Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 94092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
If she knows, then she must be in shock.
A wild hope flares within me, and with it comes relief, one that I had thought it would be impossible to feel. The truth is out—no more hiding, no more pretending with Sara, or having to hide my real feelings for Amelia. No more living in this stuffy cage. I don’t care about the money, the friends, the empire I’ve built. They’re nothing, all ash compared to her. No matter what happens, even if the whole world is against me, I can build it all again. Sara can have whatever she wants. Amelia is all I want, all I’ve ever wanted—a life with her, mornings of coffee and laughter, nights tangled in her arms.
I’d burn it all down for her, and I plan to.
I grab my phone, my fingers trembling with excitement as I dial her number, needing her voice, needing her warmth, needing to know what she thinks of all this, if she is even aware. It rings, once, twice, then cuts to voicemail.
“Amelia, it’s me,” I say, my voice rough, but happy. “Sara knows—she’s got surveillance footage of us in the pool. I know it sounds bad and perhaps it is, but I’ll handle it all ,don’t worry. She’s threatening to take away everything, but I’m pretty sure I can keep Jason. It’s not him she wants. Anyway, I think you’re still asleep and I don’t want to wake you up, so call me back when you get this alright? I love you."
I hang up and release a deep breath. Everything should be okay.
I think about contacting my lawyers to get ready for the battle ahead with Sara. I love Amelia deeply, and no matter how much I try to shield her, it is inevitable that she will be somewhat hurt from this, so I make a vow to do my best to bear it all on my shoulders. To shield her from the repercussions as much as possible.
Once again, there is another knock at my door. My frown deepens because there is no way this is Sara again. As of now, I no longer have a reason to see or even talk to her.
"Come in," I say, and to my surprise, the person behind the door seems to struggle with all of their might to get it open. I am just about to rise when finally, it budges, and my little boy stands in the doorway.
"Jason?" I call, surprised to see him. Surprised that he is even awake.
"Daddy," he whispers, and I notice then that his eyes are wide and frightened. His face is as white as a sheet, and there is an unmistakable glint of tears streaking down his cheeks.
“Daddy,” he calls again, his voice trembling, breaking on the word as he steps closer.
I instantly get to my feet and go to him. "Buddy, what is it? What’s wrong? Are you hurt?" I crouch in front of him. "What’s wrong?"
It takes a while for him to speak, but eventually he blurts the words out. “Mummy… mummy put Aunty Amelia in the lake.”
His words stop me cold. "What?"
"I... I saw her. I was in the studio. Aunt Amelia left me there and went to talk to Mummy, but I heard Mummy shouting. I was too scared to come down, but I saw what Mummy did from the window."
The room tilts crazily. I choke the words out, my voice barely audible. "Are you sure?"
His lip trembles, and then he nods, his small voice shaking. “Mummy took the wheelbarrow, and… Aunty Amelia was inside. She wasn’t moving. Mummy pushed her into the lake.” His tears spill over.
For his sake, I manage to keep calm.
"Buddy, go sit in my chair. I’m going to lock the door, okay? But you’ll be safe here. Don’t get scared. I’ll be back soon to get you."
"Okay, Daddy," he says.
I head out then, taking the door’s key with me. I run as fast as I have ever run outside and head for the lake. I pray to God as I run that Jason is wrong. That he saw wrong and that Amelia is not lying at the bottom of the lake, dead.
Chapter
Forty-Seven
MAX
My boots pound the gravel. My heart is a jackhammer, raw fear claws my throat.
Mummy put Aunty Amelia in the lake loops endlessly in my skull.
The moon’s high, silvering the water’s surface, and the swing creaks above it, swaying like a ghost in the breeze.
“Amelia!” I shout, voice hoarse, shattering the quiet, but the lake’s still, mocking me with its silence.
I don’t think, don’t stop, just dive in. The water is icy, slicing through my clothes, my skin like a knife. I don’t really feel it. It’s dark, murky. My hands thrash in the darkness and weeds searching for her.
Amelia, please don’t be here.
I look and look. My lungs burn, but there’s nothing, just silt and cold that drags at my limbs. I break the surface, gasping, panic like a vise around my chest. I haul myself out, water gushing down my body, my jeans heavy, clinging to my legs. My eyes dart, frantic, scanning the landscape, the trees, the shadows. Where is she? Where the fuck is she? A rustle catches my ear, and I spin around. It’s Tom, the gardener, his straw hat gone, his face pale under the moonlight, his hands muddy and trembling as he approaches me.