Total pages in book: 196
Estimated words: 180438 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 902(@200wpm)___ 722(@250wpm)___ 601(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 180438 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 902(@200wpm)___ 722(@250wpm)___ 601(@300wpm)
I’d been on a few private planes before, thanks to Ryder, and knew that this one was up there with the best, so whatever this was, it couldn’t be that bad. Maybe they were taking me back to L.A., back to my life. I mean, nobody ever put anyone on a luxury plane to take them into danger before, right?
For some reason, I felt a cold chill run down my spine at the thought. Some of those girls, the ones the little bitch had mentioned, they were probably taken away on luxury jets. My mouth went dry at the thought, but I refused to dwell on that. It had nothing to do with me.
I know she wanted me to feel guilty about that, but it wasn’t my doing, so why should I? Sure, I learned about it at some point, but what could I have done? If I’d said anything, Ryder would’ve been involved even though he knew nothing about what they were using his name to do, and it would’ve caused a ripple effect that I wasn’t ready for.
I stood to lose everything if he’d gone digging into that mess because even though I hadn’t been involved, my dad was. If Ryder had learned about all that and gone looking for answers, there’s a possibility that he would’ve stumbled onto other things that I didn’t want him to know about.
The thought that I had lost anyway whispered in my head, and I felt that desolate feeling again. How does anyone survive this shit? It felt as if someone or something was scraping my insides with a knife. Raw, open, and bleeding out. I think I was as close to wanting death as it was possible to be.
I looked up in surprise when the stewardess brought me a nice meal after the guy disappeared somewhere and felt a little hope that at least these people were going to be nice to me. “How did you know that I like this?” I looked down at the dish, and though I was no longer hungry, it brought tears to my eyes that someone had taken the time to find out what I liked.
She didn’t answer either; she just turned and went back the way she came, and I never felt so alone. Music piped into the cabin suddenly as the plane soared into the sky, and for the next few minutes, I sat there, food forgotten as my heart broke into a million pieces.
No, this wasn’t better than the car; this was worse, much, much worse. At least in the car, there was a chance of escaping, but up here, thousands of feet in the air, there was no escaping the hours of listening to Ryder and Elena sing to each other over the years that we’d been married. I’d heard the rumors that they’d been communicating through songs the whole time but had never believed it until now.
By the time the plane landed, I was like a zombie; I had nothing left. I no longer cared where they were taking me or about anything else, for that matter. It barely registered that I had seen the man in the lab coat who came to meet us somewhere before, maybe at the hospital a week or so ago, but who cares? Nothing matters anymore.
Chapter 103
*Janie*
“What is this place?” The scenery gave me hope. The gardens, which were about all I could see so far, were lush and beautiful, and the building up ahead looked like one of those Antebellum mansions from an old black-and-white movie. The kind that has stately Greek marble columns running around the front and sides with a wraparound porch perfect for enjoying the view while avoiding the heat of the sun.
My heart started racing with excitement because, truth be told, after everything that had happened in the last few days, I was expecting to be left in a ditch somewhere by these people. Though no one had physically harmed me to this point, their actions toward me have been anything but friendly or welcoming.
He didn’t answer; he just kept walking as if I hadn’t spoken. I still don’t even know his name because no one thought it necessary to introduce us. He’d barely looked at me since we left the plane, which I found insulting before I remembered what my face looked like these days.
Somehow, I had forgotten for a moment that I was no longer the beautiful wife of one of the world’s foremost performers. Just a few weeks ago, I would’ve had him eating out of my hand. Men were always falling all over themselves to get close to me, and not just because I was Ryder’s wife.
But now that was all in the past, all gone. I had ugly gouges in my cheeks the last time I looked, and my hair hadn’t seen a comb or brush in days. The reminder was a bit daunting in the midst of all this beauty. I was about to broach the question again, but then I saw them up ahead, and my blood turned to ice.