Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 75793 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75793 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Now I’m the one who is surprised. “What did you say?”
He looks up at me, then over my shoulder, and I know my time is up.
11
OPHELIA
Iwake up to the sound of rain pelting the windows. It takes me a long minute to remember where I am, to remember what we did and why I’m so sore. I open my eyes. Everything is a blur, but I make out my glasses on the nightstand. I thought I’d left them in the bathroom.
I put them on and roll onto my back, turning to look at the space beside me on the bed, expecting to find Silas there watching me, uncertain how to be this morning after last night. I’m not sure if I’m disappointed or glad to find I’m alone. The place beside mine is empty, and the pillow is cool to the touch. There’s no indentation.
Did he even sleep here last night?
I sit up in the bed, pulling the blanket up to my chest, and look around. The room is a mess, with my towel on the floor where Silas stripped it off of me and the chair that was in front of the desk turned over on its side. I don’t even remember him pushing it away before he bent me over the desk.
At the memory of what we did, something flutters in my belly. My face burns at how I responded, how I climbed up onto this bed on his command and told him I’d never beg him moments before I did just that.
I groan, pushing my hands into my hair. I’ve only been with one other man apart from Silas and that was Ethan. What Silas and I did last night was different than anything I’d ever done with Ethan. It was dirty. Dark. Sex like I’ve never had before. I’ve never come so hard but at the same time, it was the most intimate lovemaking I’ve ever experienced.
The rain grows louder, coming down in sheets against the windows. I wrap the top blanket around myself and make my way into the bathroom, not sure what time it is. There’s no clock in the room, and I don’t own a watch. I always just used my phone to check the time.
The bathroom door is ajar, and the light is out so I know Silas isn’t there. He must be downstairs already. At least I don’t have to face him just yet, I tell myself.
I stand at the sink and take in my reflection. I look rested, the dark shadows under my eyes lessened. I switch on the tap and notice the ring on my finger. Esmerelda’s small, antique ring. He must have slipped it back on after I fell asleep. It doesn’t feel like the albatross Ethan’s ring always felt like to me. This one, well, I don’t take it off like I always did with Ethan’s.
After brushing my teeth and washing my face, I switch on the shower and step into the two-person stall. It’s encased by glass on three sides and beautifully veined marble on the other. Hot water cascades over me and I close my eyes, letting myself remember the night, how I felt, how my body came alive at his touch, on his command. It craved him, like it, too, had missed him.
It had. I had.
I don’t let myself linger, though. I can’t. I need to find him and call Mr. Higgins so I can arrange to see my father.
That thought is sobering, a cold dash of reality, and I switch off the water.
After toweling off, I dress in a pair of jeans and sweater along with knee-high boots. I braid my hair and put on a little lip gloss but that’s about it. I’m about to rush out the door when I notice a decorative wooden box I recognize sitting on the small table between the two chairs in the room.
It’s Esmerelda’s. She’d shown me the contents once when I was fifteen, the day I’d tried on the ring Silas gave me last night. Did he have it brought over before we got here? How long ago did he hatch this plan? Sometime in the three days I was out after the accident, I guess. Did he doubt for one moment that I’d say yes? That I wouldn’t go along with his plan? What must it feel like to be so bold? To have that kind of confidence, that assurance?
I want to know.
I sit in the chair and open the box, feeling a sad smile creep along my face when I see the few, familiar things. I remember Esmerelda wearing each of them. She didn’t have much and took care of what she did have. She was proud of each piece and the things each reminded her of. She cherished every memory.
Silas’s watch is in there. I take it out and see there’s an inscription.