Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 85414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
“I would love to.” She wraps her arms around my neck and seals her lips to mine.
As I kiss her, I know, I just know that there’s only one choice I would never give her.
The choice to leave me.
28
Aurora
Something feels wrong the moment I arrive at my office and receive a phone call from an unknown number.
Since the media attention started, Jonathan changed my phone number so that only he, his family, and Layla have it.
He even deleted Ethan’s number when I added it. No kidding.
Jonathan has been more severe about his possessiveness since he took me against the sofa a week ago. He’s been more tender, too, whether we’re alone or with people. I still haven’t asked him what he meant about the whole fiancée business, but I’d rather not ruin it.
At least, not for now.
I need his closeness more than anything as I deal with this whole fucked up situation. I need to sleep in his arms and feel like I’m in a castle and no one will ever be able to hurt me.
It’s weird how I handled it all alone eleven years ago, but I don’t want to think about that option now. Having Jonathan, Layla, and even Aiden and Levi and their wives, brings me a long-lost sense of peace that I’m ready to fight for with all my might.
At first, I don’t answer the phone, thinking it’s a reporter. They don’t stop. At all. They keep bugging me, Layla, and even our employees for stories about me.
Jonathan wasn’t kidding when he said he’d crush them, though. Aside from the security that surrounds H&H on a daily basis, Harris is keeping King Enterprises’ solicitors busy by having them file countless lawsuits and restraining orders.
My screen lights up with a text.
Unknown Number: Hello, Ms Harper. This is Stephan Wayne, Mr Griffin’s solicitor. I have one final message to relay from my client. There’s a threat to your life and Mr Griffin can protect you from it. Your father is ready to take back his accusations if you visit him.
I sit down on the sofa, staring at the text. He’s willing to leave me in peace?
No. I internally shake my head. This is one of Dad’s games. He loved those — games, that is. There’s a reason why I never visited him. Aside from the pain and trauma I feel whenever I think about him.
Dad is a master of manipulation, and although I could see through it, I’m not completely immune to it. If I do visit him, I have no clue what type of person I’ll be when I walk out of there.
The day the court sentenced him for life, our eyes met, and I couldn’t stop crying. All the pain and disappointment I experienced back then translated into tears that I couldn’t hold back.
As the officers were taking him away, Dad stopped in front of me and whispered the words I’ve never been able to forget, “Next time we see each other, either I kill you or you kill me.”
My phone lights up with another text from Stephan and I open it with unsteady fingers.
Unknown Number: You should be receiving a gift from your father.
A knock sounds on the door and I stare up as my assistant, Jessica, walks inside carrying something in her hand. “This came for you, Ms Harper.”
My eyes widen as I make out the wooden box. It’s so similar to the ones I received Alicia’s messages in.
Oh, God.
No.
All this time, I’ve been coming to terms that the entire debacle with the messages was a hallucination. I’ve become paranoid and had to check things twice and even take pictures so that type of incident never happens again.
If there’s another box, then…it’s real. It wasn’t my imagination, after all.
Was this my father’s game all along?
“You saw me with the box, Jessica, okay?” I take it from her fingers, and she nods with a quizzical expression before leaving.
My fingers shake as I unclasp the box, and sure enough, there’s a flash drive. However, what’s different this time is the note neatly folded underneath it.
I open it and read the writing I would recognise even a hundred years from now. The neat writing and his way of curving his S’s and C’s are still the same from when he helped me with my homework.
Dear Claire,
You must’ve received similar packages to these in the past with Alicia’s voice on them. I have, too. Probably at the same time as you. That’s why I’m breaking my silence.
I dislike being shoved in a corner, just like I’m sure you do. Someone is after us, my little muse. If you want evidence, listen to my own recording of that day.
Then we’ll talk.
If I had any doubts, they vanish after reading Dad’s letter. He received Alicia’s messages, too? But why would he? They were directed at me.