Mirage - Alice Tribue Page 0,20
quickly realize that I’m alone in my bed, and Nathan is nowhere to be found. I throw the covers off just as the bedroom door opens and Nathan slips back in.
“Where were you?” I question suspiciously.
“I’m sorry, did I wake you? I got thirsty and just went to the kitchen for a drink of water.”
“No, you didn’t wake me… I just. I’m sorry. I must have had a bad dream.”
He makes it back to the bed and pulls me back into his arms.
“Do you remember what it was about?”
“No,” I lie, not wanting to ruin tonight by speaking of my less-than-stellar early childhood. It isn’t something that I ever really talk about, and I don’t intend to start now. What’s past is the past and there’s no use in reliving any of it.
“Just close your eyes; I’ll be right here if you need me.”
It’s the best promise that I’ve ever heard, and I take comfort in it. I let it envelop me and cover me with the hope that maybe not every relationship is the same, that maybe not every man is the same, and most of all, that maybe I’ve finally met one who makes it okay for me to believe in the possibility of more.
CHAPTER FIVE
“I’m pregnant.”
I stare at one of my girls in disbelief. Utter. Fucking. Disbelief. This is a first and, quite honestly, the last thing I expected to hear coming out of her mouth right now.
“You’re what?” I glare at her unable to hide the anger I’m feeling. Actually, I’m bordering on rage right now.
“Victoria…”
“Katie, what the fuck? How could you do this? Who’s the father?”
“Brandon Miller.”
I put my head in my hands and let out a long, ragged breath. I try my hardest to get my emotions under control, try to breathe through the emotions before I speak, but I’m failing miserably. Control is just not happening. Instead, I lower my hands so that I can look at her.
“Let me get this straight.” I address Katie with what could only be considered a disgusted scowl on my face. She sits across from me looking every bit the innocent and scared girl we both know that she’s not. “You went and got yourself pregnant by your client. A client who is a married man. A client who doesn’t even know your real name? Am I getting this right?”
“It was an accident, Victoria.”
“There are no accidents. I provide you with adequate options for birth control. I Fucking. Pay. For. It. There is no excuse for you to be sitting here and telling me that you’re pregnant right now.”
“I know.” She looks down, her eyes glassed over with unshed tears. The softer side of me wants to reach out to her, wants to feel bad for her, help her, make it okay, but the business owner in me, the woman who puts her neck out on the line daily for this shit, is pissed.
“Does he know? Did you tell him already?”
“Yes, I told him when I was with him last night.”
“And?” I probe, sitting on the edge of my seat for this reply. This should be good. In fact, knowing Brandon Miller, I could pretty much guess verbatim what his reply to her was.
“He said that he would give me money for an abortion and told me that he would be calling you today to end our arrangement.”
Yup! Verbatim. Typical asshole.
“What did you think he was going to say, that he wanted to run off with you? Marry a girl who he pays to fuck, a girl whose real name he doesn’t even know? You have to be realistic here. Yes. He thinks about you when he’s fucking his wife, but he would never leave her for you. Not in a million fucking years! It doesn’t matter how many times you make his cock explode, it does not matter how many times you take it like he wants to give it to you. You do not matter to him.”
“I know.”
“He’s an asshole, all right? I get that but, sweetie, this is just a complication he was never going to welcome. He’s not going to allow you to ruin his life. You might see this baby as a blessing, but to a man like Brandon, it is nothing but a roadblock. A man like him only cares about himself, his money, and his name. Nothing else matters.”
“I know you’re right.” She looks so defeated, so scared and vulnerable, and I wish I could make that go away, I