Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 118042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 590(@200wpm)___ 472(@250wpm)___ 393(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 590(@200wpm)___ 472(@250wpm)___ 393(@300wpm)
I blinked. “You what?”
“I’ve held them off as long as possible. They’ve wanted to visit ever since I called and told them she was safe here. I’ve been honest with them. They know about her condition. But they don’t know where she’s been or what happened.” His eyes darkened. “I figured that was up to her to tell them…”
His unspoken words hovered between us.
If she ever wakes.
A black pit of despair clawed me. “They’re coming to say goodbye?”
“They’re coming to offer support. I’ve been able to keep them satisfied with regular chats with her doctor, and they haven’t pushed the issue as they have a son who doesn’t like to travel. Apparently, he doesn’t do well in society in general. But…” He shrugged and glanced at the last coils of sunlight. “I think it’s for the best that they come. Perhaps hearing their voices will help her wake—”
“You’re doubting how she feels about me? You’re saying she’s staying asleep because I never leave her side?”
Shit, that hurt.
It magnified all my own fears and doubts.
Am I making it worse?
Is she afraid of me?
Perhaps she’d forgotten all the good between us and only remembered the bad. In her dreams, perhaps I was the nightmare, hurting her, abusing her…just like I had at the start.
My heart tried to tear itself free and hurl itself over the parapet.
“No.” He narrowed his eyes. “I’m merely saying, they’re her family. And you’re…”
“The guy who strapped her to a cross, bled her, fucked her, and then bragged to you about it on the phone.”
His jaw clenched. “Hence my question. Did she have time to tell them about you? Could she have mentioned your name and where you were taking her?”
I scanned back over our first meeting. The instant punch in my soul as I recognised her as different. The chemistry between us. The intensity. We’d been so fucking wrapped up in each other, but…I hadn’t seen her text or call anyone.
Didn’t mean she didn’t…
“I don’t know.”
“In that case, it might be best if you’re not there when they first arrive.”
“Not possible.”
“Her brother is coming too. That’s why I offered the use of my plane. So her parents can travel with their son and not have the chaos of public transportation disrupting him. I’m unsure how much stimulus he’ll be able to cope with so…I’m asking you on behalf of Ily. Stay out of it when they arrive. And hold your tongue.” He stepped into me. “I mean it, Henri. Three weeks ago, you were ready to die if you lost this girl. I know you have a shit ton of remorse and guilt for what you did, but you cannot use them as a confessional, do you hear me? They must never know what you did to their daughter. You tell them a single thing and you’ll lose her forever.”
Sourness splashed on my tongue.
I looked down at his phone still in my hand. The screen had gone dark, but the lists of rapists and psychopaths burned my palm. Their names seemed to swirl around me, teasing my fury, and making the beast inside me crawl out of its den.
I’d hoped that fucking curse was finished.
That all the pain and torture I’d survived had ensured I would never again want bloodshed, but…standing there—with my brother telling me that I could never be honest and so many lives staining my hands—I had to face facts.
I could never atone.
Could never be free from what I was.
All that bloodlust and anger clotted into a twisty, sickening mass inside me.
I didn’t want to use Ily’s parents as my confessional, but I did need to earn their forgiveness. I needed to earn Peter’s forgiveness. I needed to earn my own forgiveness for being half man, half monster and finally realising…I will never be whole without the other.
I would never raise a finger to Ily again.
But my mouth watered to hurt them. The guests. The Masters. The sinners.
To tear them apart and feast.
“Revenge helps,” Q muttered, following my thoughts. “But you have someone to protect now. You can’t just prosecute those who hurt her without taking precautions.”
“Precautions like you?”
“Yes.”
I sniffed and met his eyes. “Tell me, brother. You say you love your wife.”
His muscles coiled with suspicion. “What’s that got to do—”
“Just answer me.”
“Fine.” He cocked his chin. “Yes. I do.”
“Do you hurt her?”
His nostrils flared. “None of your fucking business.”
“That’s a yes.”
“What we do behind closed—”
“When I first got to that island, I wished I’d asked you how you managed to get married and be normal when you have the same darkness inside you that I do.”
He didn’t speak, watching me carefully.
“How do you do it? How do you stop that darkness from building?” My hands balled. “Because it’s building. Every day that I get stronger, it gets worse. So tell me…how—”
Something crashed in the château followed by an ungodly scream. “Henri! Henri!”