Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 73903 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73903 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Lily chuckled, and since it was so rare, it was beautiful. “I guess I’ll see for myself…eventually.”
“When you’re feeling better, we’ll get lunch.” I tried to keep her positive because that was essential to her recovery. I was the only coach she had because Father seemed indifferent to her illness. To him, she was just a brat looking for attention, but since I experienced the same heartache, I actually had some compassion.
“Maybe,” she said, her voice escaping as a whisper. “How’s Father?”
“We don’t have to talk about him.”
“We’re both thinking about him.”
He was the monster who didn’t live in a dark cave. He walked directly in the sunlight, stomping everything in his path. “He’s the same.”
“Do you think he’ll come back when he kills Ramon?”
He was too far gone at this point. Killing Ramon wouldn’t suddenly make him human again. It would just cross off an item on his list—then he would never have anything else to work toward. “I doubt it.”
“Yeah…me too. What does he think of Arwen?”
Just like with everyone else, he didn’t give a damn about her. “I don’t think he thinks anything.”
“I feel bad for her. Her new father-in-law is the devil.”
I didn’t respect Martin for the quandary he put himself in, but I did admire his parenting approach. He was affectionate and loving toward his daughter—and even to me.
“How does she feel about all of this?”
“She’s dreading it as much as I am. She has her own life—I have mine. We’ll just be two strangers under one roof.”
“I guess that’s not so bad.”
When we ran out of things to talk about, we sat in mutual silence, listening to each other breathe. I leaned against the wall and kept my gaze out the window, remembering how different my life used to be before Mother was taken. We were a family—all four of us. Now we were all in separate places—mentally and physically.
“I’ll let you go, Mav. Good luck tomorrow.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you soon.” I hung up and kept my gaze out the window, hating my father even more than I had before. He still had two members of his family left, but once Mom was gone, he wanted nothing to do with us. He failed to realize how much his daughter needed him…how much she was drowning. So I had to step up—because she had no one else.
10
Arwen
I stood in front of the mirror and looked at myself in my wedding dress, seeing a reality I’d never imagined in my wildest dreams. The designer gown was perfect, so elegantly designed and fitted to my dimensions perfectly. Any bride would be happy to wear it.
But it meant nothing to me.
The only item I possessed that mattered was the diamond necklace around my neck, a gift given to me by my mother. Her own mother gave it to her when she turned eighteen, so it’d been in the family for generations.
In just a few moments, I would walk out of this room and see the three hundred wedding guests Maverick and his father had invited. Some of them were aristocratic members of society, so of course, I knew them. Others were their family members who would soon be my family members.
But mostly, they were strangers.
My father was dressed in a gray suit and tie, looking well despite his frailty. He approached me from behind, a smile on his face as he admired me in my wedding dress. “Wow.” His hands moved to both of my arms, and he gave me a gentle squeeze. “Maverick is gonna fall in love with you.”
Not a chance. “Thank you, Daddy.” I had my hair in loose curls, letting the long strands stretch down my shoulders. I’d applied my makeup exactly as I did at the opera, pumping my lashes with mascara and giving my eyes a smoky look with the eyeliner. My lips were painted a tint of pink, a rosy color that wasn’t overbearing. I was marrying this man because I had to—and I wanted to look like myself.
He continued to look at me in the reflection in the mirror. “I know this isn’t how you imagined your wedding day. Your mother isn’t here, and your fiancé isn’t the man you wanted. But I think Maverick is a good man…and you might become fond of him.”
I couldn’t imagine feeling anything for him besides annoyance. Every word that came out of his mouth was an insult. He had no regard for anyone’s feelings and always blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
He watched my eyes fall. “He’s a man of his word. And in a world like this, that’s so rare. He promised me he would never hurt you. He promised me he would take care of you. I believe him. That says a lot about his character.”
That didn’t mean he was bearable.