AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I shook my head. “I did what was best for Bella and me. My father told me a long time ago that there were snakes in my mother’s family. I learned that the hard way. Nobody will ever get the chance to burn me once, let alone twice. I’ve got my tribe, and I’ve got you.”
I leaned in and pecked her lips.
“I love you,” she whispered.
“Say that again.”
She giggled. “I said, I love you, Mr. Ellis.”
“I love you too, Ms. Brooks.”
She revealed that with her divorce, she decided to go back to her maiden name. She said the decision gave her part of her identity back, a part of her that she’d lost a long time ago. I loved that for her.
Settled in the living room, Pasha and I enjoyed the food she made. It was so good that I went back for a second helping. Then the itis kicked in. I found myself stretched out on the couch between her legs with my head resting on her breasts. We’d started off watching a movie before I drifted off to sleep. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been out, but I was awakened by Pasha tapping me.
“Callum.... Callum!”
My eyes slowly opened, and I looked around. “What’s up?”
“Look!”
She pointed at the television. A news report about the accident I’d passed earlier was on the screen.
“That’s him,” she whispered.
“Who?”
“Raymond.”
“Wait... You serious? I passed this on my way here earlier.”
I sat up, and so did she. Grabbing the remote, she turned up the volume.
“In other news, a horrific scene from the sight of a crash downtown. An accident took place around nine thirty this morning, leaving one dead. Thirty-eight-year-old Dr. Raymond Sinclair, a surgeon at Baptist Hospital, tragically lost his life when he crashed head-on into the back of this eighteen-wheeler—”
Pasha swallowed hard. “... He’s dead.”
I could tell she wasn’t sure how to feel about the news. He was horrible to her, but I couldn’t picture her wishing death on him. She didn’t have that kind of hate in her heart.
“Are you okay?” I asked, grabbing her hand.
“I’m... I’m fine. Just in shock.” She swallowed hard again. “This is crazy.”
“It is.”
She reached for the remote and turned off the television. “I don’t even have words right now. I mean... When I told him he’d reap what he’d sown, I didn’t mean this. He’s really dead.”
“What’s going through your mind right now?”
She shrugged. “Is it bad that I don’t feel remorse?”
“Given what you’ve been through with him, no. I mean, it’s sad he lost his life, but I don’t think I’d be able to shed a tear.”
“The only person I feel even the slightest bit of remorse for is the baby. She’s the innocent party in all of this, and now, she has to grow up without a father.” She shook her head as she rested against me. I wrapped an arm around her, gently stroking her arm.
“All you can do is say a prayer for her.”
“You’re right. God have mercy on her.”
