Snow Carr Northridge
I woke up around past 7 and almost immediately, I got a text from Royalty, telling me to come down for breakfast. I brushed my teeth, washed my face and changed into a free baby blue gown which stopped just below my knees. I packed my hair into a messy bun and applied lipgloss to keep my lips from getting dry.
I walked towards the table Royalty indicated in her text message and I stopped short when I saw Ian sitting at the table. He is back?, Oh well, duh. YES!, he is back.
"Good morning" I greeted everyone and saw that they all left the seat beside Ian empty, for me obviously. I nervously sat beside him and he gave me a small nod. Well well, what was I expecting?.
"How was your night?" Dad asked and I answered. We all fell into some sort of conversation about tourist attractions in Florida and well, Leanne was really cracking us up bad. How is a pizza place a tourist attraction?.
"Oh come on. Every single tourist in the whole of Florida must have had at least a box of pizza in that place. We should really go there, it's remarkable" She said and we all rolled our eyes.
"How did you know about this?" I asked and her cheeks warmed up a bit and she took a bite out of her sausage.
"Leannnnnneee" Royalty stressed her name and she raised her hands in mock surrender, muttering something about us always pestering her.
"Seven. Seven told me alright?" She said and all of us who knew about seven stared at her wide eyed.
"Who or what is Seven?" Mum asked and Savannah chuckled loudly. That girl!
"Well apparently, Seven is your soon to be son-in-law" Savannah said and Leanne threw a sausage at her.
"Don't mind her mum. Sev is just a friend" she said and I raised my brow. Sev?, Nick name basis now?.
"Less than 24 hours and you are already on Nick name basis. Pray tell, what does he call you?. Lee?, Anne?, leelee?" I asked and everyone laughed.
"Oh shut up Snow. I bumped into him this morning" She said and we all knew she was saying the truth but heeey, where's the fun in letting things go just like that.
Before anyone could say something, someone else arrived at our table and I was surprised to see the British guy from yesterday. My myy
"We meet again" he said, directing it at me and I smiled a little. Everyone had their eyes on me.
"Pardon my bad manners. Good morning everyone" He said and everyone replied. Everyone, except my dearest husband who was giving the guy an undefinable look.
"My name is Peter Callahan. I bumped into this beautiful woman yesterday and I just wanted to come say hi again. How are you all enjoying your stay at the hotel?" He asked.
"The hotel is nice. Your name sounds familiar" Dad said and he gave him a courteous grin.
"Oh yes. This hotel is mine." He said and my jaw dropped. Well well, this is grand isn't it. A billionaire man who is also rich is looks and even richer in accent. Too bad I'm married.
"Oh. You have a very lovely hotel Mr Callahan" Mum said and he bowed courteously.
"Thanks Your Highness. I was more than surprised to realize a Royal family was coming to stay in my hotel, I didn't want to overdo myself with excitement but I was really dying to meet you. When I bumped into this beautiful lady yesterday and saw her with you this morning, it felt like the Heavens threw me that chance. It's lovely meeting you all" he said with a spark in his eyes.
"It's even lovelier meeting you. You have beautiful eyes...um....for business of course. You know how to sight the perfect locations and create something really nice. This place is magnificent." Leanne said and I had to hide my laughter inside a napkin. Trust Leanne to make a fool of herself.
"Thank you madam. Do enjoy your meal" He said smiling at us all and then directly an extra smile and nod at me. Awww, he's sooo cuuuttteeeee.
"Leanne, when will you stop embarrassing us?" Roland said and Leanne gave him a dirty eye.
"What's so wrong in complimenting his business ethics?" She said rolling her eyes and we all chuckled.
"Yeah. You have beautiful eyes sounds so business-like. You are boy crazy, where are you going to put Sev?. In my opinion, Sev is better looking" I said and Royalty gave me a high five.
"Yeah. Sadly, Sev doesn't have an accent but then again, there's no hope with this Peter guy, he seems to be really into you. No offence Ian" Leanne said and I turned to look an Ian who only rolled his eyes and when he looked at me, I could almost swear he was angry.
The fact that he was angry made me angry!. What did I even do?, is it my fault a guy is into me?, is it any of my fault that Leanne said that?, does he have the right to be mad?. He doesn't own me!.
"Can I see you for a minute?. In our room?" I said to him and before he could reply, I marched to the elevator and when I got into the room, I sat on the bed. Absolutely ready for war.
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"What's your problem?" I asked immediately he entered the room and he looked at me with confusion.
"Don't give me that confused expression. You know what I'm talking about, what the hell is your problem Ian?" I asked poking him in the chest and his once confused eyes caught fire immediately.
"Are you seriously asking me that?. The nerve of you Snow" he said and I was gobsmacked. I'm seriously gonna go Taraji Henson on this guy!!
"Are you kidding me?. Are you kidding meeee?" I said, feeling my anger burn even more.
"What did I do to you Ian?. I have done nothing but care since we got together, I have done nothing but be nice to you. Admittedly, sometimes I cam be stubborn but I have done nothing to deserve your hatred. You have always been mean to me, I have so much memories of you saying things that hurt a lot than memories of you making me feel good and then the one day I felt like things were going to be right between us, the one day I felt it was going to be perfect, you came home looking at me with so much hatred. Why?" I asked in a whisper and I felt tears sliding down my face.
"Let's just say I found out about the real you" he said and it was my turn to wear the confused look.
"Oh come on Snow, don't give me that face. Did you really think I wouldn't know?, did you really think I wouldn't find out about your past?. Even when you couldn't tell Royalty, you thought it would remain forever hidden?." He said and I was even more confused.
"I told you everything. I told you about my parents, about the orphanage?. What else didn't I tell you about?" I asked raising my hands and he let out a cold chuckle.
"You seemed to miss the part about where you worked at a brothel" he said and blood drained from my face and a gasp escaped me.
"Oh well. Look at you, don't be shocked Snow. No dirty secret will be left unopened, you should be grateful you know. I did you a favour, I had to negotiate with the so called rattle snakes just to keep your secret a secret but I am highly disappointed" he said and I swallowed and blinked.
"I didn't" I whispered and he gave me the "oh really?" look and the fact that he didn't even give me a benefit of doubt hurt me a lot.
"You didn't work at a brothel?" He asked and I swallowed. This is all so messed up.
"I did but.."
"That's it Snow. I don't wanna hear it" he said and he was about to walk out but I ran to the door and locked it.
"I won't let you walk out of here with the wrong impression of me. I'm not doing this for you but for my dignity so you better sit down and listen to me" I said hardly and he stared at me for a while before taking his sit on the edge of the bed.
"Start already, would you?" He said and I rolled my eyes at his impatience. Such an impertinent baboon.
"Whatever. I told you I ran away from the orphanage right?. Well I met someone, her name was Amanda. She ran or probably still runs a brothel, she was nice to me, I didn't know why but I was just happy there was someone who liked me, she was like a big sister and a friend. She would buy me clothes, buy me food and do things for me. Being the kind of girl that I am, I hated being dependent so I asked her to allow me do something to repay her. After much pleading, she agreed to hire me as a cleaner. I started to clean the rooms and the kitchen, sometimes when the kitchen needs another hand, I'll assist in the cooking since she also ran a mini restaurant. I did a lot of things, overworked myself even but I didn't mind. She gave me a roof over my head, food and cloth. She took care of my basic amenities and I was satisfied, working for her wasn't anything compared to the satisfaction I found in her caring hands...things were going fine until I started getting some unexpected knocks and visits in room. Men coming to my room to tell me Amanda directed them over to me. I confronted Amanda and she told me she was tired of feeding me, she told me I wasn't doing anything yet she was taking care of me and that I was a liability. She told me she had already collected a good amount of money from the men and that I would have to work to earn my stay ... I was shattered, I allowed one man in, tied him up and beat him black and blue. I vented out my frustration on him and when I was done, I ran through the window, taking nothing of what she gave me save the 50 dollars I had left... And that's when I met your sister " I said and he sat there, staring at me.
"I met Amanda" he said and my eyes widened. How did Amanda manage to meet him?, who planned all of this?.
"She told me everything up to the point where you started working as a cleaner but the story changed. She said you wanted more, she said you were not content with being a cleaner so you started your own brothel on the side, collecting money from men and sleeping with them. When she found out , she said she confronted you and you got scared and ran away through the window" he said and I gasped.
"That little witch. That's a lie!. I would never ever trade my body for money!. I have hands, I have been though the worst of it all and I have discovered how valuable my hands are. I have done everything justifiable to survive and I would rather die than trade myself for money" I said, shaking with anger...all of a sudden my anger was redirected from Amanda to Ian.
"So you believed her?. Ian, I thought you knew me?, I thought I had proved myself to you. I would never accept help from anyone unless I did something in return!" I said and he shrugged.
"You give something in return in prostitution too" he said and I blinked. Did he just say that?, did he really just utter those words from his mouth?
"Oh...wow. Well, thank you for believing a slut over me and thank you so much for helping me maintain my image. I guess we're done here. You're entitled to what you believe but just so you know. I will not be treated like trash over something that isn't my fault!." I stated and turned towards the entrance.
I was fumbling with the keys when I felt Ian's presence behind me. Boy, was I mad?. Anger was eating me up and I wanted to scream. When his hands touched my shoulder, I turned to him and started hitting him. I threw punches at him, slapped his chest several times, kicked him, insulted him, shouted at him and he pulled me closer, I kept hitting him till my hands hurts and then I started crying.
"I hate you" I mumbled in between tears and he chuckled, how could he even laugh.
"I'm serious, I really hate you" I said getting out of his arms and staring up at him with my teary eyes.
"But you already hit me several times...and they really hurt. You have the hands of a man" he said and I scowled.
"I deserved it though. I'm such an idiot Snow and I admit it but you can't blame me, the thought of you with another man drives me insane. It drives me crazy and it stops me from thinking, it blocks all my rationality and nothing seemed to make sense after the conversation with Amanda and when she brought proof, I was blind with fury. I'm sorry Snow" he said and I scowled even deeper but my heart was warm. Too warm.
"You could have asked me" I said and he shrugged.
"Hearing you admit it would have made matters worse, I still held on to a very tiny ray of hope, so tiny but enough to make me want to believe everything was a lie." He said and I rolled my eyes.
"You treated me like you had no hope in me at all, you treated me like I meant nothing to you and when I told you I was pregnant, you still treated me like trash" I said and regret was evident in his eyes.
"I'm sorry Snow. I was mad, it was still raw, the anger was fresh and overwhelming but I was happy. I know what I said that day was very low, too low of me but I didn't mean it. I really didn't mean it and I beat myself up every time I think about it" he said and I smiled and my hands instinctively raised to touch his face.
"I understand. I'd be mad too if it was me" I said and he smiled and held me by the waist and pulled me close.
"So tell me Mrs Northridge, how do I make it up to you?" He said and I giggled. I never giggle except well, except Ian is involved. I love the way he makes me feel like a woman.
"I don't know. You have to think of that all by yourself" I said and he smirked at me and pulled me even closer till our faces were dangerously close.
"I think I know where to start" he said and pressed his lips to mine. I kissed him back with fervor and matching intensity, pouring out all of my relief and pent-up emotions into it.
He raised me up against himself till my legs were around his waist and he pressed me even closer to himself, my hand found its way into his hair and they were so impossibly soft and perfect. Just like his kisses.
"You drive me crazy Snow. Wether I'm talking to you or not, you still manage to drive me insane. I don't know what to do with you" I murmured against my lips and before I could reply, he kissed me again. This time, the desire was evident, the want was too real, it was almost palpable. I almost exploded with happiness upon realizing the feeling wasn't one-sided, it was very much mutual.
"I think we should go down before Leanne or Savannah come banging the door on us. Everyone's probably wondering where we are by now" I said, although I really didn't want to leave this position. It was bliss but I had to, we left everyone at the table.
"Ugh. Fine but not before this" he said and let me go, once I was on my feet, he knelt down and kissed my belly. I was weak to my knees, hell, down to my toes.
"Thank you Snow. Thank you for carrying my child" He said once he was up from his feet and on instinct, I raised on my toes and kissed him. I just love this man way too much for my own good.
"Snow, if you don't let go right now, we might never make it down before breakfast is over and everyone gets tired of waiting for us" He said chuckling and it was my turn to groan.
"Whatever" I said and with my hands in his, we proceeded downstairs to continue breakfast but I was already too full. Way too full!
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