AllFreeNovel
Share Us
His little head drew back as he looked at me, “Yes. Are you happy?”
I tucked his head back into my shoulder. “Yes, Cookie. I’m happy here.”
And then I read my boy from a book about a wizard, feeling like my life had somehow gotten more complicated than fantasy.
???
Never had I ever been in love.
I loved Chad, in my way, but I was never in love with him, as cliché as it sounded to my head.
I'd finally fully and completely given myself to Ryker and forgiven him and convinced myself it was okay to not pick fights over stupid shit even though he pissed me off at times.
He made me laugh. He made me smile. He made me real.
And I could finally say that I was in love.
Everything I'd felt before him hadn't been real, not now that I knew the real thing. Now that I knew I would forgive him for things I had no place forgiving. He'd stalked me. He'd taken me and my kids.
But in the end, it led to being the happiest we had ever been.
I was preparing for my second class of the day and tidying up the studio room while Dante lingered in the back with the donuts we'd picked up on our way that day. Because when you were happy, sometimes you just needed a fucking chocolate donut. Or when you were sad. Or pissed.
There was never a time when a chocolate donut was inappropriate.
When my students filled in the room, I finished my tidying and went to socialize with them. Jason came in the front door, his hands tucked into his pockets and looking entirely too obvious in his white dress shirt and slacks, with his badge fastened to his belt. I stepped forward, even knowing it put me out of Dante's sight to intercept him. "Jason," I greeted with a nervous smile. "What are you doing here?"
"I won't waste time on small talk. I know you've remarried," he said, and I looked around as his voice dropped to a furious whisper. "I've arranged for Dante to be distracted in the back alley. I can help you." He took my hand, tugging me toward the front door, but I dug my feet in.
"What are you talking about? I don't need help," I told him, jerking my arm back from him and fighting to resist the urge to ask how he knew about Dante. About anything.
"Don't be ridiculous, Calla. Do you have any idea who that man is?" His gaze was too intent on mine, imploring me to see reason. "All you have to do is come with me and tell me what you know. I'll get you and the kids in witness protection, and we'll protect you. I promise you we will not let anything happen to you or those kids."
I didn’t understand where it was coming from or how he even knew I’d gotten married. "Jason, I don't want to leave him," I told him, feeling the truth in the words. I meant it when I told myself I forgave him. That I loved him. There had been plenty of times where I might have jumped at the offer if I thought Jason could protect me, but that time had passed.
I wouldn't leave Ryker. I wouldn't break up the family I suspected would grow sooner than later, with how often Ryker conveniently forgot to wear a condom. I wouldn't take my kids from the man they were starting to see as a father.
"Calla!" he hissed, looking around the studio. "We don't have time for this. Just come with me."
"I know he may not be perfect and that he may not be who you would have chosen for me. But I love him, and I won't help you put him in prison. Now, the last I knew, you could not compel a wife to testify against her husband. You and I have nothing to talk about from here on out."
"You have to think about this," he pleaded, but my students were looking our way in curiosity and all the reassuring smiles in the world couldn't convince them there was nothing worth seeing.
"You’re acting crazy. You need to leave. Please don't contact me again," I told him, and I turned my back on him and went to the rest of my class. Turning him away so harshly hurt, despite our differences. He was the last of my connection to the life I’d had with Chad, but it needed to be done. And I knew it was time to move on.
I was at the front of the room when Dante darted back into the back room, eyeing it warily as he glanced around at the students who had taken their places at their mats. "Did you see anything unusual?" he asked me.
I gave him a blank stare as I considered if I should tell him and Ryker the truth. I wanted to be honest, wanted to reassure him. But I knew Ryker well enough to know he wouldn't let it slide. He'd take away the small freedoms he'd given me if he thought someone tried to take me away from him.
I couldn't go through that again. I couldn't become a prisoner in the life I'd just started to love.
So, I shook my head, and I lied.
"Nothing unusual here. Is everything alright?" I asked. He looked mildly baffled, but went back to his seat.
It wasn't until after my class ended that I saw the text from Jason telling me to call him when I changed my mind.
Fat fucking chance of that happening.
