AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The rain made a soft pitter-patter sound as it landed on my umbrella. I clutched it in one hand as I tossed the blood-red rose onto the casket. The world around me seemed dull and gray; the flower was too bright in its darkness. It hit the heavy wood with a quiet tap that was lost to the storm.
The workers moved quickly, putting the casket in the ground before the rain turned to snow. Tears tracked down my face as I watched them cover my husband’s coffin in dirt. I tasted their salty flavor on my tongue.
My chest constricted, and my muscles burned as I held myself tight. Showing the emotions that were expected of me, but not more than I was permitted to give.
The salty, warm liquid glanced from my cheeks, mixing with the rain as they hit the ground. The tears seemed endless in the days leading up to this moment.
I didn’t cry for my husband. As far as I was concerned, hell was too good for him. He could rot in this cold, unforgiving grave.
I cried for my baby. The one who’d never had a chance to live.
I’d met Mitchell Kent on the side of the road, just outside of Sayton City. I was heading there to start over. To try and find a new life. A better one. Full of love, and hope, and happiness. Instead, I’d found him.
That day had been strikingly similar to today. The rain had poured down in sheets. I was covered head to toe in mud and road sludge. And the emotions had been the same.
Utter despair. Feeling like I couldn’t go on for another moment. Wondering what was the point.
My car had broken down, and Mitchell stopped to help me when hundreds of others had just driven by. It seemed like a fairy tale. He whisked me away from my life of poverty and gave me everything I’d dreamed of growing up in foster homes. Money, warmth, a family. I thought I’d found my knight in shining armor.
Of course, I hadn’t known then what he was. What his family did to earn their money. I’d been new in town. Unaware of the criminal underworld that ruled the city.
He proposed six months after we met, and I eagerly agreed, breaking down in even more tears. Ones of joy. It took another six months to plan the wedding. A year to the day we met, we married.
The romance of it had swept me up. The true love. The beauty.
Until it wilted that night.
The first night, his fists connected with my flesh.
I’d been naïve. Foolish to believe in love and fairy tales. By then, it was too late; I was trapped. No friends or family to help.
That’s when I realized who I’d bound my life to. I hadn’t found a knight; I’d found the villain.
Now, I stood in the rain, not crying for that bastard or our life together, but for the little baby that was ripped from my womb. The one I’ll never get to hold.
My mother-in-law stood next to me. Her sadness was more subdued, making me think again she’d known what her son was. She stared at the priest as he spoke.
“We, therefore, commit this body to the ground.” His droning voice filled my head as the pain overwhelmed me.
“Earth to earth.” I couldn’t pull enough air into my lungs. They squeezed painfully in my chest.
“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” My fingers slipped from the umbrella as I doubled over in agony. Mud coated the black material as it fell to the ground beside the grave. My body swayed like it was going to join it. “In sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to eternal life.”
“No!” The scream ripped from my chest. From my soul, just like it had when they’d told me I’d lost my baby. When I realized my bastard husband had taken one more thing from me. His murderer threw me down the stairs, beat me because they couldn’t let his child live.
It was mine. My baby!
I stared at the hole in the ground, seeing my child instead of my husband. Watching them bury my hope.
“I’ve got you.” Strong arms wrapped around my waist. The scent of sandalwood filled my senses as he held me up. I wanted him to let me go so I could die with my baby. Why wouldn’t he let me go? “I’ve got you, Sunflower.”
I sobbed as I clung to Vander. I couldn’t stand without his support. My body was wrecked with the anguish. Guilt. With how fucking unfair it was.
My parents had me and abandoned me because I wasn’t wanted. I wanted my baby with every fiber of my being, and they were snatched from my arms. Like every bit of happiness I thought I found.
3
Grace
