Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 156392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 782(@200wpm)___ 626(@250wpm)___ 521(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 156392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 782(@200wpm)___ 626(@250wpm)___ 521(@300wpm)
My mouth parts and I’m surprised I don’t explode like a box of dynamite.
Who is this person? He’s not the Eli I know.
This is definitely not the Eli who accused me of cheating on him and claimed me like an animal less than an hour ago.
However, when he says, “Sleep well, Mrs. King,” I do just that, the bitterness from earlier slowly withering away. I surrender to the darkness, even if it means I’ll have to wake up from this gut-wrenching sweet dream.
22
AVA
It’s not a surprise when I wake up to find myself alone in the vast, cold bed.
For a moment, I believe everything was a cruel dream. However, the soreness between my legs negates that thought.
I did, in fact, lose my virginity to the man I vowed to hate for the rest of my days.
And I loved it.
Kill me now.
Seeing as it’s eight in the morning, I change into the first dress I get my hands on, put on some makeup, and start to run down the stairs.
That’s the worst idea ever. My sore pussy aches and my legs shake with every little movement. So I walk slowly, grabbing onto the handrail for balance like a toddler who’s learning how to walk.
My heart shrinks behind my rib cage when I find only Sam in the kitchen, going about her cleaning rituals.
She doesn’t hide her surprise upon seeing me. “Morning. I didn’t think you’d be up this early. I’ll prepare your smoothie in a minute.”
“It’s fine, I’ll do it myself.” I open the fridge and grab a banana and a bowl of strawberries.
“I insist.” She smoothly pulls them from my hand.
“I can handle a smoothie. I won’t break your precious blender.”
“Doubtful.” She doesn’t even sound sarcastic.
With a sigh, I slide onto one of the stools across from her, cradling my chin on my palm. “Hey, Sam?”
“Yes?” She’s turned away, washing the strawberries and then puts them in the blender.
“Were you the one who bathed me and changed my clothes last night?”
“Who else would it have been?” she says absentmindedly.
My lips part.
She’s lying to my face.
Makes me think about the times she might have concealed the truth from me. Why would she? Why would Eli? He also lied about the rehab.
Additionally, Ari and Mama lied about that and said I decided to get clean, so Eli helped. He didn’t help. He forced me to get clean, and while I’m thankful for the lack of alcoholism in my life, that doesn’t negate how it came to be.
Unless they didn’t know? I wouldn’t be surprised if he hid the facts from them so they wouldn’t interfere with his madness.
Cecy is the only one who said she was just happy I got over it, without providing details.
Why is everyone lying to me?
Frustration bubbles in my veins with the lethality of a ticking bomb.
I’d expect that from my family, from Cecy even, because they all love to be overprotective, but not from Eli. I thought he was the only one who didn’t pity me.
The thought of him being with me, marrying me, just because he decided to be a philanthropist all of a sudden makes me sick.
I’ll lock myself in the psychiatric ward if he so much as feels sorry for me.
I won’t be able to handle it.
Not from him.
Not after everything that’s transpired between us.
I can’t handle feeling small in front of him, of all people.
“Are you sure Eli didn’t help?” I ask Sam with a calm I don’t feel.
The sound of the blender echoes in the air before she stops it and pours the smoothie in my cup, taking her time as if she didn’t hear me.
Finally, she slides the cup in front of me and wipes her hands with a napkin. “What makes you believe that?”
“My memories, maybe.”
Unless…they were my imagination. The thought of that sends a tremor through me and I take a huge gulp of the smoothie to stop myself from hyperventilating.
Are my hallucinations getting more real now? I swear I could feel his hands all over me, his lips on my forehead, his gentle care.
“Please tell me they’re real memories,” I say in a small, panicked voice. “Please, Sam.”
“They are,” she says simply. “He carried you and refused my help to get you to bed.”
“Oh, thank God.” I breathe heavily until my rhythm goes back to normal, then narrow my eyes on her. “In that case, why did you lie?”
“I figured it’d make things simpler.”
“Well, it doesn’t. I want the truth, even if it hurts.” Which, in this case, it doesn’t.
She offers me a small smile, then turns around to disassemble the blender while I wallow in the truth that everything from last night was real.
No idea which I liked better. The sex or everything that followed.
“Did Eli leave early?” I ask.
“Yes.”
As always, Sam doesn’t elaborate and never will even with a gun to her head.