep breath, I tried not to let the tears spill over, but I knew it wasn’t from hearing Nathan. No, it was the sudden realization that my husband didn’t love me. I mean, it wasn’t stupid of me to finally realize it. I knew it. Our marriage wasn’t some crazy whirlwind love match. We were business, nothing more, nothing less. But I also realized he didn’t care about me at all.
I was probably nothing more than a game to him.
That was what hurt.
“Er, I can’t talk about it now, but how about we make plans to meet up? Would that work?” I asked.
I had no way of knowing if I would ever get the chance to meet up with Nathan again. Trying to get my cell phone and some freedom was hard enough, but having dinner with an old friend … I’d try.
“Yes, I’d like that.”
We made arrangements to meet in two weeks. Nathan was going to be here anyway, for some kind of contract that I wasn’t sure of. His work was a bit hazy, he rarely talked about it, and often changed the subject.
I swiped at my cheeks as the tears fell. They were wasted and completely useless. This was my life.
“Are you going to stay in the closet forever?” Andrei asked.
I tensed up, not saying a word.
“You’re angry with me.”
Pulling my knees up to my chest, I wrapped my arms around my legs, tried to make a shield, or anything that would ward him off.
Andrei had hurt me and what was more, he had no idea how or why. He didn’t make promises he couldn’t keep. There had been no conversation about how to make this marriage work.
“Adelaide?”
My name sounded so good on his lips.
Getting to my feet, I clench my hands into fists, and move toward the door, looking into the bedroom. He’s sitting on the edge of the bed, looking defeated. It’s not a good look for him.
I instantly want to go to him, but I hold myself back, not wanting him to see my feelings as a weakness. I have no feelings for this man.
Neither of us talk.
His gaze is on me and I wait.
“I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that.”
If that was the apology I was going to get, then I wanted to sink right on back to the closet.