Total pages in book: 18
Estimated words: 18000 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 90(@200wpm)___ 72(@250wpm)___ 60(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 18000 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 90(@200wpm)___ 72(@250wpm)___ 60(@300wpm)
Words like his are something I've only heard in my prayers and dreams. I can't recall any living human saying ever anything nice to me, and I just don't know what to do or say.
"You bought me time, and it was just enough for my team to locate me. I didn't want to leave you, but I also knew staying too long without a plan wouldn't solve anything. So I had to make a choice. I asked a couple of my men to stay behind on a neighboring island, undercover. I knew even then I'd come back for you."
My heart is racing like mad, and I wrap my arms around Pluto and bury my face in his fur to hide my confusion. Everyone on the island has either ignored or mistreated me. Am I truly allowed to believe that my husband means every word he's said?
Ghosts from my past start crawling into my mind. They're from that part of my life when I was still lost and in despair, and they're all whispering tauntingly into my ear.
He lied to you, and he could lie to you again.
Maybe he's still after something, and he thinks you're the key to it.
You are still the daughter of one of the world's most powerful and dangerous criminals.
Do you really think that wouldn't matter to a high-ranking agent like him?
Logic tells me it would be the height of insanity to trust anything he says.
Just look at your own father.
I was his Trojan horse when he signed the peace treaty.
But he had every intention of breaking his word from the start.
So who's to say your husband isn't the same?
"You don't have to be afraid of me, Eden."
His quietly spoken words startle me, and my heart and mind are immediately at war the moment I find myself gazing into his eyes.
All I can see is gentleness and tenderness.
Honor and truth.
Please help me, God.
My heart wants so badly to believe this is all real, but...
"I thought I understood everything," I say shakily, "when all I knew was that you were Dauphin Tueur."
"I gave you my real name from the start," he reminds me.
"But only because you knew I wouldn't recognize it."
A glimmer of a smile curves over his lips. "Touché."
"So why then?" I blurt out. "If you were just another mafioso, then the treaty you had signed with my father would make absolute sense. You spare his life. He gives you monthly tributes in return."
"That's what we supposedly agreed on, oui."
My heart sinks.
Supposedly, he says.
Does that mean he also hadn't any intention of keeping his word from the start?
"But we both know that contract will never be enough to bind your father."
I bite my lip in frustration. I feel like something keeps getting lost in translation, but what?
"My men were extremely good at documenting your every move. I had them reporting to me several times a day. I wanted to know everything you were doing."
"Why?"
"Because I wanted to understand why you chose to save me." A ghost of a smile twists over his lips. "I kept thinking there had to be a catch, but the more I watched you, the less I understood. They told me about the times you had to hide in order to cry without being seen, and I've never felt more murderous. But every time they told me these things, I also felt as if I was going crazy, and I found myself wondering if you've somehow realized you're being watched, and you were putting on a show. Nothing about you made sense."
Same here, I can't help thinking. Because nothing about him has made any sense, and so I've also been waiting for the penny to fall ever since he made me his wife.
"You were an enigma...and it made me angry."
He sees my eyes widen at his words, and his lips twist in another humorless smile.
"I convinced myself at first it was because I couldn't figure you out, which my pride balked at. I didn't like the idea of being hoodwinked by some island girl."
My heart shrivels a little at how he's described me. Does he still think of me that way?
"But then I got wind of your father's plans."
"What plans?"
His jaw clenches. "He wanted to marry you off to the highest bidder, and I knew then that I had to make plans of my own."
It's my first time to hear this, and even though I know my father's plans are a moot point by now, my body still shudders at the idea of being married off to someone else.
God, oh God.
Pluto tenses against me, and I quickly pull back and muster up a smile to let him know he has nothing to worry about. Dogs aren't called man's best friend for nothing, but more so for Pluto and his brothers.
I'm not sure if it's because of the violence they've been forced to witness and participate in, but I've noticed how they've become more and more attuned to the slightest change in my emotions. They know the difference between sadness and despair, and their devotion to me has only grown over the years. They'd die for me if they thought it would make me happy. I feel exactly the same way about them, and that's why...