AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She has given herself to us.
I feel the shadow at my bedroom door and I see Valen and Kai watching us. The smiles on their faces tell me everything I need to know. We’ve found our missing part. She fits perfectly like a missing piece to the whole that we tried to be on our own.
As soon as the guys leave, I close my eyes and hold her close. Tonight we’re sleeping alone, but tomorrow will be the start of something brand new. An adventure neither of us saw coming, but we’ve accepted it, and we now welcome it.
* * *
I openmy eyes to find Brielle watching me with a soft smile on her face. Her eyes are shimmering in the low light of the sunrise that’s slowly streaming through the curtains.
“You’re so peaceful,” she whispers before pressing her lips to mine. Fuck, the taste of her is like a drug. I want nothing more than to spend hours, days, weeks, just enjoying her body, her flavour. But we have a shit load of things to do before the ceremony.
“You shouldn’t be stalking me,” I throw back when she pulls away and I meet those pretty eyes.
“To be fair, it is part of my job now.” She shrugs as she gets off the bed and makes her way over to the window where she pulls on the curtains to open them further. “There’s something I need to give you. I wanted to wait up for you last night, but I was so tired, I fell asleep.”
This intrigues me as I scoot up in bed. “Oh?”
She turns to regard me, the smile turning serious and my chest tightens. On one hand, I almost expect her to tell me she’s leaving us. And on the other, I am sure she’s going to tell me something that I’m not going to like.
“Last night there was a delivery. Well, it wasn’t too late. Just after you dropped me off.” She moves across the room and I watch her pull out a small envelope that was hidden on the side of the bed where she had slept.
“Who brought this in?” I ask as she hands me the item in question.
“One of the soldiers, I think his name is Romero. There were two sealed letters. One for me, and one for you.” She looks at me as I lower my gaze and my heart stutters. The script which bears my name is so recognisable, I would know it anywhere.
“It’s from my father?” This time, when I look up at her, I’m shocked when she nods. “You’ve read yours?”
“I did. I thought I should wait for you, but I was far too curious. It’s a letter, somewhat explaining things, but also, leaving a lot of unanswered questions. Perhaps yours has more of an explanation than mine.”
Brielle rounds the bed and heads to my side where she cups my face in her hand. She presses her lips to mine in a soft, affectionate kiss, and then she straightens.
“I’ll leave you to read it. I need to go shower and get my hair and make-up done. And then, I’ll see you at the altar.”
“I love you,” I blurt randomly, and I want to pull the words back into my mouth. I don’t know why I said it, but I felt the need overtake me. I’ve never said those words to anyone other than Kai and Valen. I didn’t even say it to my father.
As I think this, I wonder if he knew I did actually love him. For all his faults, he was a good father. He was nothing like Valen’s fucking arsehole of a dad.
Brielle smiles at me, then whispers along my lips, “I love you too, husband.” And then, she turns and leaves me with the letter in my hands.
I’m scared to open it. I don’t want to know what my father’s last words to me would be. The idea of him writing something that would break my heart doesn’t sit well with me.
I haven’t told Brielle about the fear I had of letting him down. It’s something that was painfully obvious when I was younger. But as I got older, I hid it well. And now, I realise it’s not even noticeable anymore.
Perhaps she’s already noticed. Maybe she has seen my weaknesses and she loves me anyway. I don’t know because I never asked and if I had to be honest, I don’t want to know. If it turns out she doesn’t know about how fearful I was as a young boy, it would only cause me to push her away because I wouldn’t want her to see my truth.
Then again, she’s accepted me with both Kai and Valen. My thoughts are a jumble as I rip open the envelope and I pull out the thick vellum paper my father used to enjoy using for all his contracts. He used to handwrite everything. He always said it had more merit when it was handwritten.
Dear Jude,
You must be sitting at your desk, or perhaps you’re in the garden reading this. If it’s your wedding day already, I want to wish you all the happiness in the world. If it’s the night before, remember, to live your life without abandon. Either way, I’m sorry I can’t be there with you right now.
You may hate me, and that’s okay. I’ve come to terms with it. I wasn’t a perfect father. I did things that were questionable at the best of times, but I hope you realise why I chose Brielle for you.
You spent your life living in my shadow. I could tell you worked hard to want to please me, to make sure you didn’t disappoint me. Yes, you were fairly obvious when it came to it, but I want to say to you now, you never disappointed me.
I spent my life proud of both my sons. And when I took my final breath, I knew that the Venier name would live on in everyone’s mind as a strong, domineering force within the world we come from.
And that’s why I chose Brielle. When her father asked for my help, I drew up the contract. It was something I didn’t want to do, but I thought, it can’t be too much hassle. And then I watched her grow up. I always had eyes on my payment. Or rather, your payment.
