Page 43 of Unspoken Obsession

I am living three secret lives that I've got to keep separate, and it's overwhelming me with worry.

In one life I am a mother. This is the real me. The me I would never give up. The version of me I wish I could be all the time with no worry.

In the other life, I am a daughter on the run - trying to protect her child from a father who might claim the boy as an heir and steal him away. If my father did that, I would have no power to stop him, and that thought terrifies me more than anything else in the world.

In my third life, I am Frankie - the mysterious card counter, who has met the man of her dreams and wants to explore all the amazing things that path might lead to.

I want to get close to him, and I want him to see the real me. But the real me - and the girl who counts cards at the casino - are not the same person.

Will he even like the real me - the single mother with more baggage than Louis Vuitton?

I need to get out of here.

My head is crammed full of stress and worry. I've got to clear my mind.

I catch an Uber to the casino, hoping it will stop the goons from tailing me, but they've caught on now, and at least half the time they follow me even when I don't take my car.

At the casino, I want to just focus on the game and nothing else, but I scan the crowd for Dan. The chances of seeing him are so low. I mean he isn't even staying at this casino. He's staying somewhere else. Why would he be here - there is no reason for it? There isn't a big game on or something to watch.

I sigh and turn my attention back to the cards. I am not even focused enough to follow what is going on. I'm not even counting.

I take a deep breath. Start again. Relax. Clear your mind.

An impossible wish. A clear mind.

"Hit me." I tap the table and the dealer places a card in front of me. Shit. I need to pay more attention. I'm losing and not on purpose.

The next time he deals I am hyper focused.

And before long I am back in the rhythm of the game, relaxed. The worries about my father, and whether Dan would be interested in me if he found out the truth - they all slip away and all that matters is the cards - the game - the focus.

DANTE

My phone buzzes late at night, pulling me from some really deep thoughts that I've been lost in for ages. I am home, trying to relax after a long day at work. My mind's stuck on Frankie. She hasn't called or messaged since our flight to Sierra Nevada, and I am trying so hard to give her the space she needs - for whatever is going on in her life.

But it's getting harder every day and each time I pick up my phone, I open her chat window - ready to message her or hoping to see a message from her I somehow missed.

Tonight has been no different. And now I am standing out on my balcony with a whiskey hoping it will numb my mind enough that I can get some sleep.

The sound of my phone buzzing sets my heart racing and I rush over to pick it up - hopeful that it might be her.

My heart sinks when I see Lorenzo's name.

Lorenzo: Sir, she is at the casino - the card counter. Do you want me to do anything?

I hold my breath. Should I go there? Would it be weird? It would. It would be too obvious if I showed up just after she arrived.

No, I need to stay away.

She doesn't know I own that casino - or even what my real name is. She only knows me as Dan. But I only know her as Frankie - so I shouldn't feel guilty about that.

I clench my jaw, it is aching from the tension. I pace up and down the balcony with my phone gripped in my hand.

Finally, I message Lorenzo back after arguing with myself for a moment. Half of me wants to see her. The other half knows it is a terrible idea.

Me: No, leave her to play. But let's arrange another big game. And this time we will follow her, regardless of any other men tracking her. We need to find out where she is staying. In the meantime—try to slip a tracker into her handbag if you can. We haven't been able to follow her, but a tracker will be just as effective.

I need to step up my efforts to figure out who she really is.

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