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“A man in your position should be careful who you’re loyal to.”
Marcel’s words didn’t mean much that night, but they replayed in my head. He knew who Gianni was all along, which explained why somebody as hot-headed as him backed down. Marcel knew what he was up against, and the contest wasn’t close.
Now I was stuck in who knows where stroking my belly and humming Yolanda Adams to calm my nerves. The room didn’t have any windows, so I couldn’t tell if it was morning or night as the footsteps from the hallway neared. The door opened, causing me to jump out of bed.
“Good morning, Hailo. Are you hungry?” Ross greeted me, entering the bedroom with a short woman who looked as if she was Indian.
Accepting the anger that poured from my eyes, Ross continued after his eyes skirted to the tray of fruit that I refused to touch. “You need to eat something. What does the baby want?”
“To go home.”
“I can’t do that, but you need to eat.”
“Fuck you,” I sneered, folding my arms across my chest to calm the fear surging through my veins.
“The first step is getting a blood test. If the baby isn’t Gianni’s, you’re free to go. I will compensate you for the inconvenience.”
“It’s not an inconvenience. It’s kidnapping.” Ross didn’t feed into my attitude, still standing across the room with the woman I assumed would be administering the test. “And if it is his baby?” I asked, trying to brace myself for what would come next.
Marcel and I didn’t have much leading up to our wedding day. We were both preoccupied, but in hindsight, he was busy with someone else. After I found out he was cheating, I was thankful we had used condoms, unlike the night I spent with Gianni.
“You know the answer to that.”
“Where is Gianni?” I asked for the millionth time, massaging my temples. Every time somebody entered this room, it seemed to magnify my headache.
“He’s busy right now.”
“Let me get this straight?” I chuckled, blinking aggressively. “I’m supposed to marry this man because I’m pregnant, but he’s toobusyto get his ass here?”
“When the time is right, Gianni will be here,” Ross replied, shifting toward the woman.
“Hi, Hailo. It’s a simple blood draw. It’ll be one quick prick, and that’s it.”
“There’s no point getting pricked when Gi is too busy to be here for the test.”
“I’m the closest male relative. I’m providing the sample,” Ross explained.
“Do what you have to do and get this over with,” I rolled my eyes, not interested in her playing the nice nurse or whomever she was.
As much as I hated Marcel, for the first time, the idea of carrying his baby didn’t scare me. At least I knew what I was getting with him. These people were crazy, and I didn’t want to raise my child near any of them- Gianni included.
Chapter Three
I checked my phone, and there was still nothing from Hailo. I called her this morning to ask her to dinner, but she didn’t answer and hadn’t returned any of my texts.
“Can you put your phone down and focus?” My father paused his speech irritated because he didn’t have my undivided attention. It was a pet peeve for him, but I was too worried about Hailo to give a fuck about that.
“When I’m done,” I replied, sending Hailo another text.
Ross clenched his jaw irritated, before focusing on the purpose of the meeting. It wasn’t anything that seemed pressing, which made it quick. Everybody filed out, and I followed when my father’s voice halted my stride. I knew Ross would bitch about me being distracted in the meeting.
He was growing tired of running things and ready to step down. Ross wanted me to be his successor but refused to show favoritism. If I wanted it, I had to earn it. I had no problem with that, but my only priority now was finding Hailo.
“Gianni, a word.” Ross’s deep voice called out while everybody else dispersed.
“Wassup?”
