Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 37517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 188(@200wpm)___ 150(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 188(@200wpm)___ 150(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
I love him with every fiber of my being. My soul is his. Not because fate demanded it. Not because the curse tied me to him. Not even because the magic in Fable Forest is potent and raw. It's his because I've never felt more alive than I do with him. Because, for the first time in my life, I know what it's like to be truly free.
Here, I'm not a princess, bound by duty. I'm not a Rosewood, shackled by a curse. I'm simply a woman, desperately in love. When I left my kingdom, I thought I was running from something, but I wasn't. I was running to something. I was running to him and to this.
I have to tell him the truth. Even if he decides he no longer wants me, he deserves to know. He deserves the same choice I had, the same freedom he's given me. I have to give him that. That's what love is. It's choice. It's freedom.
"Troy, I…"
"I've gotta go, angel," he says at the same time and then pauses. "Did you need something?"
"No," I say quickly, swallowing back my confession. Now isn't the time to tell him. I don't want it to be on the phone when I spill my secrets, with miles separating us. I want him to be in front of me so I can see his face—so he can see mine. When I tell him everything, I want him to know that I love him, that I choose him, and that I understand if he can't choose me, too.
"I'll be home soon," he promises. "Be ready for me."
"Okay," I whisper. "Be safe."
"Always, angel."
Three hours later, I'm still wide awake when the front door opens. He's home. My stomach quivers with anticipation, my core clenching.
I close my eyes, rolling onto my back. The sheet slips, but I pull it all the way up to my neck, intent on teasing him a little. He said he wanted me naked and ready. He can squirm, wondering if I complied. It'll do him good. He's so commanding, so tyrannical sometimes.
It drives him crazy in the best way when I disobey or work around his orders to creatively defy him. I don't think anyone ever tells him no. Anyone except me, anyway. I run when he says not to do it. I come when he says don't. I suck when he says lick. And I watch his restraint unravel bit by bit with every order I defy.
I breathe deeply, listening to him move around the house, trying to stay completely still as he creeps closer to the bedroom.
My body is already on fire, aching for him and what he's going to do to me. God. I always ache for him. He's an addiction—powerful and potent.
The bedroom door creaks open.
My heart thuds against my ribcage.
I listen for a long moment, waiting for the sound of his steps or his voice calling out to ask if I'm awake. When neither comes, I crack my eyes open just a tiny fraction to see what he's doing.
My heart stalls in my chest.
The man standing in the doorway, illuminated by the light of the fire, isn't Troy. He's tall and imposing, dressed in all black. Locks of blond hair fall over his forehead. His green eyes gleam with malice.
A sudden, deafening explosion reverberates through the room. Wood splinters inches from my head.
I scream, rolling from the bed with the sheet clutched to my chest. My heart races, every wild beat knocking against my breastbone in jarring thuds. The air is thick with the smell of gunpowder and fear.
The sound of my own panicked breathing fills the air as I try to make sense of what just happened.
"Don't move," he growls, pointing the gun at me.
Oh my god.
My entire body trembles, terror coursing through me in a flood.
God. Why did I let Troy go? Why didn't I beg him to stay with me?
Where is he?
"Please," I plead, more afraid than I've ever been in my life. "Please, don't hurt me. I'll go with you. I'll go back home if t-that's what my father wants. Just don't hurt me."
"Your father?" The man laughs, the cold sound sending a chill through me. "I don't give a fuck about your father, sweetheart. You're a problem Stonehaven can't afford. I'm here to fix it."
Stonehaven?
"I…" Terror claws at my mind—at my throat. Confusion swirls through me in a black cloud.
"Troy is done with you, effectively immediately."
Troy.
Oh, God. No. Please, no.
"T-Troy sent you?" His name shakes on my lips.
The intruder hesitates for a second and then nods. "Yes."
My world shatters into a million jagged pieces as I struggle to comprehend the betrayal. I thought I knew what heartbreak felt like, but I was wrong. This is heartbreak. It's complete devastation, ripping through me like a bomb blast. It hurts everywhere—every atom, every cell—all the way to my very core.