AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Imagine my surprise when, after returning to my family from getting jackets from the car, I see my wife and children talking to you and that tattooed asshole.”
Lily.
“Lily is your daughter?”
“She is. Precocious child that one. I imagine you were like her growing up. Never met a stranger. Is that true?”
“It’s been you all this time? I don’t understand.”
“Sophia, isn’t it obvious? We’re meant to be together.”
“You have a wife. A family.”
He slams the glass on the table and stands. Anger wafts off him as he approaches me. When he leans down, his face only inches from mine, I cower back.
“Do not speak of my family. They are not for you to worry about.”
“But...”
“Oh Miss Brooks, we discussed starting a sentence with the word “but.” I do not approve. Now, let’s have dinner. I waited a long time to share a meal with you. Come.”
I wince when he grabs my arm and drags me to the dining room table. He’s set it with Joan’s china. There are candles burning all around the room and the lights are dimmed.
“Sophia, can I trust you to sit here while I serve our meal? You won’t try to run off, will you?”
As much as I want to lie, I can’t try to escape this lunatic without a plan. I need to think. “I won’t leave.”
I remain seated at the table while he brings a bowl of pasta and plate of bread to the table. This is my meal. The one I was making for Gage. Oh how I wish he was here right now. He’d know what to do. Of course, none of this would be happening if he was here.
“I must say that detective friend of yours did well, working your case in your absence. Unfortunately for him, his team isn’t as savvy as they believe themselves to be.”
He serves us both a bowl of pasta and slice of bread before sitting. “Normally, I would offer you wine, but with your head injury that would be a mistake. You did well coming to this town. There is almost zero online presence for not only Starlight Ridge but anyone who lives here.”
That was kind of the point. I stare down at the bowl of food and another wave of nausea overwhelms me. I refuse to give this asshole the satisfaction of seeing me weak so I push it aside.
“You watched me.”
“Of course I did. You’re mine.”
Closing my eyes I exhale. “And at Drummond? The text messages. The flowers.”
“Darling, of course. I really enjoyed watching you flourish in your college experience but I was disappointed in your friend choices. Those people you surrounded yourself with were not adding to your life.”
“My friends are wonderful and successful. Do not judge them without knowing them.”
“You forget that I did know them. Miss Valencia was especially disrespectful. It surprises me to see her finding success in her career.”
My heart drops. I’d almost forgotten he has been tracking her. Listening to her life too.
“Why me?”
“The real question, Sophia, is why not you. I remember the day you walked in my classroom. There was a desire to learn in your eyes. To create and craft. I knew then that you were mine.”
“Professor Dillinger, you must know I only ever saw you as a mentor. I’m not sure what I did to make you think otherwise.”
His fork clanks on his bowl and I watch it bounce and land on the table. His hands slam on the table, startling me.
“Sophia, do not lie to me. I saw the way you looked at me. How you slipped a piece of hair behind your ear and smiled when we talked. Do not downplay the connection we share. I won’t tolerate lying.”
