“What’s this about ‘freedom’? You have more freedom than most girls your age. Do you want to be working two jobs to put yourself through school? Do you want to live with three roommates you can barely stand? Because that’s what it’s like out there for everyone else. Everyone not so privileged to be Bianca Black, spoiled heiress at large.”
Bianca bit back a sigh. “I know how lucky I am. I just want to feel normal for once in my life.”
“We can discuss this later.” Vivianne held her hands up in faux surrender. “Tell you what—I’ll think about you going to California if you think about staying here in Seattle.”
“Fine.” There was no point arguing any further. She wasn’t going to get through to her mother tonight. But Bianca doubted that her mother was actually going to ‘think about it.’ Her concessions were always lies. Just like her promises to stop barging into Bianca’s apartment without knocking.
Her mother’s phone rang. “I’ll take this outside. I’m expecting an important call.” Yet when she stood up and glanced at her phone, she didn’t answer it. Instead, she froze in place.
“What is it?” Bianca asked.
The pallor on her mother’s face was soon replaced with a reassuring smile. “It’s nothing. I simply have so many things going on right now. Forgive me if I’m a little scatterbrained.”
Bianca studied her intently. “Does this have to do with that security threat you talked about? What’s going on?”
“I said it’s nothing.” Still not answering her phone, Vivianne hurried to her daughter’s front door. “I need to get going. I’ll contact Ms. Reddy and tell her to come up and see me after dinner tonight so we can discuss things.”
With a brief farewell, she left Bianca’s apartment.
The silence that returned to the room was almost welcomed. Except Bianca was so restless with frustration and unfulfilled promises that she immediately got up from her couch and began pacing across her living room.
Everyone tried to control her. Her mom. Sam. Scarlett and Parker, to lesser extents. Everyone thought they knew what was best for the baby of the family. By the time Scarlett was her age, their father was training her to take over the family company and practically considered her an important business partner, and Parker had been running around getting in more trouble than a prison inmate. At her age, both of her sisters had known the kind of freedom that Bianca only dreamed of.
And they were never watched as closely as Bianca, who now had an actual bodyguard. Who never let Bianca out of her sight. Who was as irresistible as she was infuriating.
Who would be occupied tonight meeting with Bianca’s mom…
Right now, true freedom was out of her reach. But perhaps Bianca could come up with a way to have a taste of it, for just one night, her family and Sam be damned.
And maybe, in the process, she could find a way to distract herself from her domineering bodyguard.