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She nods and follows him from the room, leaving me alone with Eaton. I can’t even look at him.
“Did he hurt you?”
I shake my head, no. I refuse to speak to him after what I’ve just learned.
“So, we’re back to nonverbal responses then.”
I remain silent.
“You know what happens when you act like a petulant teenager.” Eaton’s voice is stern, but there’s a sense of mischief in it as well.
I’m done with the games.
I won’t do this for money.
Even if it’s not me earning it.
“I’m done playing your games, Eaton Armstrong. Enough. No more.” As I speak, I poke him in the chest with my middle finger. “You should have been honest with me from the start. I told you how I felt. You’ve made a mockery of everything I stand for. You are a sick, sadistic, fucking asshole just like your father. Do you even care that your mother is dead, or is it just about the money for you?”
I know I’ve gone too far when Eaton’s eyes flash wide at the mention of his mother. His nostrils flare, but I don’t wait for the anger to explode from him.
“You know what, Eaton. Go ahead and fuck me!” I take control for the first time, and reaching for the belt in the waistband of his pants, I start to undo it. “Let’s get this over and done with. You can fuck me, marry me, and get me pregnant. Then you can have all the money your heart desires, which I’m sure will make you and your father the happiest people in Vegas, if not the planet. After all, that’s what this has been about from the start. It was never about revenge. That was just a load of crap. You want the same two things all men want. Money and power. That’s all this has ever been about.”
I finish unfastening the belt of Eaton’s pants and reach for the zipper. His cock is hard under my hand. A moment of sheer terror floods me, but I temper it down. This will end, here and now.
“Come on, Eaton. Let’s use that erection and make a baby. What’s a baby worth? A million? Two? Three? Fuck me so I can go back to Pharr and live the life I was destined for and not your sick fantasy. I can end up just like my mother.”
Eaton stops my hand just as I’m about to reach through the open zipper to feel his cock for the first time.
“Ten billion.” He wraps his fingers around my hand and pulls it away from his body.
“W—What?” I stammer, not sure what he’s talking about.
“Ten billion. That’s what a child with you is worth to me.”
I pull away from his hold and rush as far away from him as I can within the confines of the room. My breaths come out fast and furious. I can barely regulate them as I struggle with a panic attack.
“No, no.” I shake my head, tears forming in my eyes.
I can’t comprehend that amount. Then I remember what Eaton’s father said about the money my father set aside for me in his will. I’ve been living in a run-down trailer all my life, struggling for food, education, clothes that fit, warmth in the winter, and cool air in the summer. I’ve struggled for everything, and the entire time I had ten billion attached to my name, but in the control of the Armstrong’s.
“Shelby.”
“No.” I hold my hand up to Eaton as he steps toward me. “Don’t you come near me. How could you be so cruel? You and your father. My life ain’t yours to play with. I didn’t ask for any of this.”
I’m still struggling to breathe. My entire body shakes as I pace up and down, trying to understand everything I’ve been told. This is worse than hearing my father killed Eaton’s mother. The emotions are overwhelming. I can’t do this anymore. I want to go back to the world I know—the comfort of the trailer and Betty. At least that life never left me feeling this way. I wipe my eyes, calm my breaths, and face Eaton.
“I mean it, Eaton. Get a priest, marry me now, andfuck me.I don’t want this anymore. I’m done. All I ever wanted was to be a vet so I could treat sick animals, but my father and your family took that dream away from me. Let me go, Eaton, please. I’ll give you the money. I’ll sign anything you want. I just want to go back to being me again. Please.”
Eaton steps closer to me. I don’t have the strength to fight him anymore. I let him bring me into his muscular arms. As much as I hate him, I need comfort.
“I’m sorry, Shelby. Please believe me. I never wanted you to find out from him. I should have told you.”
He cradles me close to his chest. His breaths are calm. He’s warm and welcoming, even though I don’t want him to be. I hate this. I hate what he does to me.
“I was twelve when I was first told about you,” Eaton continues. “My father showed me a picture of you as a new born, and even though I didn’t understand what he meant, my father told me you were mine. Every year after that I was given a photo of you and a report on your progress. It’s creepy as fuck when I think about it now, but it allowed me to get to know you from afar. I hated witnessing the harsh realities of your life. When I was old enough to visit, I used to leave treats for you by the trailer, hoping your mother wouldn’t find them. Nothing special—candy, pencils, a jumper when needed. Then when you started working at the restaurant, I’d go to your boss and leave money with him to give to you as tips for extra food. It was my way of helping. I hated seeing you suffer when I knew you’d eventually give me so much.”
I think back to my time as a child. I remember the candy treats and even a big thick sweater I found outside the trailer one particularly bad winter. I could never explain them. I thought it was just luck or some magical fairy who was trying to help me. Knowing it was Eaton makes so much more sense. He was with me all my life. I just didn’t know it. I guess we were linked from the start, but it doesn’t change the fact he only did it for the money.
