Page 27 of Dirty Grovel

She’s got on a full face of makeup, but no matter how hard I squint, I can’t see a bruise hiding underneath.

Which means it’s more likely that she was simply bored and decided to paint her face up to while away the time.

“Have you gone shopping recently?”

“Uh… no. Been busy.”

“Then what have you been doing?” Sydney asks, her eyes darting to the side again. “Because I can recommend some good online st— Oh, thank fuck!”

“He’s gone?”

“Patrick.” She nods. “He’s actually pretty decent, but I don’t want to risk him overhearing anything he’s not supposed to.”

“Good call. Is he gone now?”

“Yup, lunch break. I’ll see him next when he opens the door for the maid to bring in my dinner.”

“Jesus Christ, Syd. You need to get out of there!”

“Funny, I was going to say the same to you.” She lifts an eyebrow. “But by the looks of those fancy digs, staying put is probably what’s best for you.”

“It’s… complicated,” I sigh.

“Let me guess—you’re with Oleg,” she guesses. “And he’s got you cocooned away in some fancy ass villa in Nassau.”

I wince. “Am I that predictable?”

“No, I’ve just had a lot of experience,” she clarifies. “For the record, you look good.”

I honestly wish I could return the compliment. “I’m being treated well, I suppose,” I acknowledge grudgingly.

Sydney tosses me a skeptical look. “That wasn’t very convincing.”

I decide to bite the bullet instead of doing more of this awkward dancing around the point. “Syd, I’m pregnant.”

There’s three seconds of silence. For a moment, I think her screen has frozen on me.

Then she screams.

“Ahh! You’re fucking with me.”

I shake my head. “I really wish I were but no, I am fully preggo. And yes, Oleg is the father. Except that he doesn’t believe he is because that asshole, Drew, got in his head.”

“Wait—he thinksDrewis the father?”

“He thinks it’s a possibility.”

“Ew.”

“My sentiments exactly. But I know I won’t be able to convince him otherwise, so I’m not gonna bother. He does want me to take a paternity test, though.”

“Do it,” she says immediately. “And then you can lord it over him for the rest of your lives.”

“‘Rest of our lives’?” I repeat incredulously. “Please.”

“You are having a child with him, aren’t you?” Sydney points out. “That’s kind of a lifetime commitment, love.”

The moment she voices the reality, it hits me like a ton of bricks.

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