Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 61169 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 245(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61169 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 245(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
“Well, I have some things for him that I know he’ll appreciate.”
She brushes past me and into the kitchen.
“Sure, come in, make yourself at home,” I mutter sarcastically.
She drops the bags onto the counter and begins pulling out the contents. She lays photos out on the bench and my heart seizes when I see that those photos are of Jagger and Sharleen. She is truly something else. Nobody in their right mind would do something like this. She’s purposefully trying to show me just how much she hates me, and she’s willing to go to whatever extremes it takes to do that.
“They were so in love until you came along and made him think he wanted something different. If you weren’t around, he would have been with her when she returned.”
I can see the photos clearly now, and the pain digging into my heart is extremely unpleasant. But that’s exactly what she wanted. I try to look away, but I can’t, I can’t stop my eyes zoning in on Jagger and Sharleen looking into each other’s eyes on a beach; she’s in a beautiful white dress and he’s wearing a black shirt and jeans. He’s smiling at her, and I can see pure love in his expression. My jaw grinds as I move onto the next photo in Aunt Satan’s collection.
It’s a photo of Jagger, with his arms wrapped around Sharleen from behind. His face is buried in her shoulder, like he’s breathing in her hair, and I can see his smile. She’s giggling, her head is thrown back, and the wind blows her pretty yellow dress. My heart cracks in half—it just dies a little more. I can’t say I’ve ever seen him like that. Is that the man he was before me? Have I truly brought so much darkness into his world?
“They were so in love, you have no idea.”
“I’d appreciate,” I whisper, “if you would leave now.”
She turns and stares at me, the look on her face is priceless. This woman is making out like she’s done nothing wrong. Her eyes are wide, and she’s shrugging gently.
“Have I offended you somehow?”
“Offended me?” I laugh, bitterly. “Yeah, you’ve offended me alright. Who do you think you are? If you don’t like me, fine, but how dare you come in here and make me feel like this. You’re a cruel, awful woman, and all you’re doing is pushing him further and further away from you. If you love Sharleen so much, how about you go and fucking marry her?”
Her mouth drops open, and the front door opens at the same time. Jagger steps through and stops when he sees her. Then his eyes fall on the pictures and widen.
“What’s this?” he mutters, giving her a look that is almost as unpleasant as mine.
“I won’t be spoken to like this, Johnny,” she gasps, pressing a hand to her chest. “How can you possibly love someone like that? She’s awful.”
I gape. She crosses her arms and tears actually stumble down her cheeks. Oh, for fuck’s sake, now she’s pretending to cry. Jagger walks over and stares down at the pictures for long moments, then looks up at me. I brace myself, sure he’ll be mad at me, but when his icy voice breaks the silence, it’s not directed at me.
“I was a different person back then. These pictures are fake, a photographer forcing something to look natural when it isn’t. I had a woman I cared about, and I married her, but that woman lied to me. You don’t know the half of it. If you did, you’d be in a little less of a hurry to hurt the woman I love now. If you can’t accept that Sharleen and I are over, then you are no longer welcome in my home. If you can accept it, then you need to get over your hate toward Willow, because if you ever treat her like this again, I swear on my soul and everything in it, that you’ll never see me again.”
Mary stares in horror at Jagger. He didn’t raise his voice once but the words were spat out ice coated and deadly. She puts a hand over her heart.
“I raised you, I gave you everything, and this is how you speak to me?”
“I love you, Aunt Mary, you know I do, and I want you in my life, but you have no right to come in here and behave this way. I’m not going to put up with it. The choice is yours.”
“I’m your family,” she gasps, looking genuinely upset now.
“Family don’t treat each other like that. Now, I need you to leave, because I’m in a hell of a mood right now, and I don’t have the patience for this.”
She grips her bag and raises her chin high, acting as though his words haven’t hit her hard, but we both know they have.