I tried to push the thought aside as I walked down the stairs and made my way to the dining room. The house seemed less creepy during the day. But before I reached the dining room, I glanced over my shoulder. It really felt like someone was watching me. I ignored the shiver down my spine and walked into the room.
Mr. Pruitt was sipping a cup of coffee. He stopped mid-sip and looked up at me, a smile stretching across his face. Is was the most genuine smile I’d seen on him. “Good morning, Brooklyn.”
Was it a good morning? He’d kidnapped me. He’d kicked his family out of the apartment last night. Nothing about this situation was good. “Um…good morning.” It came out as more of a question.
He gestured to the buffet spread out on the table. “Help yourself. I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I had the chef make quite a bit. I hope you’re hungry.”
I was starving. All I’d eaten last night was ice cream. And before that? I hadn’t had an appetite. So there was no way I could turn down this feast. I sat down and piled my plate full of fresh fruit, bacon, scrambled eggs, fluffy waffles, and syrup. I pushed the eggs into the syrup.
“Your mom liked syrup on her eggs too.”
I looked up at him. “Yeah. She did.” I wasn’t sure why it surprised me that he knew that. Clearly he did know her. My mom never made it sound like a one-night stand or anything. I was pretty sure she’d been in love with him. Had he felt that too? “You painted my room yellow.”
“You never told me what color you preferred. And it was your mother’s favorite. I took a gamble. If you want to change it…”
“No. I love it.” I tried not to wince. Loving my new jail cell wasn’t exactly the right thing to say. I still wanted to leave. But I did have a million questions for him. And right now seemed like the perfect opportunity. There was only one that really mattered though. “You could have reached out to me my whole life. Why’d you wait until now?”
“Your existence only just came to my attention.”
What? That was a lie. “My mom told me that you didn’t stick around after you found out that she was pregnant. I know that you knew about me.”
“Yes, but I gave her money to take care of it. And then I never heard from her again.”
It? I wasn’t an it. Of course he never heard from her again. She wanted me. I was never an it to her. “You never thought of following up? To make sure you didn’t have another kid out there?”
“I was married. It was complicated. And I had no reason to assume she didn’t go through with the abortion when I gave her the proper funds.”
How could he talk about it so nonchalantly? He’d tried his best to get rid of me. Didn’t he see how fucked up this situation was? Why would he think I’d want to be here with him? I tried to focus so I could get the rest of the answers I needed from him. “Did she know that you were married?”
He shook his head. “No. Not until the last time I saw her.”
When you told her to get rid of me. I took a deep breath. I’d never think differently of my mother, but it was nice to know that she didn’t know he was married. If she had known…that would have been a lot harder to swallow. She was the only role model I ever had. And I didn’t want my memories of her to be tainted by…him. God, how had she loved him? I couldn’t see it. My mom had been so full of life. And Mr. Pruitt was…cold and cruel. “So if you didn’t want me, why am I here?”
“Because you’re mine.”
“I’m not yours. That’s the whole point. You didn’t want me. And even if you’ve changed your mind, you can learn about me over dinner once a week or something. I don’t need to live here.”
“I’m trying to protect you.”
“I don’t need to be protected. Please just let me go back to the Alcaraz’s place.”
He shook his head. “I can’t let you live there. Ah. Here, your presents have arrived.”
One of the bodyguards I didn’t know came out with a big wrapped package complete with a huge bow on top. He placed it down in front of me on the table.
Did he seriously think he could buy my love? “I really don’t need anything else. Honestly, you can return all those clothes upstairs. I already have everything I need.”
“Nonsense. You like your new clothes. Or else you wouldn’t be wearing them. Besides, you need these things. Just open it.”
I stared at the gift like it was toxic. I shouldn’t have put on this stupid outfit. It didn’t matter how soft the sweater was or how good it looked. Putting it on made him think I wanted something from him. I didn’t. “Really, it’s…”