Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 156392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 782(@200wpm)___ 626(@250wpm)___ 521(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 156392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 782(@200wpm)___ 626(@250wpm)___ 521(@300wpm)
“Sorry to disappoint you.” Eli pulls me back to his side. “But we’ll be happily married for your lifetime and beyond, Uncle.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“My son can call you whatever he pleases.” Uncle Aiden stands by Eli’s side and crosses his arms, a mischievous gleam igniting in both father’s and son’s eyes. “Aw, don’t tell me you’re upset you lost to me? Again.”
“I’ll bury you and your son six feet under right here and now.”
“Papa,” I whisper.
“I’d like to see you try,” Uncle Aiden says.
“Dad,” Eli says with a note of reprimand. “Let’s take it easy on Uncle Cole. He put so much effort into driving a wedge between me and my wife for nothing. Surely, we can be magnanimous.”
“Absolutely, son. He can be taxing when acting petty.”
“Word.”
“Eli!” I elbow him and try to go to Papa, but he tightens his grip around my waist, forcing me to remain in place.
“I’m here to stay, Uncle. So either you accept that and the beautiful grandchildren we’ll give you, or you drive yourself to an early grave by giving yourself heart issues.”
“Grandchildren, Cole.” Uncle Aiden grins wolfishly. “For your information, we’ll be sharing those.”
“Many of them, too,” Eli says, caressing my waist. “My Ava wants at least three.”
“This little—” Papa lunges at Eli, or I think he does, because I’ve checked out.
The world turns into a buzzing mess. My heart throbs and no air reaches my lungs.
A gentle stroke of a finger against my throat brings me back to the present. Eli, Uncle Aiden, and Papa are staring at me intently.
“You okay?” my husband asks, his brow furrowed.
I let my trembling lips flatten in a smile. “Yeah. I could use sitting down, though.”
He walks me to a bench and kneels in front of me, then passes me a bottle of water.
As I take a sip, his fingers rub my knee over my dress. “Do you need to take your pills?”
I nod and start to retrieve them with a shaky hand. He strokes my hand, bringing my movements to a stop, and then brings out the bottle and hands me two pills.
I take them and remove my glasses, letting them fall onto my lap.
My heart rate slows down to normal after a while, even though my fingers are grasping the bottle of water in a death grip.
“Better?” he asks, his fingers touching my pulse and my cheek.
I nod.
“Was it something we said? What triggered you?”
I shake my head, refusing to acknowledge the dooming reality awaiting me.
“Baby,” he says with a firm voice. “You need to tell me so I can remove the potential hazard.”
“Everything is a potential hazard for me.”
“Then I’ll remove everything.”
“Don’t be sweet. I can’t take it.”
“I’m anything but sweet. I’m a menace.”
“That you are.” I palm his cheek. “Can we go home? I want to annoy Sam a bit.”
“Should we go to a West End show later?”
“You don’t even like the theater.”
“But you do.”
And to cheer me up, he’s willing to watch things he doesn’t like.
This isn’t fair. I want the cold Eli back.
“We probably can’t get good tickets this late.”
“I can get any tickets you want. Up to and including a meet and greet with the actors backstage for hugs and pictures. Scratch that. Only pictures. No hugs.”
I smile but shake my head. “I’m not in the mood.”
“What’s this about, Ava? Is it due to your visit to Dr. Blaine?”
“How do you know? I took a taxi… She told you? Wait…you’re having me tracked.”
It’s not a question but a statement.
Ever since I woke up in the hospital, I’ve often felt that I wasn’t alone, but I deluded myself into thinking it was paranoia.
“Why?” I ask in a low tone, letting my hands fall limp on either side of me.
“I have to.” His closed-off coldness peeks through and I hate that I wished it back so soon.
“Okay…”
“Ava—”
“I get it,” I say with contained bitterness. “You’re worried I’ll go into a state of fugue and walk straight into oncoming traffic or jump off a building. So you have to make sure you know my location in order to stop it.”
“Jesus Christ, it’s not—”
“You’re right. I could do it, and the worst part is that I wouldn’t be aware of it. Like the two years I completely wiped out. I’m a ticking bomb, Eli, and we both know it.”
“Nonsense. You’re absolutely fine.” He narrows his eyes. “What did Dr. Blaine tell you?”
“Nothing. She said she couldn’t talk to me without your presence.”
“And you despise that. You despise that I have any form of power over you.”
“No one likes to be a puppet, least of all me. But if it’s not you, it has to be Papa. If not Papa, Mama. If not Mama, someone else has to make sure I don’t fuck up. I realized today that I’ll never be my own person, so I’d like to eat a bucket of candy floss and watch rom-coms, please.”