Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 122242 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122242 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
She stops wriggling and turns a shocked gaze up at me. "I don't have any assets."
"You might," I tell her as gently as possible. "I think I found out who your father is…and why Tarasova wants you back so badly. If I'm right, your father was worth millions before he died, Faith. And you're his only child."
"I don't understand," she mumbles.
"I believe your father was Theodore 'Teddy' Jackson. He played professional football in the nineties. After he retired, he opened a company that created better protective gear. The company was incredibly successful. He passed away unexpectedly a few years after opening the company, leaving behind a little girl. I think you were that little girl."
"Teddy. My daddy bear," she whispers, tears springing to her eyes. "I remember calling him that. I always thought maybe I just invented the nickname for him when I started to forget him."
"He was your teddy bear, your daddy."
She nods, tears dripping down her cheeks. "God. Do you really think he's my dad?" Hope and fear war in her honey eyes. She desperately wants to believe that she was loved but is so afraid to let herself.
"I do," I murmur, drying her tears with the pads of my thumbs. "Finn and Roman have been helping me try to confirm my suspicions. They'll be here soon, but I want you to read this before they get here."
"Why?"
"Because if I'm right, you're his only heir. His sister died a few years ago. His mom—your grandma—is sick, angel. There is no other family." I hate giving her hope and taking it away all at once, but it's unavoidable.
Sadness sweeps through her gaze. "I still don't understand why you want me to sign this."
"Because you've been used for long enough," I explain, holding her close. "If you agree to marry me, I don't want there to be a single doubt in your mind as to why I want to be with you. I don't give a shit about the money, Faith. All I want is you." I tap the agreement in her hands. "This says that anything you bring into the marriage will remain yours, no matter what."
It's freedom, the best way I can give it to her. No matter what, she'll always have options. She'll always have a choice. And she's always know that I don't want her money. I just want her.
"You really want to marry me?" she whispers like she hasn't heard anything I've said to her today.
"More than I want my next breath," I growl, completely serious. I need my ring on her finger. I want everyone to know that she's mine and that she's under my protection. Hell, I want her to know that I choose her. That I will always choose her. "I belong to you, Faith."
"I belong to you too." She smiles at me, her eyes watery. "But I don't want to sign this, Octavio. I don't need to sign it. I know you aren't like Tarasova. I know you aren't trying to use me. I trust you."
"That means more to me than you'll ever know." I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "Your trust means everything to me. But I still want you to sign this. It'll help protect you if anything ever happens to me."
"You mean if we divorce," she says, her voice small.
"Fuck no," I growl, the mere thought pissing me off. She's mine and I'm not ever giving her up. "Once my ring is on your finger, it's forever, Faith. You're never getting rid of me. Not ever."
"Then I don't need to sign this," she says, a little huff in her voice like I'm annoying her.
"You do need to sign this," I disagree, fighting a smile. She's so damn stubborn. That shouldn't be as endearing to me as it is. "I'm a cop, conejita. I've put a lot of bad men behind bars. If I'm right about your father and any of them find out, they might try to get their hands on your money by suing me. This will help ensure that doesn't happen." It also ensures that everything I have goes to her if anything happens to me. On the off chance I'm wrong about her father, I want to know she'll never have to worry again about her future. I don't have much, but everything I do have is hers for the taking.
I know she doesn't want to sign it, but I need her to do it anyway. I need her to put herself and her needs first and protect herself, even when it feels like she's protecting herself from me. And she needs that too. She's never had the chance to do it. She's never had that choice. She needs to know that, when it comes down to it, she's strong enough to fight for herself and her future, even when doing it feels selfish to her.