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She drew back, bewildered. “Aren’t you?”
“We’re getting your things. Jack’s things. Then we’re going back to my penthouse.”
“Oh,” she whispered.
“Put that check away. Rip it up, invest it, cash it tomorrow, whatever you want. But I’ll be providing you and my son with everything you could possibly need.”
His voice was autocratic. Clearly he thought he was still the boss of her. She felt shaken.
“I thought, now that you have the results of the paternity test—now that you have some legal rights—you wouldn’t need to get married.”
“You thought wrong.” The SUV pulled up at the curb in front of the five-story building. “Get what you need for tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll arrange for your lease to be paid in full. That should take care of your landlord. My staff will return to collect anything big or heavy. Cribs, furniture. Or we can leave all that behind and buy new. Whichever you prefer.”
“Um,” said Hallie, who owned neither a crib for the baby nor any actual furniture.
“I’ll wait here with the baby and give you your privacy. Don’t be long.” When she didn’t move, his gaze sharpened. “Well?”
Turning, she blurted, “I don’t need anything. Let’s just go straight to your hotel.”
“But you need clothes—”
“No, I’m fine.”
He looked at her as if she’d lost her mind. “But we’re already here.”
“I don’t want to go in!” Her voice was shrill.
Cristiano looked at her for a long moment. When he spoke, his voice was surprisingly gentle.
“What’s really going on, Hallie?”
With an intake of breath, she looked away. Even at midnight the street was busy, and the neon lights of pizzerias and Laundromats littering First Avenue lit up the sultry summer night.
“After you fired me,” she said softly, “it was hard to find a job. I finally worked as housekeeper for a couple on the Upper West Side. The job included room and board. But when I brought Jack home from the hospital they let me go.”
His eyebrows lowered. “Why?”
She gave a humorless smile. “They said Jack’s crying was causing psychic trauma to their two Chinese Crested show dogs.”
“Are you serious?”
“With a newborn, I couldn’t find a new job. I’ve lived off my savings for the last three months. Even the cheapest apartments were too much.” She looked down at her hands. “So last month, I rented a room in a stranger’s apartment. From an online site. I was amazed it was so cheap. Then...”
She stopped, biting her lip.
Eyes narrowing, Cristiano leaned forward in the back seat.
“Then?” he demanded.
“The man wasn’t bad at first. But over the last few weeks, he started brushing up against me in the kitchen. Trying to catch me coming out of the shower. That sort of thing.” She looked away. It was surprisingly hard to go on. “This morning, he...grabbed me.”
Silence fell in the SUV.
“He attacked you.” Cristiano’s voice was toneless. It gave her the courage to meet his eyes.
“Maybe attack is too strong a word.” She tried to smile, failed. “He tried to kiss me and reach his hand under my dress. When I pushed him away, he told me I wasn’t paying my fair share of the rent so I should pay in other ways.” Trembling, she looked away. “I grabbed the baby and my diaper bag and ran. He yelled after me that I’d signed a lease and he’d be keeping all my things as payment. The only reason I have the stroller is because I’d left it downstairs.” She whispered, “He has everything I own. But I’m not sure I can face him again.”
Silence.
