Page 31 of Rich and Rotten

“Uh-huh. What are the odds?” I replied.

Nazir stared at me, communicating silently. He was hurting, but not because of me. He was hurting because he left us.

“You’re going to be seeing a lot of me around, Name Twin.”

“To keep me and mommy safe, right?”

He smiled as he looked down at her, then his eyes met mine again.

“Yes, I’m going to keep you and your mother safe. I’m not going anywhere again.”

I popped my head back into the kitchen while holding my chest. It wasn’t that I was expecting her to never say her full name around him. Oh, hell! Who was I kidding? That’s exactly what my delusional ass was hoping. Ever since security started staying at the house, Nazir hadn’t been around much––aside from when he took on the role of driver. I didn’t realize he owned the security company, which probably explained his distance. He didn’t have to be here because he had staff handling the work.

Taking a few deep breaths, I heard those slaps of feet on the marble again and managed to put on a smile, even though I felt the opposite at the time. Nazira rounded the corner and held up the charm bracelet she had made for me. She never let me travel without it, and I had forgotten to grab it while doing a million things.

“My girl,” I said with a smile, taking the bracelet and quickly clasping it around my wrist. “What would I do without you, Nazira?”

“Forget your favorite bracelet,” she replied, chuckling. “Have a safe trip, Mommy.”

I kissed her cheeks. “Thanks, babe. Now go get some more sleep and call me when you’re awake and heading to school.”

“Okay,” she said, then skipped back toward the stairs where Nazir stood.

“Don’t forget, lil lady.”

She grinned––the same one she shared with the man standing behind her. “I promise I won’t forget.”

“Okay.”

Once she disappeared up the stairs, I continued to busy myself in the kitchen.

“Tata,” his deep voice called from behind me.

I had no choice but to ignore him because what would I say? How could I tell him that Nazira was his daughter? She resembled him, and from the way he studied her since the moment he met her, he already knew it.

“Are my bags in the car? I don’t want to run into traffic this morning,” I quickly replied, hoping to avoid the conversation I knew he wanted to have.

I didn’t want to talk about it right now. Or ever. I knew I would get too emotional, and I didn’t need that at this moment. I refused to let him knock me off my square another morning. I had meetings today, and I needed to be focused.

“I don’t want to talk about the fucking bags, Tatiana.”

I spun around on my heels, keeping my posture straight and thoughts calm.

“And I don’t care to discuss whatever is swirling in your brain. Please make sure my car is ready to go, Mr. Kane.”

“Tat—”

“Mrs. Sterling,” I corrected him, then left out the kitchen.

I quickly ducked into one of the powder rooms and took a few deep breaths. This wasn’t my fault. Hell, I didn’t run away from him. He was the one who left me. So why did I feel so guilty?

After spending thirty minutes on my makeup, I made sure not to splash water on my face. Staring into the mirror, I removed a stray hair from my face and pressed my hand to my chest while silently counting down from twenty. Once my heart steadied, I walked out of the bathroom and headed toward the front. As I came down the hall, Bloom shuffled down the stairs with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, her hair matted to her head, and dried drool and last night’s makeup still on her face.

None of that mattered to Emilio, though, as he smiled at her. “Good morning, Bloom.”

She snapped out of her zombie-like trance and offered him a smile. “Too early to be speaking, Emmy.”

“Emilio, beloved,” he said, correcting her.