Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 97525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
One day, I will deserve her. One day, I will fully fix myself and prove to her that it has been worth it. I will spend every ounce of effort getting to that day.
We went to the police on the night I remembered Sheila’s death. I told them about the man, his tattoos, the location of his house. We drove by and found it, my memory of that day now painfully clear, as if the decades left it untouched and brand new, in a secret corner of my mind. I had hoped for an arrest, but the officer informed me that the past owner of the home, a man named Nick Coppen, had died six years after Sheila's disappearance. Evidence found in his home had implicated him in multiple unsolved cases. I left that station lighter than I had entered it, Layana’s hand tight and strong in mine.
My journey in this relationship hasn’t been as difficult as hers, but there were times I struggled. Thank God I didn’t walk away when I suspected an affair. Thank God my heart kept an iron grip on her and wouldn’t let me move. The frustration, the unknowing, the jealousy… it was grueling, but reinforced one of the first things I said to her: ‘It was worth it as soon as I saw you.’
And it was. It was more than worth it.
It was the start of my life, the day my heart started beating.
Epilogue
It is all her fault. I knew she was trouble, I should have worked harder, done more, increased Brant's meds until he broke and scared her away. Had she not appeared, wormed her way into his life, then everything would be fine. Going according to plan. BSX strong, Brant and I leading it into the next millennium. Whores keeping him satisfied, the meds keeping him productive. His other personalities weren't hurting anyone; they had been keeping to themselves. Life had been good, all due to my hard work and planning. Nothing in life is given; everything is earned or taken. I earned a great deal. Took the pieces I couldn't earn. And I had reaped the rewards, as had Brant. He would have nothing without me. How could he forget that? How could he let her blind him to that fact?
I need to separate them. Because of Layana, my own sister won't speak to me, won't visit. Because of Layana, I have been kicked out of BSX like a criminal, my titles stripped, any authority I once had revoked. I built that business, slaved over it for two decades. Poured my hopes and dreams into the building's foundation, only to be locked out. If I separate them, I'll have another chance. To speak to him. Get him back to his true potential. The drugs will do that. I can help him do that. Assemble the old team. Rehire Dr. F Rehire Molly. Maybe she can dive into Brant's brain and pull Lee back out, even if she did fail horribly with babysitting him the first time. Yes, with proper planning, intelligent design, it can all be made right again. It has to be made right again. I can't continue in this life as it is. I have nothing. I have no one.
And she … she has everything.