Knocked Up by the Beast: A Mafia Romance (Kingdoms Book 1) by Aria R. Blue

Author:Aria R. Blue [Blue, Aria R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-12-26T16:00:00+00:00

27

Belle

“Why are you mad at Papa?” I ask, turning to Julie.

Both of us are lying down on the hill. A blanket of stars hangs right over our heads.

Neither of us have ever had much, but when we’re staring at the stars, it feels like the whole world belongs to us.

The town spreads for miles, and beyond that is the forest. The one that hid Leo’s estate from us until now.

I turn to Julie. She sighs, and covers her eyes with her arms. “I still can’t believe he would just leave you there.”

“That was my choice, Julie. You know that.”

“Yeah, but- what if Leo wasn’t a good guy? My point is—you don’t just leave your daughter to fend for herself in the middle of nowhere.”

I take a deep breath.

A small part of me wondered about that too. Papa objected to it at first, but he was way too eager to leave the estate. To leave me behind.

“Do you think that…maybe…” I fiddle with my necklace. Leo gave it to me as a promise. That he will come back for me.

My sister finishes my thought for me. “Do I think that Papa really tried to steal that diamond?”

Her eyes flit to the diamond pendant.

I shake my head, not wanting to jump to conclusions. “He wouldn’t.”

“He could,” Julie shrugs. “He’s desperate, Belle. He owes people money. He might have gotten desperate.”

I don’t want to hear it.

Papa is all we have. I don’t want to believe that he would steal from someone, and then leave me behind when he got caught.

“He wouldn’t do that,” I say. Even as I say it, it doesn’t sound convincing to my own ears.

“He’s been acting different,” mumbles Julie.

“Different how?”

“Didn’t you notice how he never called you when you were away? Not even to ask if you were doing okay?”

I remain quiet.

She has a point. Papa only called me once in the two months I was away.

“That’s because he’s guilty, Belle. He knows that what he did was wrong. And now, that guilt is eating him up.”

“It can’t be-“ I break off mid-sentence, the words dying on my lips.

I can’t get myself to even think about it, much less say it.

“It’s not just that,” she sighs. “He’s away a lot. I don’t know where he goes, but he has a frantic gleam in his eyes when he comes back.”

“Okay?”

“He’s just been acting very strange. He’s up to something, I know it.”

We’re both quiet for a moment.

“Do you really believe that he’s guilty?” I whisper, fingers toying with the diamond that started it all.

She turns to face me. “Honestly? I don’t know what to think, Belle. It’s been a weird couple of weeks.”

I rest my hands on my belly. I don’t want to bring the baby into a world of lies and betrayal.

“Jules, can I ask you something?”

“If you must,” she says, rolling over to her side and propping herself up on an elbow.

“Do you think that I’m strange?”

Her eyebrows knit together. “Where is this coming from?”

“Everything,” I shrug. “I want things that seem silly to other people.

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