Testing The Limits by Harper Cole Read Free Book Online Page A

What happened with my family was different. It's not like they had any huge wealth they were going to pass down to me, anyway. But that last phone call with my mom seemed to be the final straw.
    It drove me crazy. She'd always trusted me - always believed me - so why, now, would she refuse to accept that Angie had stolen from me? Andrew said it was because I was making her choose between her kids. Well, sorta, I guess. And she'd chosen Angie, because she was there and I was not.
    I guess it was really that simple.
    She called me a few days after we'd had that meal, Andrew and I. He still made out like he was super-unconcerned about it all. I guess he'd made enough money dealing in stocks and all, but still, I figured it would hurt him a little.
    And after that phone call with my mom, I felt so bereft that I knew, then, he must have been hiding his own hurt.
    My mom had been crying almost as soon as we started speaking. It was early morning in the UK so God only knows what time it was for her, and most likely she'd been drinking too. Not that she was a drinker, which made the thought all the more unsettling. She burbled some self-help crap about actualization and determination and finding herself, and how Jack was showing her how to be strong.
    She was already strong, so what the fuck? She went on like this for a while and then, right out of nowhere, said, "So I need to prioritize my own bubble."
    "Say what?"
    She started crying again. "Our relationship has become toxic. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
    And then she hung up.
    I tried to call her back right away but it went on through to voicemail, again and again. As soon as it was a more sensible hour in their time zone, I tried again. In desperation I even tried Angie, but no one picked up.
    I really had been cut off.
    I knew that I was over-dramatizing it a little. I think because it came so close after Leonard and Andrew, I read more into it than perhaps there was. I couldn't help it, though. All my calls went unanswered.
    I couldn't even get through to speak to Andrew.
    By late evening, I was near wild with worry; it all kinda built up into a crazy maelstrom inside me. I just wanted someone to talk to. Anyone. I felt keenly alone in London, and craved just one bit of real human contact with someone who knew me.
    So I did what I always swore I wouldn't do; I jumped in a cab and rode over to Andrew's townhouse. I told myself it wasn't "unannounced" because I'd called him up and left a message. But still, I knew it was the sort of thing that he'd disapprove of.
    Then again - why not? If he wanted to give me a spanking about it, I was down with that.
    The thought thrilled me slightly, but I couldn't sustain my fantasy. I wasn't really in the mood. I paid the cab driver and walked boldly up the steps to Andrew's door, pressing the buzzer before I could change my mind and back down.
    He didn't open the door. Instead I was faced by the kindly figure of Amjad, who looked confused when he saw me.
    "Miss Turner. How can I help you?"
    "Hi. Is Andrew around?"
    "He is not, I am sorry to say. You have his telephone number?"
    "I called him but he's not picking up." I could feel the energy seep out of me, like I was a deflating balloon. I forced my spine to straighten; I would not sag. "Okay. Sorry to have bothered you."
    "It is no bother. Please. Perhaps you would like to come inside?"
    I hesitated. I was tempted, for sure. Amjad smiled, but his eyes were sad. They didn't crinkle up the way they were supposed to when someone smiled for real. "Ahh, thanks but I'd better be going."
    "Listen. Miss Turner, you are a nice woman and you will be a nice wife for someone, but Mr. Walker-Wilkinson is not a man to settle down."
    The last time Amjad had come out all dinosaur on me, I'd been too tired to fight back. This time, I wasn't going to accept it. "Hey. I don't want to be someone's nice wife, you know. Look, I know you mean well and all, but it's not like that. I…" But I trailed off. Amjad did