AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A few months ago, I was living hand to mouth, trying to skate by while worrying that Zoey’s health was deteriorating day by day and there was nothing I could do about it.
And then Alaric entered my life, with promises that he would remedy every wrong and save my beloved sister. All I had to do was marry him, and he would grant every wish I ever had.
Did he lie about that?
No.
He fulfilled my every demand and then some. Not only did he save my sister from certain death, but he gave us a home where she could flourish. Zoey has never been happier than she has been since Alaric came waltzing into our lives. Not only did he make sure she could attend the best private school in the district, but he gave her more than money could ever offer.
He gave her his time, attention, and love.
He went above and beyond all my stipulated demands when I agreed to be his wife. Zoey is a happy, healthy young girl because of him. But Alaric didn’t only lavish my sweet sister with love; he spoiled me with it too. He showed me a world I never envisioned for myself. One where someone loved me with all his heart, body, and soul. He might be a killer and a liar, but no one can fake what we shared. Those long nights where he would coax my every nerve ending to sing for him. Those lazy Sunday mornings when he would open my thighs and feast on me like a starved man, ravenous to consume every inch of me.
No.
Alaric may have lied to me, but not about that.
Still, does it matter now?
It doesn’t change who he is—a cold-blooded killer.
One that’s paid very handsomely for his services and skills, proficient skills that he must have used on all his unsuspecting defenseless victims. If I let this farce of a marriage continue, would he use those same skills on Zoey and me? Make us disappear with a snap of his fingers as easily as I had watched him snap that man’s neck back in the alley?
Oh God.
No. As much as I’m hurting, I could never put Zoey in that type of danger again. We survived one monster. I doubt we could endure another.
I was the one who killed your stepfather.
Alaric’s last words to me felt like a truck slammed into my chest.
Even before I knew his name, he had already saved me.
Unable to contain it anymore, my tears start to fall on their own violent accord. I wrap myself around the baby-blue colored blanket I keep on the couch for those cold nights and pretend it’s him holding me together as I fall apart.
Every night for the last seven days, I’ve wept for the future we could have had together, for the love I lost, and the family we were. I cry well into the early hours, knowing that when Zoey wakes up, I’ll have to put on a brave face so she doesn’t worry.
But as if she could hear my tormented thoughts, the sound of her bare feet drawing closer has me sitting up straight.
“Layla,” my sister calls out from behind me.
I turn to find her wiping the sleep from her eyes as she walks over to sit on the couch beside me.
I shove my head into the blanket and quickly wipe my tears away, hoping she doesn’t notice. Although my swollen eyes will be harder to explain.
“It’s late, Zoey. What are you doing up?”
“Couldn’t sleep. I could hear you crying from upstairs.”
Shit.
“I’m sorry, sweet girl. It was just a sad movie that I was watching. I guess it moved me more than I realized.”
“The TV isn’t even on, Layla. Stop treating me like a child. I know the real reason why you’ve been crying every night. It’s because Ric is gone.”
I chew on my lower lip and offer her a nod. I won’t lie to my sister. Not about this.
“When is he coming back?” she asks, hope shining in her eyes.
