Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 30717 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 154(@200wpm)___ 123(@250wpm)___ 102(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30717 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 154(@200wpm)___ 123(@250wpm)___ 102(@300wpm)
She wipes her nose as tears roll down her cheeks.
“You don’t have to do this, Patrick,” she sobs. “You don’t have to—”
“No, I want to,” I repeat with urgency, still gripping her shoulders. “I love you, Ashley Finnegan. What’s so hard to understand about that?”
Then, the beautiful young woman breaks down altogether, a waterfall of tears coursing down her cheeks.
“I had no idea!” she wails. “I really thought that you wouldn’t be interested in a family. That you’d make me get rid of the baby, or banish us to the ends of the earth. I had no idea,” she sobs, collapsing against my massive bulk.
Unexpectedly, tears prick my eyes as I stroke the curve of her golden head. A lump forms in my throat when I think about how close we came to disaster – as if I was ever going to let disaster come to my child. But now, the time has come for forgiveness, and I press my lips to her hair, as understanding replaces my subsiding rage.
“It’s fine,” I growl low in my chest. “But never leave me, Ashley. Be mine, forever. Say you’ll be my wife.”
A heart-wrenching sob escapes her throat again, but this time, she lifts her delicate chin to look at me with blue eyes so innocent that I’m overcome with passion.
“Yes, I’ll be yours, Patrick. I look forward to becoming Mrs. O’Lachlan and starting our life together. I will be the Viscountess.”
With that, I claim her plush pout in a soul-devastating kiss because this is the woman I was always meant to be with. I met a young girl at a Vegas casino, who lost her most precious asset to my devious ways and blackened heart. But never underestimate a charming, intelligent young woman because Ashley Finnegan came out the winner in the end ... with my love as the ultimate prize.
EPILOGUE
Ashley
Ilie back on the settee as Patrick finishes a call with his sister.
“Okay,” he says slowly. “That sounds fine. Yeah, just be careful Ains. You know billionaires. They don’t give a fuck and they’ll run you over if it suits them... okay, sure,” he finishes. Then he hangs up, his expression wry.
“Is your sister okay?” I ask, rubbing my belly. I’m in my first trimester still, but my tummy seems to have grown exponentially so that it looks like a mountain. “Is Ainsley coming back? I can’t wait to meet her.”
Patrick sighs and sits before running a hand through his black hair, ruffling it adorably.
“No,” he grunts. “Ains says her plus-size modeling career is going fine, and that she’s met some interesting people. She’s met a man,” he clarifies. “Evidently, she’s met a godforsaken billionaire, and wants to see where her relationship with him can go. Goddamn it. Shit is going to get fucked. I can feel it.”
I shoot my handsome fiancé a look.
“Yes, but you’re a godforsaken billionaire, my love. You used to toy with young girls all the time.”
Patrick grins at me, flashing that white smile.
“And look where it got me,” he groans, pulling my bulging form close to his massive bulk. “A beautiful fiancée, and a baby on the way. Oh, and by the way, sweetheart, it finally came.”
I go still as he reaches into his pocket. There’s a blue velvet box in his hand and my heart begins to thump. “Ready?” he asks in a low voice. “A beautiful diamond for a beautiful girl.”
After all, diamonds have a special place in our relationship. They’re the way we “met” in a way because we both stole into the high rollers room at the Degas casino, and Patrick witnessed me making off with quite a few of the gems in an illicit way. But the handsome Irishman wasn’t disgusted or put off. If anything, my dirty act only piqued his interest, and now, we’re celebrating with a special kind of diamond.
Sure enough, he pops the lid and there’s a massive seven carat stunner nestled on the silk bed. I gasp as it sparkles and shines, beautiful beyond compare.
“Oh wow. Your lab did a great job creating this gem because it’s so brilliant,” I murmur, picking up the heart-shaped stone and holding to the light. “I would never be able to tell the difference.”
Patrick smiles knowingly.
“Of course not, sweetheart. It’s a real diamond with the same chemical properties as anything mined from the Earth. But with a lot less environmental damage,” he adds. “Besides, I bought Pure and Raw Diamonds for you, Ashley. The company is yours, and once you’re done having my kids, you’ll be the lady in charge at the business.”
Tears fill my eyes as I smile at my handsome man who always looks out for me.
“I can’t believe you bought me a diamond company,” I breathe. “And that you trust me so much! I mean, I don’t even have a high school degree so I’m not exactly qualified.”