Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 60965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
She thinks she’s ruined, but she’s perfect. It’s my sins and secrets that could destroy us both. I’ll never let them come to light. Not now that I have something worth fighting for.
Julia
Present day
I’m caught between my need to run away and the need to know the truth. I need the truth from him. No more secrets; no more lies.
He promised.
He loves me.
There’s just no way.
“Did you do it?” The question leaves me in a single weak breath and in an instant, something snaps into place. It’s as if he’s not at all shocked by what I’m saying. As if he’s been waiting for this.
No. My body turns to ice; my blood freezes in my veins and I can’t believe this is reality. It can’t be true.
Mason takes a step forward, starting to move around the island and it breaks me from my denial.
It’s my cue to run, a natural instinct that takes over. The stool falls hard, crashing to the floor as I take off, but Mason’s faster, grabbing my waist and jerking me backward. I cry out from fear and he releases me, only for me to fall onto the tiles at my feet. His large frame towers over me, and he puts his hands up as though he’s approaching a wild animal. I feel like I am just that. Eyes wide as I stare up at him, my heart pounds painfully in my chest. Thump, thump, thump.
“Did I do what?” he asks with a coldness I haven’t seen before and his eyes narrowed. This isn’t the man I know.
My bottom lip trembles, the small bit of strength I had vanishing as I take in the raw truth. “Did you kill my husband?”
The words leave me in agony as they hover in the tense air between us.
I can’t believe I even asked him that. Deny it. Please deny it. Tell me I’m a fool. And this, whatever this is, it’s something that’s already over and never happened.
Mason stands up straight, giving me enough space so that my breath can come back to me, but my lungs refuse to fill until he answers me.
“They think they can do whatever they want,” Mason says, still standing over me as he snatches the paper from where it lays on the floor. I didn’t even realize I’d dropped it.
No. That’s not what he should be saying right now.
“Your husband wasn’t a good man,” Mason adds lowly, his eyes piercing me before flicking back to the paper. He crumples it in his fist as a cold sweat spreads across my skin.
“No.” It’s all I can say. “You didn’t.” I try to say more but it’s in vain as my throat dries up and constricts. I don’t know if it’s the shock or if I’m just that pathetic. I didn’t fall for a murderer. Mason couldn’t—
“I did.” Mason’s confession makes me light-headed, and a sickness churns in my gut.
My heart twists with a pain that’s unbearable as I crawl away quickly, trying to escape. I slip against the ground, crashing hard to the cold, unforgiving floor.
“No!” I scream at him, leaving a strangled cry to linger between us. It’s only then that I even register I’m crying.
I try again to run, managing to get to my feet this time and the foyer is so close as I stumble out of the kitchen. I call out for help, although I doubt anyone could hear us. Not here inside Mason’s home. I practically slam into the front door, but Mason’s right behind me.
With one hand on the door and one on the knob, his hard body presses against mine, trapping me between him and my only escape.
His large body cages me in. I’m left facing the door, barely able to stand or breathe. “You were never supposed to know,” he whispers. I shrink beneath him, the weight of the reality crashing down on me. “I’m sorry.”
I’ve fallen in love with my husband’s killer. I’ve slept with him and given him everything.
“I’m not going to hurt you, Jules.” His warm breath sends shivers down my back as he adds, “But I can’t let you leave.”
Julia
The only thing you need to worry about is remembering my name. Just my name and what I've done to you tonight.
Mason whispered those words so close to my ear, sending a shiver of want through my body. It was everything I desired when I met him. He made that promise to me the first night, and I so easily fell into his bed.
I’d been so desperate to feel anything but the heartache and misery I’d succumbed to.
If only I could take it back.
If only I’d known this man was the cause of my pain.
Anger seethes inside me as I stare at him across the other side of his bedroom, where he’s sitting in the corner. His elbows rest on his thighs as he hunches over the edge of the reading chair with his head in his hands. His fingers run back and forth along the back of his head as if there’s a thought inside his mind he can’t quite reach.