AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I cringe when I hear the tires squealing as he pulls away, and I get to my feet while wrapping my hands around my waist.
Darn it, I should know better than this; I should know not to come home late or anger him. Flip, I should know not to let my accent slip out, but here I am with a bruised eye, busted lip, and a sore gut.
Sighing, I get to work cleaning the house before scrubbing the day away in the shower while struggling to keep it together. I don’t cry anymore; I used to in the beginning, but now I just feel emptier whenever he puts his hands on me.
Going to my Mama didn’t help, she told me to grin and bear it and now I do.
The dark clouds gather in my mind and for the first time in years, a tear slips down my cheek… not soon after that, a sob tears through my body, and I fall to the shower floor.
Even Valentine’s kindness doesn’t chase the darkness away. Even his warm green eyes get eclipsed by my permanent situation.
They used to call us The Asa; medical women trained in human sciences as well as supernatural medicines and healing.
But along with this title comes a need to keep the bloodline full of people with Asa blood, and because of that, my family threw me into this arranged marriage.
It might as well be my death sentence.
VALENTINE
Iwalk away from her with every intention of turning back but ignoring my selfish thoughts. I can’t be invading her space like this just because she saved my life, and she’s a human, damn it!
Reaching the SUV, I drive out of the parking lot before I can change my mind and head back to the mansion. If there’s one way to get her out of my head, it’s through torture, and I still have Amara waiting for me at the estate.
I wasn’t angry enough to face her earlier on, but seeing Gabe torn up and broken after what happened, I’m feeling murderous. Of course, I had to check on Autumn first before I could really get into it.
Removing the key from my back pocket, I walk towards the cell where she’s kept in and the second she sees me at the door, her eyes widen.
“Oh, my god!” she cries out and runs over to me, throwing her hands around my neck and sobbing. “I thought you died! I thought he killed you!”
I listen to her racing heartbeat, that sweet scent I used to find so alluring now coils in my gut like a curdled blood bag. After meeting her and tasting her blood, I thought I could save her, thought I could be the one to make her happy and she would finally be it for me.
But how fucking wrong I was!
I take her wrists from around my neck and push her hard against the wall, wrapping my hand around her throat. The fear and confusion slipped into those once beautiful eyes; as if she doesn’t know why I’m this angry.
“W-what… Valentine—”
“Did you really think it would be happy ever after for us after what you did?” I say, grinding my teeth so hard that I fear they might snap. “If you thought that, then you’re dumber than I fucking thought.”
She shakes her head, grabbing at my hand as her pulse speeds up. “What do you mean? I did this for us, don’t you understand?! I did it for you! I—”
“You thought turning on Gabriel would make me happy? Make me feel grateful? You thought selling my Maker out would earn you a place in my heart?” I scoff. “You’re to blame for everything that happened here. It was you who was to blame for the death of their unborn child. You’re to blame for all of this.”
“I didn’t think he would hurt her!” she cries out, with tears slipping down her face. “He said he wouldn’t hurt anyone!”
I laugh at this. “And you actually believed that? Gods, you really are dumber than I thought!”
She should have known better than to believe Kazimir and his lies. He uses people to get what he wants; that’s how he’s survived all this time. Well, I suppose he used them - past tense.
“Please, Valentine…. please…” she sobs. “I had to do it; I had no choice—”
“We always have a choice. You just chose the one that benefited you the most,” I say, slamming my fist into her chest and pulling out her still-beating heart before shoving it down her throat.
Amara didn’t deserve a swift death, but she deserved death anyway. There’s no redemption after what she’s done, no second chances, but now I feel like I need to do something about the child she sold to Kazimir.
Hopefully, Eirisse hasn't started the breeding procedure yet; no one deserves that much less a child.
Fuck. What is it with me and trying to save people? Why do I always try to mend a broken bone after what I had been through, knowing that they might use that same hand to turn on me?
