Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 60573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 303(@200wpm)___ 242(@250wpm)___ 202(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 303(@200wpm)___ 242(@250wpm)___ 202(@300wpm)
Gash chose that moment to enter the kitchen. He stretched out his muscles, and Charlotte couldn’t help but stare at his hardness. His muscles were so big and thick, and she felt like a complete girl just looking at him.
You’re a woman.
He was much bigger now than he was seven years ago, and back then he’d been ripped.
Charlotte, stop it. You’re not seriously thinking about a guy being ripped?
“Showing off, are we?” Lacey asked.
Gash lowered his arms, which she found disappointing.
“We know you’ve got the muscles and the hot body. There’s no need to brag.” Lacey rolled her eyes and jumped out of her chair. “I’m going to go and check on Whizz and Sally. Don’t fight, kids.”
Charlotte chuckled. “I like her.” She spoke once Lacey had left the kitchen.
“She’s interesting.”
“You don’t sound like you believe that.”
He laughed. “What can I say? She’s a little eccentric for me. Whizz loves her, and yeah, that bastard didn’t really smile for a time when I got out.”
Charlotte had seen the scars on Whizz’s face, and even the ones on his hands. She knew all about scars. The last thing she would do was stare at someone with visible marks on their body. She had her own scars, and not all of them were on the outside of her body. There were some on her wrists and on her body where she’d gotten desperate. Her scars were deep within her heart, and she hoped that helping Gash would ease the pain that was always there, making it hard for her to breathe at times.
Staring at the chicken stew, she looked at the red sauce, which reminded her once more of blood. Pushing the thoughts to the back of her mind, she moved to the pantry and found some dried pasta to cook.
“What put that sadness in your eyes, Charlotte?” Gash stood behind her. She hadn’t even heard him move. His hands gripped her hips, and she closed her eyes. Charlotte loved his touch, always had, and it had been her downfall.
“I told you I’m not ready.”
“Did Jeff hurt you?”
Opening her eyes, she turned off the tap, and moved out of Gash’s arms to put the pot on to boil.
She went to tuck some hair behind her ears but paused when she realized her hair was up in a ponytail.
“Did he?” Gash asked.
Staring at him, she nodded. “Don’t ask me how he hurt me, but he did.”
“Okay, why did he hurt you?”
Licking her lips, she took a deep breath. “When I came back home, you had already been arrested, and the evidence had been building against you. The moment I heard what was happening, I tried to put a stop to it. I wanted to help you. I know you’re not a rapist. I know you’re capable of murder but not a jealous murder. Jeff and Rebecca were there at the apartment, and let’s just say they made sure you were already sentenced, and I wasn’t in a good enough state of mind to help you.”
“There are a lot of holes in that story.”
“I’m not ready to tell you those holes. Maybe one day I will be.” He was going to find out the truth. Jeff would laugh in his face, and it would blow up. Charlotte’s heart started to race, and everything fell away. Why was she hiding her secret? What did she have to gain from it? Gash would forever be doubting her, and the only way for him to realize she was on his side, was by giving it to him straight. “Actually, you know what? I’m tired of hiding this. Remember you asked if there was a woman who used to visit our apartment?”
He nodded.
“You remember fucking a woman, right? You were drunk? That woman was me, Gash. Yeah, that’s right. You fucked me. We had sex together, and the next morning, you didn’t even remember it. I figured I’d just forget about it, too. I got this big promotion at work and was asked to go to England for a business meeting, and while I was away, that was when you were arrested. When I finally got home, I suspected I might be pregnant because I’d been off my food and everything. I took a test, and I found out I was pregnant.” She saw she was shocking him, and it was tearing her apart talking to him. But this had to be said. If she didn’t, Jeff would spill the truth, and the last thing she wanted was for that fucker to ever think he had any more power over her. “You didn’t use any protection during the time we were together. We were pregnant, and I was going to tell you once I helped testify on your behalf. I wanted you to be involved, and I knew it was going to be a challenge to make you realize that we had slept together. Jeff and Rebecca were there. They saw the test that I had taken, and they knew I was going to the cops to give my testimony. I was stupid, and I told them I knew you were innocent. To cut an even longer story short, the night you were accused of committing the murder, you were with me. I remember the day because it was the best day of my life. I knew without a doubt you couldn’t have done it. Rebecca was framing you.”