Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 116396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
“Ivory.”
My eyes flicked up again.
“On your fucking knees.”
We were all just a bunch of sheep. Some of us worth more than others. Some of us tastier than others. It wasn’t the world versus Necrosis. It was the powerful versus the weak.
Huntley moved toward me, more livid than I’d ever seen him. “Whether he had a soul or not, your father was Necrosis as far as I’m concerned. He was one of them—and never one of us. And you made me feel like shit for giving him what he deserved. Look me in the eye and say it. Say you’re fucking sorry.”
I dropped to my knees on the floor, not out of remorse, just weakness. That was the moment I knew I had no idea who my father was. I’d never known.
Huntley stood over me, bearing down on me with that pissed-off expression.
“I’m sorry…” I dropped my head and kept my eyes on the floor. So much hit me at once that I didn’t have a reaction. I didn’t know whether to weep or throw back a hard drink. “I’m sorry for everything.” All I could see were his boots in front of me, scuffed from constant use. They were a little shiny, and I could see my disheartened expression on the surface.
He kneeled in front of me, bringing our eyes level. The pissed-off expression was gone. “Now, forgive me.”
I inhaled a painful breath and gave a nod. “I forgive you…”
His hand slid into my hair gently and pushed it from my face. It was a soft touch, the kind he hadn’t given me in a long time.
It made me close my eyes, and the tears fell.
“Baby.”
“I can’t believe it…” My hands cupped my face, needing something to cover the shame. “I can’t believe he did this.” The sobs cracked my chest. Burned my throat. Made me feel dead inside.
Deep and gentle, his voice reached my ears. “Baby.” He grabbed my wrists and tugged them off my face.
I yanked them back and cupped the bottom of my face with my hand. My eyes turned away to avoid his.
He moved his head into my line of sight, forcing his blue eyes on me. “This is not your fault.”
“I feel…so sick.” The horrors my father committed felt raw in a whole new way. He killed my father-in-law. He raped my mother-in-law. He took over Delacroix and sat on a throne that didn’t belong to him. I enjoyed a room in the palace like a princess when I was just a thief’s daughter. We sacrificed people to Necrosis. We served Necrosis. We lied to the people we ruled and let them believe they were safe. “I feel…so ashamed.”
“You have no reason to be ashamed.”
“My family—”
“He’s not your family because you’re a Rolfe. You’re my wife. You’re my family. You’re the rightful queen of Delacroix. That’s not who you are anymore.”
“How can you love me after everything he’s done to you?” Tears continued to pour down my cheeks.
His hand reached for my face and caught a tear with his thumb. “It’s pretty fucking easy, baby.”
“I’m so sorry—”
“I know. You don’t have to say it ever again—because I know.” His arm circled me, and he pulled me in close, his chin resting on top of my head. He held me there on the rug in his study, listening to me cry my heart out. “I know.”
I sat alone in the dining room, with a cup of tea and a sandwich that I hardly touched. It was hard not to look back over my memories and search for the evidence I didn’t notice at the time. Evidence that my father was an evil psychopath.
Was that genetic? Did that mean I would be an evil psychopath too?
“May I?”
I looked up at her voice, seeing Queen Rolfe standing at the back of one of the chairs. “Of course.”
She took a seat, her back so rigid she didn’t even touch the support of the chair. “Huntley told me the news.”
I looked into my cup of tea, the milk making the contents murky.
“Are you alright?”
I grabbed my spoon and gave the cup a stir even though it’d gone cold a long time ago. “No.”
“I can only imagine how you must feel.”
“No, you can’t. Because I can’t even tell you how I feel.” I continued to stir my tea, playing with my food. “I feel stupid, you know? I asked Huntley not to kill him—and that makes me sick. I let it interfere with my marriage…”
“Your husband still loves you, so no harm done.”
“But still…I said some harsh things.”
“Huntley still made a promise to you based on the information you both had at the time. Let it go. I know he has.”
“Still feel like shit. Huntley told me how honorable his father was. I see how strong his mother is. And I… My father is a fucking rapist. A murderer. A liar. I hate to think about all the other terrible things he did. Things I don’t even know about.”