Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 84700 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84700 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
He looked hesitant, as if telling me this news would result in his neck being snapped. “The Skull King stopped by…said he wants to talk to you.”
Hades and I had managed to escape the clutches of the Skull Kings because they had so many other projects to worry about, including a war on Lucian and something about a woman. They were too busy to care about us. But now that Balto was gone and his twin Heath replaced him, it looked like things had changed. “God-Fucking-Dammit.”
I was working in my office when my curiosity got the best of me.
I went into Annabella’s account to snoop.
I had no idea why; I would never see her again. She was newly divorced, so why would I want to get involved in something like that? There was just something about her that intrigued me, the way she started over with nothing so fearlessly.
The way I had to start over.
I looked at her recent paychecks to see where she worked.
She was a waitress.
That only made me feel worse. How was she supposed to support herself in Florence on a salary like that? Maybe she had a side hustle that was paid under the table. If she really got desperate for money, it would be easy for her to be a stripper…with a body like that.
“How are you?”
I nearly jumped out of my chair because I got caught red-handed doing something I shouldn’t. “Shit.”
Sofia walked inside in leggings and a loose sweater and approached my desk. “What? Looking at porn or something?”
I shut my laptop. “What do you want?”
“Someone’s in a bad mood…”
I cast her a cold gaze.
She continued to stand there and stare at me expectantly, like she wanted me to say something. “Everything alright?”
I considered telling her about Heath, the new Skull King who wanted me to pay my business taxes. I knew that conversation wouldn’t go well, and there would probably be stab wounds as a consequence. But then I realized my problems weren’t her problems. They weren’t Hades’s problems. I was on my own now. “Just a long day…” I ran my fingers through my hair and relaxed in the chair.
She was quiet for a while before she kept talking. “Well, I have some good news to share.”
My temper flared because of my bottled-up frustration and my deep depression. “Look, Hades and I don’t speak. And if we don’t speak, why the fuck do we have to speak?”
Her eyes immediately dilated in offense.
“Our only connection was Hades, and now he’s just a piece-of-shit bastard, so there’s no point in us continuing whatever the fuck this is.” It was cold, harsh. No, it was cruel. But seeing her only reminded me of the person I never wanted to think about again. I wanted to move on with my life and forget he ever existed.
She gave me a pained look of disappointment as she stood with her hands on her hips. She stared me down a long time before she took a step back. “You don’t want to be my friend? Fine. But I’ll always be yours.”
2
Annabella
I got lucky that Damien helped me at 4:59 PM because if he hadn’t, I would’ve been on the street for the night. My lease had ended at my other place, and I was going to get kicked out unless I got this apartment.
I also needed this apartment because it was the only decent place I could afford. The owner had been relocated for work and needed to sell it as quickly as possible to use the money as a down payment on his new place.
So I got a deal.
I needed as many deals as I could get…
I spent the evening with the TV on in the background while I unloaded and unpacked all the boxes that comprised of my life. It was all my clothes and personal possessions, and when I saw it all packaged up, I realized my life was just a small accumulation of junk.
I spent my best years with my ex-husband, filling my life with memories that made me feel rich. Losing him made me realize I’d lost everything else too. I lost my friends, social acquaintances, relationships…everything. He was the rich and powerful one, so even though our divorce was entirely his fault, they chose him over me.
What a fairy tale.
I tried not to feel bad for myself because I knew I would pick up the pieces and come out stronger in the end. I could start over. I’d done it before. I’d do it again. Getting married, though…not sure if I could ever do that again.
It’d been six months since we signed the divorce papers, so it was still raw but there had been a good amount of time for us to move on.
But he continued to call me.
As if he could read my thoughts, my phone lit up with a call from him.