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“Cuore mio,” he whispers into my ear, “I told you before, you’re it for me. I want to have a family with you, and I don’t want to wait too long. We’ll get married soon, so that there’s no question about our baby’s legitimacy.”
Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God.
He’s trying to knock me up. He’s trying to bind me to him for good.
Oh my God. What have I done?!
Now that we’ve had sex again, he’ll assume that things are going back to the way they were before.
And was that meant to be a marriage proposal? If it was, it sucked!
As if he can read my mind, he shifts his head so we’re eye to eye.
With conviction in his voice, he says, “Ella, I haven’t proposed properly yet because I know you would say it’s too early.”
He kisses the tip of my nose as I stare at him, not being able to breathe.
“We’ll get married soon. Then everybody will know you’re untouchable. And don’t worry, I’ll propose properly, the way you deserve. I’ll give you everything you want… Except your freedom from me,” he adds with a wink.
I think I’m in shock…. I try to will a thought into place, but there’s nothing, only a huge void.
I’m numb.
Tiero looks at me as if expecting a response, but I’ve got nothing. Any sentimental feelings I might have had for him have vanished.
There’s nothing there.
I’m saved from having to reply when his phone rings on the nightstand. He glances at the name on the screen and his face hardens.
“You better have a damn good reason to ring me at this hour,” he barks the moment he answers it, his voice as cold as ice. I glance at the clock. It’s just after five thirty. Tiero listens for a few seconds, his eyes glazing over with anger.
“You know where to take him. I’ll be right there.” He’s completely livid.
He leans over and presses a quick kiss to the top of my head. “I have to take care of something. I’ll be back in a couple of hours. We’ll have breakfast together before heading to the track.”
He disappears into the bathroom for a quick shower, and then he’s dressed and out the door.
I pinch the bridge of my nose, trying to think, but still nothing.
I can’t seem to form a single coherent thought.
I head to the bathroom and turn on the shower. Perhaps washing off the scent of sex and going for a morning run will lift the fog of anxiety from my gut.
By the time I make my way to the kitchen, my ability to think has returned, but it’s still a jumbled mess. Thoughts are firing off in all directions, creating a mess of crisscrossing anxieties.
I pay no attention to where I’m going and suddenly have no idea where I am. This house is magnificent, though way too large.
How do people find their way around? Nothing looks familiar. We mustn’t have come to this part when we went exploring the first day.
I open a door and step through. Some sort of picture gallery stretches out before me, but it’s too dark to see. I draw the curtains and let the light flood in, its beams highlighting the dust particles in the air.
I turn around to look at the large paintings evenly spaced out on the wall. Family portraits of people from centuries ago. What would life have been like back then?
I slowly go from picture to picture, taking in the people in the portraits. The men all look stern while the women aim for a serene expression.
I stop when I come across a still life of an antique three-legged stool.
How odd.It doesn’t fit into this collection at all.
