Chapter 38
Seraphins
1 sii in my car for a moment as I try to will my heart rate to drop back down, in’s beating so hard in my chest that I feel like I’m about to have b
I dropped the kids at school and grabbed a coffee on the way, all the while about to go into radiac
i
It’s fine, he doesn’t know anything, and knowledge is power. While he doesnt know anything we are safe.
He will, though.
One day soon I’m going to have to tell him, in fact I think I already kind of admitted it. I close my eyes, overwhelmed with fear. I know how postal he is going to be and damn it. I can’t believe I’m living this be; this was never who I was
Maybe it’s better if he does find out maybe then I can finally forgive myself for it and move on.
With one last look in my rearview mirror, I drag myself into work
“Good morning. Ruth,” I say as I walk through the front doors.
“Good morning, Seraphina.” She looks up at me over the top of her glasses. “Everything all right? You look frazzled.”
“I’m great,” I be with a smile as I walk through the office. Everything is just great.”
I’m a disaster, Ruth, and my children are the spawn of the devil literally.
Why wouldn’t I have just politely declined? What on earth was I thinking that I was going to achieve by screaming down the phone? All re done is made him angry, and if there’s one thing I know, it’s that Gabriel Ferrara when angry is a estastrophic force.
Dumb dumb, dumb
1 get a vision of Gabriel sitting at his desk in New York and I can feel his rage from here. Complete with the red sky, the lightning, the earth splitting in two and swallowing me whole in true horror movie fashion.
Inwardly kick myself Shir
Why did I curse and carry on like an immature child on the phone?
Damn it. I need to be smarter about this
Something about that man brings out the al
absolute worst in me.
Ugh So stupid.
I storm into my office and dump my briefcase on my desk Now, to top off my morning from hell, I have to organize home loans all day.
Ugh, I hate my job
I work at a bank as a loan manager, it’s a good position, great pay with hours that I can work around the kids. I should be grateful for the opportunery. and I am. it’s just Mindless, bering, and crappy working out how much debt people can go into all day long
As much as I hate to admit it, I miss the exotic days in New York of wearing six–inch heels and tight pencil skirts to work and staying back and having drinks with my work friends in cool bars. I get a vision of back then and Gabriel in his black briefs making me coffee every morning while I went through his day.
Stop in
“Good morning.” Mervin calls as he walks past my office.
“Morning. Merv,” I reply as 1 open up my computer.
He sticks his head back around my door. “Do you want to buy some brownie cookies?”
ENTING THE LAST BETRAYAL LOOP Faked My Death and Found REAL FREEDOM
Chapter 38
tigh
guess I grab my parse. “How many fundraisers do you do exactly? I swear I need to lean myself some cash pust to support your lade sporting
I know, right. I’m sick of selling this shit too.” He walks into my office and puts the box of cookies on my desk.
1 pass him over ten dollars. “You know I buy these things from you with the full intent of taking them home and sharing them and then, hượt thing yo know. I’ve enten the lot of them.”
“Same.” He takes the money and looks through his wallet for change.
I scrunch my now as a wall of something bad surrounds jue, and I look around. “What is that god awful smell don’t know?” He looks around
“Oh it’s disgusting. “I wince..
“The hell is it?” He shrugs and looks on the bottom of his shor. “Hopefully my office dorseri umell” He diuppears down the hall.
“Ruth,” “I call “The you know what that smell is?”
“Not really,” she calls, disinterested. Tswelled it before when I walked in the door, though.” Fuck’s sake.
“Oh yuck, it’s putrid in my office, I think there must be a dead rat in the ceiling or something.” Merv calls down the hall.
Tww.”
This day just keeps getting better.
4pm
An email pops up on my screen.
Your next appointment is here.
Mr. Don Johnston.
Don Johnston, what kind of name is that? 1 glance at my watch, I hate having appointments with new clients this late in the day. I reply to Ruth
Send him in please.
I close down my email and take a sip of my
ip of my water and stand and open the door
Gabriel Ferrara is striding down the corridor toward me, and my eyes widen in horror.
Hello, Miss Locke.” He sneers as he walks past me into my office.
Shit.
Fake appointment.
Diabobical
1 glance around my office for an escape route before closing the door.
He’s towering above me, wearing a perfectly fitted suit, his black hair has a bit of a curl to it and his animosity is encapsulating the room, making everything else feel so small and insignificant
“What are you doing here?” I ask
He sits down at my desk. “You told me to make an appointment.” He points to my chair. “SiL”
I drop
op into my chair, my nervous heart hammering. “What do you want?
He sits back and crosses his logs, arrogance personified, and his dark eyes hold mine. “I would like to know a little bit about you.”
I shrug as I act casual. “There’s nothing to know.”
Chapter 38
“Tut the bullshit. Seraphina,” he fires back. “Do you have something to tell me?
I swallow the bricket of sand in my throat as my eyes hold his. I imagine him flipping the desk and mailing the windows or something equally
Like what?”
“The Not Play With Me.“1 hangs his hand on my desk and I jump swallow the nervous hump hat Are they or are they not
His javetics in anger. “Answer. The Fucking, Question”
Inod “Yes”
“Yes what?
“You“I try to say the words out loud, but my dry mouth betrays me, I can’t even form a sentence.
“You what?” he spits angrily.
“Yes. You are their biological father,” I say quietly.
