The Bride's Unexpected Change in Plans Read Online Free PDF Page B

creep up her cheeks as some of the illegal video footage she’d found on a website on Earth swirled through her brain. She’d never imagined such things were possible until she’d seen them done. It was probably why the morality laws on Earth were so strict. Once she’d seen some of the things that were possible, she’d wanted more than anything to try them.
    Finally after a good ten minutes of contemplating things she knew very little about, Kimberley realized she could hear people talking quietly in a room not far from where she was standing. Uncertain of her welcome, she crept closer to the doorway, hoping that she could hear a little of the conversation before blundering into a situation where she might not be welcome.
    “I’ll talk to my father,” a woman’s voice said carefully, “but I can’t promise anything. It’s a very unusual request.”
    “Well it’s a very unusual situation,” a male voice said. She was pretty sure it belonged to Ewin, the security guard who’d brought her to his home, but then another male voice spoke up.
    “Surely someone has to be held accountable. They left her penniless, Loukie. She has nothing. They’ve left her destitute and they’re just walking away.”
    “I know,” the female voice that she assumed was Loukie said in a sad tone. “I’m not happy about what happened either, but we have to go through the proper channels. Not even the kings can go changing laws without due process, and I doubt they can make it retroactive without a major backlash.”
    “But they—” Whatever the man was going to say was cut off by Loukie.
    “Dayved, I know you’re upset, but I think we have a good chance at changing the law to deal with Desconian couples who treat their mubella or mubellabina so poorly. It won’t help Kimberley, but it should ensure that if it happens again the human woman is treated with respect and given a chance to build a new life without having to return to Earth.”
    “Hell, if the law won’t protect Kimberley then I will. Give me the name of her sponsors. I’ll make certain she is compensated for the way they’ve treated her.”
    “Dayved,” Ewin said in a voice that sounded almost as upset as the other man’s, “we need to follow the law. You can’t just go intimidating someone because you don’t like something they’ve done.”
    “Of course you’d take that attitude,” the other man said in a sad voice. “I just want Kimberley to be looked after.”
    She’d heard enough. She wasn’t an abandoned child. She was a grown woman. She could take care of herself.
    But as she stepped into the area where four people argued her fate, her confidence faltered.
    She was on a planet a very long way from home, surrounded by strangers and left penniless by two people who’d convinced her they’d look after all the details.
    “I…um…” Words escaped her as the reality of her situation started to sink in. Holy hell! How had she let herself be put in a position like this in the first place? Nothing had ever gone her way before. What malicious little demon had possessed her to believe it might work out this time? “I…um…I…please don’t upset Juna and Hollank. They just learned they’re having a baby. I don’t want to ruin that for them.”
    “But what about you?” the man she hadn’t met demanded. “What about your rights? You were brought here under false pretenses. Why are you even defending them? It’s obvious that they didn’t care for you.”
    “Enough,” Ewin growled at the other man. He moved to her side quickly, his arm going around her shoulders as he led her into the room and urged her to take a seat. “This is Loukie and Cindy. I introduced them to you last night. Do you remember?”
    Kimberley nodded, suddenly feeling very shy.
    “And the guy over there,” he said, tilting his head toward the other man in the room, “is my husband, Dayved.”
    She looked over at him and nodded, but she couldn’t quite keep the