Page 81 of Wicked Proposal
“Right.” I roll my eyes. “Yessir.” How he manages to be this bossy even through text, I’ll never know. Though I hate to admit, he’s right—this dress is making me feelverygrateful. Leave it to Yulian to have great taste in women’s fashion.
I’m about to pocket my phone when, unexpectedly, another text comes.
P.S.—Check your bank account.
With my heart in my throat, I do.
I click on the app. I put in the password. I wait for the home page to load.
And then I see it.
One hundred. Thousand. Dollars.
Dizzy, I lean on my dresser for support. There’s no way I’m reading it right—there must be a mistake. Either my eyes are starting to go, or my mind is.
But no matter how many times I refresh the page, those zeroes stay.
It’s double what I asked. It’s more than I’ve ever had all at once. It’s…
Kind.I realize that suddenly.This is Yulian’s way of being kind.
Warmth seeps into me. Slow, gradual, undeniable. A thrill fills my chest, the kind you get when luck finally turns your way. When you can let go of that pent-up breath you’ve been holding all your life.
Then I see the transfer note.
To prove how serious I am. —YL
They’re my words. My own words, staring right back at me in Yulian’s curt, bossy style.
“I want an advance,”I’d told him, gathering up all the courage I never had.“To show me how serious you are.”
And there, right there, is the answer.
He’s serious. He’ssofucking serious. He isn’t conning me, isn’t having a laugh at my expenses, isn’t toying with the girl next door.
He’s…
Committed.
To me.
I sit down on the bed and stare into space.
It’s just business,I repeat in my head like a mantra.This thing with Yulian is just business. See that ridiculous amount of money? That’s proof.
“Mommy?” Eli’s tiny voice breaks me out of my reverie. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I rasp. “I’m fine. More than fine, actually.”
Because, finally, I can take care of you.
Eli hauls himself onto my knees. He peers up, his curious gaze boring into mine. “Are you crying?”
“No,” I sniffle, drying my eyes. A little white lie. “Mommy’s just really happy right now.”
“Because of the dress?”
“Yes,” I laugh. “And because of you. You’re the best kid in the world, you know that?” I ruffle his hair.
