Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 93203 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93203 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
The blackness that surrounded me when I woke up. My despair, knowing Marianne had done this and my life was over. The constant terror every time one of the men would come down the stairs. The pain they inflicted.
And then Roman appeared.
My life and my world would never be the same.
And last night, he told me he loved me. He stared into my eyes, nothing but truth and love blazing at me. That look of fierce tenderness I had glimpsed at times was fully trained on me. His voice was drenched in desperation. Begging me to believe him. Trust his words, not hers.
Marianne who had done nothing but lie and hurt me.
Roman who had rescued me, cared for me, and gave me only truth when I asked.
I believed him.
But I couldn’t say the words back.
It was as if the events of the last weeks had caught up to me. I was speechless, rendered almost numb by everything I had gone through. The good and the bad.
And every single one of them was tied back to Roman.
I sighed and struggled to get up. Roman pulled me back to him. “Where are you going?”
“To the bathroom,” I replied, my voice sounding scratchy and raw to my ears.
He released me, and I felt his reluctance when he did.
In the bathroom, I looked in the mirror. My hair was a mess, and I was pale. I washed my face, brushed my teeth, then sat on the vanity chair, trying to brush out the tangles. Roman came in without knocking, frowning when he saw me.
Wordlessly, he took the brush from my hand and stood behind me, carefully removing the tangles and snarls, never once causing me discomfort. He didn’t talk or ask me any questions. When he finished, he set down the brush and turned on the shower. He held out his hand, I let him untie the robe, and we stepped into the shower, glancing at our wet clothing still in the corner from last night. I knew I needed to remove them, but at the moment, I couldn’t be bothered to do so. I grabbed a hair clip and bundled my hair into a bun on the top of my head as he shampooed and began washing himself. I watched him as I did the same. The casual way he handled his own body. His powerful muscles that stretched and jumped as he moved. He had a few scars, which only seemed to make him more beautiful to me. I found him captivating.
He rinsed his face, pushing his hair away, and opened his eyes, meeting mine. I was unable to look away. He looked at me, his expression and touch tender as he reached out, stroking the skin on my cheek.
“Are you all right, Little Tiger?”
“I’m fine.”
He smiled, shaking his head. He kissed me softly. “Liar.”
“I will be.”
He took the soap from my hands, running it over my shoulders. “I know. I’ll make sure of it.”
At the table, Nonna studied me. “You are still pale. What is the matter? Roman, what have you done?”
Roman chuckled, shaking his head as he sipped his coffee. “The husband is always at fault. Good thing Aldo warned me.”
“I’m fine. Roman didn’t do anything wrong.”
Nonna made a funny noise in the back of her throat.
Roman slid his hand over mine, squeezing my fingers. “Effie had an unexpected call last night, Nonna. From the grave, so to speak. It shook her.”
Nonna frowned. “Your sister?” she guessed.
“Yes. She had left me a voice mail a few days before her, ah, accident. I heard it last night.”
All Nonna knew about Marianne was that she had died in an accident and that we weren’t close. Roman had omitted any details about her involvement with the two of us getting together. Nonna hadn’t asked many questions since Roman told her I didn’t want to talk about Marianne.
“How terribly shocking.” Then she turned to Roman. “You are here for breakfast, so you are gone this evening?”
He shook his head. “No, I am staying here for the next few days. I want to be close to Effie.”
“No,” I burst out.
They turned to me, shock on their faces at my outburst.
“I mean, I’m fine. Really. Nonna and I were going to work in the garden if the rain lets up and make bagels later. Tomorrow, Vi is coming for lunch. I have plans on Friday. Don’t disrupt your schedule to babysit me.”
“I’m not babysitting. You’ve had a big shock. I want to look after my wife,” he said quietly, studying me. “Do you not want me around, Effie?”
Nonna stood, taking her plate to the kitchen. I knew she was giving us some privacy. Roman crossed his arms on the table, studying me. “You don’t believe me,” he said. “You don’t believe that I love you.”
“I simply need some time to sort everything through in my head,” I admitted. “Last night—hearing her voice… It brought back a lot of painful memories.”