Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 89232 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89232 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
The private room is as white as the rest of the ward. The only splashes of color come from the flowers in the vase on the trolley at the foot-end of the bed. My father lies pale under the covers, his hands folded on his chest and his eyes closed.
I’m grateful for that, grateful that I don’t have to look into the lightless eyes of my mother again. Going to the bed, I sit down in the visitor’s chair that’s pushed up to the side. The doctors here know us well. Knew him well. They’ll give me a moment, as long as I need.
I rest my elbows on the bed and take my father’s cold hand. No moment can be long enough. This is how Sabella feels. But I harden my heart, because in this very significant moment, I hate her more than I’ve hated anyone, and it’s the hatred that ties us together. In a strange way, it’s the hatred that makes me feel closer to her. Bonded. It’s the hatred that makes me want her more. For what reasons, I’m not in a state of mind to examine.
Pressing my mouth to the back of my father’s hand, I kiss his ring, the one that’s identical to mine. Knowing there’s a woman out there who wears that mark both settles me and makes me restless. It soothes the man I once was while stirring the beast.
I have an inkling these feelings will forever be at war in my chest where my promised bride is concerned. I desire and despise her in equal measures, a situation of my own making. However, the monster doesn’t care. The selfish part of me that survived the massacre of my sentiments can only register that the man who raised me is gone. The man I admired and loved blew out his last breath while I was consulting a doctor about the welfare of a woman whose family destroyed mine.
Here, at my father’s deathbed, a realization shoots like a well-aimed arrow straight into my brain. Sabella and I were always destined to destroy each other. There’s no other way. There’s no turning back. We both paid too dearly. The cost of being together is too high to give that goal up now. Neither of us have a choice in the matter any longer. We’re already barreling down this path of destruction, and there’s only one end to this game.
We’re going to finish it.
No matter how long or what it takes.
Chapter
Seventeen
Sabella
* * *
I shoot Ryan an uncertain glance when he parks in front of a villa in Cape Town that overlooks the beach at Camps Bay. Celeste raises her eyebrows when we get out of the car. The villa is architectural in design. It’s modern and spacious, exactly what I like. Perched on the cliff, the double-story house has a prime view of the sea.
Unlocking the door, Ryan says with enthusiasm injected into his tone, “Shall we take a tour?”
He’s been like that with me ever since I came home from the hospital, trying too hard to please me.
“Sure,” I say, matching his eagerness.
It’s all just a show, and the acting is tiring. I only want to kick off my shoes and curl up on a bed. I don’t care which bed. Any reasonably comfortable corner in some place with a roof will do.
A small entrance gives way to a huge living space with a kitchen and bar on the right and a lounge on the left. Sliding doors open onto a covered veranda with a narrow, rectangular pool balancing on the edge of the cliff. The blue color of the water looks like an extension of the shiny surface of the ocean. A Jacuzzi and deck chairs take up one corner of the veranda while an outdoor lounge with classy white sofas occupy the floor space on the other side.
It’s breathtakingly beautiful. Under different circumstances, I would’ve appreciated the sight. Fallen in love with it even.
“Wow,” Celeste says, flicking on a light switch even though sunlight streams in through the floor-to-ceiling glass walls.
Dim lights cast the room in a soft, golden glow.
“Is this secure?” She crosses the lounge and taps on the glass. “Isn’t it easy to break?”
“It’s bulletproof glass.” Ryan directs his smile at me. “It’s not that easy to break. Plus, the security system is top notch.” He points at a computer panel in the kitchen. “All the walls are equipped with reinforced steel shutters that you can lower in a second with the press of a button.”
The plush rugs covering the polished hardwood floors absorb the clack of my shoes as I go over to inspect the panel.
“Have a look around.” Ryan motions at a staircase next to the breakfast nook. “The bedrooms and bathroom are downstairs.”
“How many bedrooms does this place have?” Celeste asks, gawking at the contemporary art on the walls as she heads for the stairs.