“What are we doing?” I ask, a little afraid at the change. Honestly, if we’d kept driving for hours – weeks, years – I might have felt better. “We’re getting those cuffs off you,” Christian murmurs, pulling into a spot towards the empty back of the parking lot. “Oh,” I say, sitting up a little –
As Christian sees me put the pieces together, he slowly nods. “Yeah, Iris,” he murmurs. “It’s bad.” “Christian,” I whisper, leaning forward and reaching for him. But he tightens his jaw and my hand falls limply between us as I shake my head. “Why did you do this? I’m – I’m not worth it, Chris –“
Even though it is a big deal – the kind of trauma that will probably follow me for a lifetime? Christian knows that this is what I need. And he knows because…he’s my best friend. Because he’s known me all my life. Because he’s read every stupid email I’ve sent him for thirteen years, and probabl
Christian nods, smirking a little. “Frankie and Nico are fine, except…well, they’re going to want to kill me too,” he murmurs. “But they’re fine.” “Do they know…what you did?” “They’ll have figured it out by now, probably,” he says, a bit dry, looking over at me with a sad little smile. “Everyon
When I wake up hours later, I blink in surprise to see the sun setting, the sky all around us a pretty pink and purple instead of the stunning blue it was when I last opened my eyes. “You like the beach, right?” Christian asks, his voice surprisingly cheerful. I blink in surprise, looking at him a
Christian waits for me at the front of the car as I gather myself together and open the door, stepping out. I wince a little as I stand up straight, unsure if the stiffness I feel is the result of sleeping in a car for hours or of the very literal beating I took. Either way, as I shut my door and
Christian comes close and places his hands on my shoulders as I turn my head to look again out the window. And that’s it, I suddenly realize – the beauty of this place is just so shocking, jarring, in comparison to where I was less than a day ago. Being beaten by men who didn’t care if I lived or di
“Just some bruises,” I whisper, gesturing towards my ribs and stomach. “Nothing worse.” Christian’s jaw clenches, hard, at the thought of what they could have done to me – the terrors to which men put women when they want to hurt them deeply. But Christian steels himself, reigning his emotions bac
A small smile creeps on Leo’s lips. “Yeah, okay,” he says, relaxing back against our chair. “Our secret.” I grin at my baby, leaning in to give him a kiss on the cheek, because my boy can’t resist a secret.“What’s all this?”I turn to see Christian standing at the open door, peering into the dining
The danger. It’s…it’s far too poignant.My heart breaking, I open a private browsing tab on the web browser and quickly search for Craigslist in both this city and Athens, Greece. As I do my memory goes back to a conversation I had with Frankie, when he told me that this is the best way he knows for
I stand frozen, staring down at the letter as it sits on the little hall desk, my breath coming in fluttery little gasps.The words are very simple.There are vineyards in Greece as well. I’ll take you there.I read it again and again as my heart pounds in my chest, each beat echoing with a mix of h
“You don’t know anything about my life,” I whisper, my voice barely audible, turning my eyes back down to the dishes. “I had no choice.”“You think you’re the only one who suffered?” Lucy whispers. “You think I wanted to be in this position? We were friends once, Iris. We were good to each other. Bu
“Mommyyyy,” Leo says, looking anxiously towards the kitchen door, shifting from foot to floor. “Hurry up! Aunt Bianca says we have to go!”I laugh, glancing down at my little boy, who looks so adorable in the private school uniform he wears to Kindergarten – crisp white shirt, navy blazer, his dark
But…was it? Was it me, missing Chris? Wanting to have yet another piece of him, even if I long denied wanting any ties to my past life?I look down, my heart heavy, not truly understanding what I think or what I feel.“I mean it, Iris,” Chris says, his voice steady and cool. “I’ll be a father to her
My heart sinks as I look Christian in the eyes – because beyond all hope, I had been praying that he hadn’t noticed that Leo is his son. But how could I have been so naïve? Leo looks just like him - dark hair, striking grey-blue eyes. The resemblance is unmistakable. I feel a wave of guilt crashing
“Yes,” he answers, a growl in his voice. “That should suit just fine.”I laugh at the irony in this and shake my head, looking away. “So now you want me to come back, to pretend as if nothing ever happened? You expect me to just accept this, the way things are now?”Christian opens his mouth to resp
Disappointment floods my chest, a sense of disbelief washing over me. “You think I would trust you again after everything? After how you treated me? You expect me to just come back and forget?”His eyes narrow, disappointment etched into his features. “You were faithless. I thought you’d be loyal. I