“Look, it wasn’t a love match. But it was a choice between two different cages, and your father’s cage was a little bigger and came with the opportunity to sometimes open the door.”
I frown. “You realize I barely graduated from my private school with a diploma, right? It’s why my father never pushed for college. You’re not making a lot of sense.”
She laughs gently, but I know it’s not at me. Natalie worries her lip before sighing. “My father was abusive, controlling, and sometimes downright cruel.”
My body curls even tighter, with anger this time. She pats my chest with a soft shake of her head as if to calm me down.
“It wasn’t physical. He liked to fuck with people’s heads, but a few months before Jeoffry expressed his interest in me, my mother died…suddenly. And my father refused to even investigate. Cleaned up her existence as if she were just a broken vase that could be thrown away. It’s the first time I truly feared for my life.”
My eyebrows knit. “Your mother? But—” I briefly remember her mentioning something the other day when we discussed me helping her ensure this plan would work, but I had been too focused on going back to my father’s business to pay any attention.
“Cecilia is my stepmother. She can’t physically have kids, so a lot of the maids…were volunteered.”
Disgust coils in my stomach. “I’m assuming it wasn’t actually voluntary.”
Natalie shrugs. “I don’t know. My mother never discussed that part, especially since out of the public eye she was allowed to raise us.”
“Jesus,” I spit out, holding her tighter to my side. “I thought my dad was bad because he was a dick that loved his money more than me.”
She pinches my nipple, and I swat her ass when she laughs. “So you can see why he was a better option? Honestly, after the first year, we could go months without seeing each other. It wasn’t that bad.”
I grumble under my breath. “I don’t want to be reminded about you and my dad. I do everything to try to forget.”
She sits up, giving me a sultry look as her hands slide to the growing bulge in my pants. “Let me help you forget then.”
My cock jerks as she starts to unbutton me, and while I could sit and listen to her talk for hours, I’m not gonna turn down her sweet mouth on me.
Chapter 7
Natalie
I wipemy forehead with my sleeve and then double-check my hair is still pulled back. Blowing out a long breath, I shake out my arms and then grab the piping bag again. I don’t know if this is so difficult because I’m pregnant or because I’m weak. All I know is that the big jerk better appreciate it because I’m never doing this again. I will gladly pay whatever price to let a professional decorate a cake from now on because this is horrible.
The front door slams, and my eyes widen. No, no. He’s home early. I glance at the time on the oven, realizing it’s not a time at all and instead it’s the temperature of the oven.
“Oh, fuck me,” I mutter as I toss the apron off and use a sterling silver hanging pan to sort out my hair. It’s ridiculous because I’m sure Henry won’t care either way.
His footsteps tap against the tile floor. “Natalie?”
“In here!” I call, moving to the large center island in the kitchen to glance over the prepared food. Thankfully we had the trays ofhot plates to keep it warm for him since I don’t have the best time management.
Henry stops short in the doorway of the kitchen, his eyes taking in the array of food. “What’s going on?”
I swallow the sudden knot in my throat. “It’s your birthday. Sarah said that this is one of your favorite meals, so I thought you’d like it.”
His eyebrows raise. “Did you make this?”
My cheeks flush with embarrassment. God, is he going to reject it if I did? “Yeah, I mean Sarah helped a little. I'm not the best cook, but I mean...everyone deserves something on their birthday.”
He looks at me for a moment, and then clears his throat. “It looks good. Mind if I change out of this, then we can eat?”
I nod with a smile. He hates having to wear the suits to the company. “Yeah, I’ll move it to the dining room.”
Henry moves closer to me, pulling me into his arms and kissing the top of my head. I think it’s the gentlest he’s ever been with me. He pulls back, looking down the length of my body. “Nah, just make your plate and I’ll be right down. Your feet are doing that weird swelling thing again.”
I bat at his chest. “Oh my god. Rude. It’s not weird. It’s common in pregnancy.” I scowl at him and he grins before winking and leaving me there.
Wiggling my toes in the small slippers, I realize they do look pretty swollen, and suddenly the tiredness of the day washes over me. I make a quick plate and groan when I sit down in the chair. My god, my legs and back are stiff. I’m so lost in relaxingthat I miss him coming back down until I hear the thud of the plate being set on the table.
