Even his dinner with my father got canceled because of the club disaster, which in his eyes is more important.
Will he kill me?
Will he look at me with hate and betrayal in his eyes?
Or will he close down and shut me out?
I don't know which will be worse.
"Are you ready?"
So caught up in my thoughts, I don't realize we've arrived until the car door opens and Calvin stands there with a pinched frown and a sympathetic smile.
"I don't know," I whisper. "I'm scared."
"Of Kon?"
I shake my head. "I'm scared of what I'll see in his eyes when I break his heart."
Calvin's lips press into a thin line and he nods solemnly. "The important thing here is to lead with the pregnancy," he says quietly. "It might… soften the blow of everything else."
Taking his hand, I slip from the car and together we walk up to the club.
Several guards near the door wave us in without hesitation, so I follow Calvin through the small hallway and into the club.
It's rather beautiful with the sparkling poles, deep blue walls and the light twinkling like stars above.
I'd imagine it looks even better at night.
"Hey." Ethan greets us with a tired smile and then frowns as he looks at me. "Rose. You okay?"
I must look like shit with how twisted up I am with nerves.
I can't decide if I'm going to throw up or if I need to race to the bathroom to spend ten minutes on the toilet.
Neither of which happens. Nor does an answer to Ethan.
I'm trapped, frozen in place while staring past him at a small, thin girl perched on one of the barstools.
Her hair hangs around her face in stringy clumps, her cheeks are slightly hollow, and she blinks owlishly, gazing around as if not actually seeing anything around her.
"Rose?" Calvin's voice drifts from my right but it sounds so far away as I stumble forward with my heart in my throat.
"Beatie?!"
29
KONSTANTIN
"Beatie!"
Rose's voice cuts through my heated debate with the hiring manager who claims he vetted every single one of these underage girls, and the horror in her voice cuts through me like a blade.
Beatie? Isn't that her sister?
Across the room, Rose all but tackles one of the girls at the bar and grabs her shoulder.
She shakes her, but the girl barely even reacts to being touched, never mind anything else.
