Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 123212 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 616(@200wpm)___ 493(@250wpm)___ 411(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123212 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 616(@200wpm)___ 493(@250wpm)___ 411(@300wpm)
A scoff comes from the background before the phone is wrestled out of Nic’s hands and Sebastian’s face appears. “What the fuck is this?” Sebastian demands. “Nic gets a Facetime call and all I get is an occasional text message when you remember to actually send one.”
“Shut up,” I laugh. “You know I love you too. Shit has been a little crazy here.”
“Yeah right, you’ve probably just been distracted by the new boyfriend of yours.”
“He’s not my boyfriend.”
“I’ll believe that wh–”
The phone is stolen right back and I hear Sebastian’s objections in the background before the screen drops to the ground and I hear the familiar sound of Nic’s heavy punch slamming into Sebastian’s flawless skin. A loud, pissed off groan sails through my speakers before Nic picks up the phone and his face re-appears. “So, what’s up, O? You never Facetime. Is something wrong?”
“No, nothing wrong with me exactly,” I say with a cringe, wondering how he’s going to feel about me asking to help when it comes to Carrington business. Hell, Colton’s probably going to be pissed when he finds out I was talking to outsiders about something that’s clearly a family matter.
“Spit it out, babe. I’m about to go on a run.”
Shit.
“Do you remember the crying bitch from Charles’ funeral?”
“Yeah, the same one who was sucking his dick at that party?”
“Yeah, that’s her. She kinda showed up here late last night claiming that she’d married Charles in secret and is wanting, well, I don’t exactly know what she wants but it doesn’t seem right to me. Something fishy is going on and I was wondering how easy it is to forge a marriage certificate and have a room full of thirty lawyers completely stumped?”
Nic scrunches his face. “Come on, babe. I really don’t think I should be getting involved in this shit.”
“Please. I just … I don’t need you to get involved but can you at least look at the certificate and tell if it’s fake or not?”
Nic groans and he stares at me for a long moment before finally giving in. “Fine. Go and get your mom and dad’s marriage certificate and make it quick. I’ve only got ten minutes to spare.”
“On it,” I beam, hurrying into mom’s room and pulling down the box she keeps in the top of her closet that is filled with all our important things. I rifle through it, skipping over my birth certificate and dad’s death certificate before finally finding a copy of their marriage license and the original marriage certificate.
“Got it,” I announce, holding it up to the phone so he can see.
“Good, now go and get the one you think is fake.”
My eyes bug out of my head. “You want me to go into that room and take the one thing they’re all fretting over?”
Nic stares at me as though he’s looking at some kind of stranger. “Fuck me, O. I knew moving away was going to change you but I didn’t think you were going to lose those steel balls that you’ve always had. That’s a real fucking shame.”
“Hey,” I snap. “My balls are still hanging right where I left them.”
“Then what are you waiting for? Go and march that sweet ass in there and take what you need just like I always taught you to.”
Fuck. He’s right.
I pull up my big girl panties and get the fuck over it. If I’m right, he’ll learn to forgive me and if I’m wrong, then screw him because I was at least trying, which seems like a lot more than what his very expensive lawyers are doing.
I march out of the pool house and don’t stop until I'm storming my way through the massive door of the formal dining room. All eyes fall to mine and the noisy room becomes silent.
Colton watches me through narrowed eyes and I can tell that he’s only moments away from telling me to fuck off out of here.
“I need the marriage certificate,” I say, keeping my chin high and demanding respect.
A few scoffs come from the lawyers and I’m instantly dismissed until Colton notices the phone in my hand and the other marriage certificate. “Give it to her,” he roars, making at least fifteen of the fuckers jump.
They all scramble—grown ass men terrified of an eighteen-year-old kid. It takes a full minute of searching through the mess of papers until the certificate is finally found and passed to Colton as though it holds the secrets of the universe.
He instantly hands it to me and I step up to the table beside him, sweeping my hand over the papers in my way and watching as they go flying off the table.
Nasty comments are muttered under breaths while Colton cringes, knowing that shit isn’t going to sit well with the dickheads around the table. It's Nic’s laugh through the phone that keeps my spirits high.