Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 129687 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 519(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129687 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 519(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Astrid was seated on the edge of her bed, her lovely face wan and tear-stained. But at the sight of her eldest daughter, she readily summoned a smile. "What is it?"
It was just like Astrid to be so strong, to not say a single word even though she must have an inkling that this could only have something to do with Pippi.
She swallowed hard. Oh God, what was there to say?
"Pi? What is it? Is anything wrong?"
The concern in Astrid's voice was unmistakable, and this was just so like her, too, with the way she always placed everyone else's needs above hers—-
It was just too much, and before Pippi could even think of what to do, she was already running, falling into her knees with a sob as she took her mother's hands in hers.
"I'm so sorry, Mom."
"Oh, hon."
She felt Astrid lay a comforting hand on the top of her head, and she wept harder. "I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault, baby."
"But it is. You know it is. We all know it is." Between sobs, she told Astrid of how she something in her had just snapped and she found herself coming into the defense of Acheron's ex-lover. "I can't prove it yet, but I know - those women are behind this, and it's not fair - it's n-not right that they'd go after you—-" Her voice broke anew. "I'm so sorry, Mom."
The sound of her daughter's weeping hurt, and yet in a way, it also gave Astrid the strength to ignore her own pain. Her daughter needed her, and Pippi and her girls would always come first.
"Hush, baby. It's okay now."
Astrid pulled Pippi up and made her daughter sit on the bed next to her.
"It may be as you say it is, but that still doesn't make things your fault. All the signs about Dolph being a married man were there, but I chose to close my eyes to all of them. I loved him, and I didn't want to know anything that would tell me I couldn't love him."
"You were young—-"
"But I also knew what I was doing, and now I'm paying the consequences for it—-" When Pippi started shaking her head, Astrid said quietly, "This is how it should be, and in a way I'm glad to finally have it in the open." Her lips formed a wry smile. "As the cliché goes - nothing like the truth to set us free, darling." Astrid's slim shoulders moved in a shrug. "And now, it's going to get interesting, being Isla de Flores' aging Jezebel—-"
The description had Pippi choking back a teary giggle. "Mom!"
Astrid simply smiled, and seeing it, the urge to cry and laugh grew stronger. That smile said everything, reminding her of the family motto.
Together.
Everything was possible...together.
And maybe, just maybe - because she loved Acheron...
Pippi swallowed hard, but before she could say a word, Astrid had already reached for hand, saying softly, "The answer is yes."
You love Acheron, and that makes him family.
So don't give up on him.
Instead, face your troubles...
Together.
Twenty-Six
ACHERON'S FINGERS CURLED around his phone in a tense, hard grip as he waited for Pippi to answer his call. And if she refused to talk to him, then that was only to be expected. And maybe, it would even be better if it were so -
"Acheron?"
He jerked in his seat, his heart slamming hard against his chest at the sudden sound of Pippi's voice.
Pippi.
She had answered his call—-
"Acheron?"
It seemed like forever since he had last heard her voice, and his eyes closed.
I love her.
The realization should've felt sudden, but it didn't. The truth had been there all along - he had turned himself into a clown, cosplayed as a police, bought a fucking ambulance - no man would do such things for a woman he didn't love, and now he realized that he had loved her from the very start.
He loved her.
Her.
"Pippi."
The sound of his voice made Pippi want to weep. Oh God, it had been so long. So, so long. Lying on her bed, she could only turn on her side and gaze blindly outside her window, pretending that Acheron was one of the stars watching her.
"I only called to let you know that my legal team's already filed the appropriate cases against those women. Rest assured they'll be dealt in the severest way possible."
Pippi didn't know what to say. She was glad that the women were being made to pay, but was that really the only reason he called?
Acheron waited for Pippi to say a word, to blame him for fucking her life up the way she had every right to, but when she didn't, he took it upon himself to do it for her. "I'm sorry, Pippi. I know I promised I wouldn't let you take any risks, and I failed you."
"It's not your fault—-"