Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 137326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 687(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 458(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 687(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 458(@300wpm)
I’m about to leave, but she doesn’t release my hand, her fingers digging into the back of it.
“Kane?”
“Yeah?”
“You know how I always say I hate you?”
“What about it?”
“I don’t. Actually. I really like you.” She grins. “Like a lot.”
A drop of heat expands behind my rib cage, melting away all the years my father spent attempting to turn me into ice.
A few words from Dahlia and I’m touched by warmth.
A few words and it’s like I’m transformed into a new person.
“I really like you, too. When I don’t want to strangle you.”
“What a romantic.” She smiles, but it’s sad. “I’ll be waiting. Go ahead.”
She hesitantly releases me, and it takes me about five minutes to reach the car.
After I get in, I open the glove compartment. I know I promised Dahlia no phones, but it’s been a whole day without checking in on Preston’s deteriorating state.
I pause when I don’t see Dahlia’s phone.
When did she take it?
With a frown, I power on my phone and pause at the bombardment of missed calls by Jude.
Fuck.
What happened to Preston now?
I’m about to call Jude, but then I see the texts.
Jude
Where the fuck are you, man? This is an emergency.
Violet has been kidnapped from the hospital under the guise of a medical transfer.
My brother and your father are behind this. I don’t know what the fuck they want, but my brother’s driver mentioned a trip to the lab. I’m guessing they’re using Violet against Dahlia. I’ll see what I can do from my end.
Update: I still can’t locate her.
My fist tightens against the steering wheel, and I hit the Start button. My body flattens against the leather as I speed to where I left Dahlia on the bridge.
The trip.
The strange behavior.
The way she was holding on to me the whole day.
Now, I see why it all felt so weird.
The moment I reach the bridge and find it empty, the realization hits me across the face.
This entire day, Dahlia has been saying goodbye.
31
DAHLIA
Ishould’ve kissed him one final time.
Hell, I should’ve fucked him.
I should’ve taken something of him with me. Maybe if I had, it wouldn’t hurt this bad.
Maybe it wouldn’t feel as if I’d ripped my heart out and left it in the palm of Kane’s hand.
But I couldn’t possibly think of anything during this entire trip. I wanted more time with him, even if it was a couple of hours.
Minutes.
Seconds.
That’s why I came up with this stupid idea of visiting my old hometown.
I only wished to delay the inevitable, but I ended up with the best down-memory-lane trip of my life. Having Kane beside me, his hand wrapped possessively around my waist, has made it more enjoyable and less of a tearjerker.
Until now, that is.
I sit in an old, empty cathedral, hidden in the corner, staring numbly at the large crucifix on the altar and hoping my heart doesn’t break to pieces and leave me hollow.
Wait. It’s too late for that.
My fingers shake and my vision blurs.
“Hey.” I talk to the crucifix, tears flowing down my face. “Can you make it stop? No? Why not? You took my parents away and Vi, too. Now, Kane? Is my life a joke to you? Am I not allowed any form of happiness? No matter what I would’ve done differently, it would’ve ended this way, wouldn’t it? Why? Just tell me why!”
“Because you yearned for something you shouldn’t have looked at in the first place.” Authoritative footsteps echo in the air as Grant walks to the altar and then stands in front of it, his back to the relics.
He looks like a devil fresh out of hell. The tailored suit and groomed appearance don’t hide the pure evil that lurks in that man’s soul.
“You got greedy, Dahlia, and people like you aren’t allowed to be greedy. If you looked up long enough, that neck would be broken.”
I wipe my tears with the back of my hand. “Were you following us?”
“Your day is almost up and you didn’t do what I asked.”
“I’m not going to hurt Kane with my words. He’s already experienced enough pain from you. If you…tell him about my motives, he’ll stop looking for me and even despise me. So you get what you want either way.” I lift my chin despite the breaking sound that reverberates in my chest. “Let me and my sister go, and we’ll move to a different state and stay as far away as possible.”
He tsks, the sound loud in the silence. “That wasn’t the deal. I specifically asked you to be the one who hurts him. If it’s me, that will only make him hate me and end up idolizing you more. He can be stubborn with his feelings. It took me a long time to stop him from seeking his mother like a fucking weakling. But if I have to break him again so he’ll erase you and go back to being normal, so be it.”