AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Pulling up outside my apartment, I park and lean my head against the steering wheel. I’m mentally running through every life decision I’ve ever made, trying to figure out which one got me to this point.
How the hell did I go from trying to keep every encounter with a man as casual as possible, to contemplating a spur-of-the-moment wedding to a stranger?
Maybe this is some form of bad karma or witchy juju, considering my two options are either to marry the devil I do know, Zayan, or marry the devil I don’t know, Marnix.
Deciding I’ve sat in my beat-up Toyota long enough, I pry open the squeaky door and slowly trudge out with my trembling muscles. My apartment complex is on the West Side, but a few years ago a developer bought the property and flipped it, making them look really nice. The building now sticks out like a sore thumb on this side of town, but it’s not a bad place to live.
Lya has tried to convince me to move into their place or at least rent a place on the East Side, but I keep refusing. The West Side is where I was raised, and I can’t let it go. It’s a part of who I am. Well, at least until Marnix makes me leave here—if he makes me leave. I can’t imagine someone of his status wanting people to know that his wife is some poor girl from the wrong side of town.
My legs ache from my workout, but I finally make it up the stairs. Walking toward my apartment, it feels eerily quiet in the hallway, enough to make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I don’t see anyone, but I hurry toward my door anyway.
When I round the corner, I stop dead in my tracks. My knees threaten to give out as I stumble into the wall for support.
What the actual fuck?
My heart rate picks up, hammering in my chest. I spin around to see if there’s another soul in sight, but there's no one there. The hallway suddenly feels too small, like the world is collapsing in on me.
Fuck. Fuck. Just breathe. You’re okay.
Sitting right in front of my door is the most beautifully elegant glass vase full of black and red dahlias. There’s only one person who’s ever given me dahlias.
Zayan.
It’s not a shock that he knows where I live—he’s smart enough and manipulative enough to get whatever he wants. But he’s left me alone since my near fatal experience. He hasn’t tried anything in years. I’ve always wondered why he’s been silent, but I took it that someone, somewhere was looking out for me so I didn’t have to put up with his psychotic ass.
Apparently, that’s not the case anymore. He knows how fucking triggering these flowers are for me; this is a warning that he hasn’t forgotten about me.
Cautiously walking toward the flowers like they’re some kind of bomb, I see there’s a small white card with metallic gold details. It’s not like I don’t know who they're from, so I shouldn’t bother reading the card, but curiosity always gets the best of me. I snatch the card and flip it open, instantly wishing I hadn’t. Written in Zayan’s fancy cursive are two words.
For Eternity.
What he really means is an eternity of hell and excruciating pain by his side. An eternity of only being a shell of the woman I’ve become since I got away from him. An eternity of misery and self-loathing.
“Nice flowers,” a deep voice rumbles behind me. I’m so in my head, I don’t even think before spinning around to throat-punch the invader. My fist connects with his flesh, forcing his large body to stumble backward at my unexpected reaction.
“Fuck, Tara. Jesus Christ, what was that for?” Rian, another of Lya’s boyfriends, croaks out, gasping for air as he holds his throat. His brown eyes are wide in shock. “I’ll make sure Zep knows his training is working.”
“What the hell are you doing here?” I snap at him, acting like I’m the one who should be offended.
“You dropped your wallet at the house. Probably fell out of that ratty gym bag you refuse to replace. I had errands to run for VPAC, so I told Lya I’d drop it off,” he grunts at me, finally releasing his throat. A large red mark covers his neck where I hit him. A small sense of pride bubbles up inside me that my natural instinct to fight kicked in.
“Well, if you didn’t fucking sneak up on everyone all the time like you’re a damn spy, maybe I wouldn’t have punched you.” I swear the man has the stealth of a cat. You can never hear him approaching until he’s right next to you. Great skill to have if you’re going undercover, terrible if you don’t want to get punched for sneaking up on someone.
“I called your name. You clearly didn’t hear me.” He glances down at the card in my hand, then back to me. “Who are those from?”
“One night stand. Little too clingy for my taste.”
I love Rian, like a brother... Okay, maybe not a brother, since there was a point in time I wouldn’t have minded jumping his bones. Well, one bone in particular. He’s a nosey bastard though, so I don’t feel bad lying to him. I don’t want him telling Lya they’re from Zayan, since she still seems more on board with me marrying him than Marnix, and she’d read into this the wrong way.
“A one night stand went to the trouble of getting you dahlias instead of just standard roses?” He cocks his head to the side, raising an eyebrow.
I’m surprised he knows what kind of flowers these are.
“Trust me, he knows it’s snatched. You can’t give all of this the typical rose.” I look down, referencing my vagina, shrugging at him innocently. It’s not like he hasn’t heard me tell Lya that a million times. I’m pretty free and open about my sexuality, so he wouldn’t think anything of it.
“Whatever you say,” he murmurs, before extending his hand to give me my wallet back.
“Thanks, Rian. My bad for punching you.” I give him a devious grin. I am sorry for punching him, but it is kind of funny. He scowls at me, before shaking his head with a small smile.
