Excerpt
I glanced at the clock.
Shit—nearly six o’clock. I needed to hurry.
I’d lost track of time and Nicholas would be home soon. I wiped the tears from
my face before carefully gathering the pictures from the bedroom floor. My
chest weighed heavy as I collected each one, cherishing the memories a moment
longer as I tucked them away in the envelope.
The memories were all I had and I clung to
them as if they were my last breath, knowing that once they faded, there would
truly be no reason to go on. I hid the envelope at the bottom of the large
jewelry box in the back of the closet, mindful to spread the necklaces out over
the hidden compartment. Nicholas had never found them, but I was certain he
would destroy them if he ever did.
Drawing in a deep breath, I ran my hands
through my hair and dragged myself from the past I had immersed myself in for
the last two hours and forced myself downstairs.
My footsteps echoed against the marble
floor, each an accent of emptiness. I entered the kitchen, the only sanctuary I
had. Every room of this house was gaudy and overdone, designed by the pompous
for the pompous, except for this haven. It was no less extravagant, but held a
warmth missing from all of the others.
As I worked, my thoughts inevitably wandered
back to those beloved pictures hidden away in the back of my closet, but even
they weren’t enough to ward off the anxiety steadily building within me as the
passing minutes warned of Nicholas’s arrival. At six thirty-one, I heard the
garage door open. Bile rose in my throat.
“Melanie?” Nicholas called from the
entryway.
“In the kitchen,” I called weakly. Maybe he
would go upstairs and spare me a few more minutes, but of course, I never had
that kind of luck. I heard his footsteps approaching and prepared myself.
“Dinner ready?” He yanked at his tie as he
came through the door.
“Um, not quite, just a couple more minutes,”
I said, not meeting his face.
I felt him pause, though I refused to look
up. I’d learned a long time ago how to survive in hell. The less I interacted
with him the better.
He snorted through his nose, muttering,
“Worthless whore,” under his breath.
I gritted my teeth, holding in the anger his
accusation triggered.
He set his briefcase on the island next to
me and tossed his tie over the top of it. “What time do I get home from work,
Melanie?” Nicholas dipped his head, forcing me to look at him.
“Six-thirty.”
“Is it too much to ask that dinner is ready
when I get home?” he said, “or do you have something better to do with your
useless life?”
I cringed but said nothing. He was the one
who didn’t want me to work.
“I didn’t think so.” He leaned in closer,
his words a low warning. “When I tell you dinner needs to be ready at
six-thirty, it means dinner is to be ready at six-thirty. Do you understand?”
I saw the threat in his eyes. He had never
hurt me physically, but he made sure I knew who was in charge. I’d given up any
control nine years ago when I’d followed him here to Chicago
I knew then what this life would be like.
I’d met him at the airport when I’d fled Colorado
Nicholas hadn’t seen the broken girl who sat
numb with nothing but pain swimming in her eyes. He saw the young, beautiful
girl, the one who said nothing at all but seemed to be willing to do whatever
he said.
I wasn’t stupid. I had known exactly what he
wanted, but I could never go back to Colorado Springs to face what I could no
longer have, and I refused to stay with my mother in Dallas.
So I left all of it behind, moving with
Nicholas to Chicago just days after I returned from Colorado.
I knew then Nicholas would never bring me
happiness. That had never been the point. My heart belonged to another and
would never be his. All I wanted was a way out, while Nicholas got the trophy
wife he thought he deserved. The only thing I hadn’t anticipated was how the
numbness I felt for him would evolve over nine years into bitterness and
loathing.
“I’m going upstairs to change, and I expect
dinner to be on the table when I get back down here.” He had been this way
since the first day I arrived; I had a role to play, and he expected me to play
it well.
When he left the room, I gathered our plates
and took them into the dining room. I wasn’t really afraid of Nicholas, but I
didn’t want to fight. It was exhausting and got me nowhere, and even if it did,
I still wouldn’t be happy, so it really didn’t matter anyway. It was just
easier to do what he said.
Ten minutes later, I heard him returning.
Just the sound of his heavy steps made my stomach turn. It still shocked me
that I could feel so much hatred for one person. I watched him bound down the
stairs, his tall body well muscled and agile for his forty-four years. His
black hair hadn’t thinned and it was usually meticulously styled, though he
obviously had run his hands through it. His eyes were nearly as dark as his
hair and filled with unmerited pride. He may have been attractive, though that
was something I could never see. His mere presence warned my instincts to
escape, always smarter than my head.
“About fucking time,” he spat, letting me
know just how disappointing I was.
Asshole.
Taking a seat across from me, he lifted his
fork and began to eat. I picked at my chicken, pushing it around my plate. I
could rarely stomach anything when he was around.
As he ate, I lost myself in the silence, my
mind drawn back to Colorado.
“We have a dinner Thursday,” he abruptly
broke through the quiet, pulling me from my daydream. I had to run his words
through my mind again before I realized what he had said.
I closed my eyes, suppressing a sigh. Great.
Another business dinner. It was the perfect time for me to play my part—the
perfect wife with her perfect smile plastered across her perfect face, nodding
mindlessly while her husband gave his proposal as if her presence would somehow
change the outcome. The whole thing was ridiculous. It was part of my job
though, so I nodded that I’d heard him and looked back to my plate.
“This is a huge account, Melanie.” He sat
back, eyeing me critically as if I didn’t already understand my role in this
little charade. “It’s a medical complex that’ll bring in a couple million in
profit, so I don’t want you fucking this up for me.”
I almost laughed. Did he really think that
my presence would sway the decision?
Nicholas went on about details I really
didn’t care to know, about how much money he would make and how much
recognition his company would gain if they built this complex.
The only comfort I found was in knowing
Shane would be at the dinner. Shane Preston was Nicholas’s business partner and
the nicest guy I knew. While Nicholas was cocky and arrogant and felt the world
owed him, Shane was modest and thankful for all he had. He continually cleaned
up the messes Nicholas caused, soothing clients’ nerves and regaining their
trust after Nicholas had done something unethical.
The dinner also meant that Katie, Shane’s
wife, would be there. She was the one friend I had in this world. She knew the
real me and was the only one I had ever taken into my confidence since I’d
married Nicholas. Shane and Katie’s presence there would at least make the
evening bearable.
Nicholas finished his food, while I cleared
the table and took the dishes into the kitchen. I was exhausted. I wondered how
much more of this I could take. Surely, I would never survive this life
sentence I’d imposed on myself. I loaded the dishwasher and went upstairs to
take a bath.
Turning the hot water valve full blast, I
let it run, anxious to feel the heat relax my muscles. I unbuttoned my pants
and slid them down, shrugging them off my feet. As I pulled my shirt over my
head, my gaze reflexively dropped to my stomach as I caught my reflection in
the mirror, my first instinct to seek out the marred skin that bore her wounds.
I caressed along the puckered, angry scar
that slanted in a long, jagged line across my lower abdomen, wishing she could
somehow find comfort in my touch. Chills shook my body as I ran my fingers over
the still sensitive skin and, just like every night, the bitterness and anger I
found myself feeling faded away into sadness as I lost myself in this tangible
reminder of my child. I loved her so much.
Steam filled the room, and I eased myself
into the water and allowed myself to drift back to Daniel. I missed him, almost
more than I could bear. This was never supposed to have happened to us. We were
supposed to make it—we should have made it.
“Melanie, hurry up and get in here!” I
cringed as Nicholas yelled from the bedroom.
Shit. I’d hoped he’d be asleep by now.
Reluctantly, I rose and pushed the memories
aside. I wrapped myself in my robe, slow to finish my normal routine. I
shouldn’t have been stalling; he’d wait. Still, I took my time as I brushed my
teeth and ran a brush through my long brown curls. I inhaled deeply and took
one last look at myself before going into the bedroom.
“Don’t keep me waiting like that,” Nicholas
rebuked from his place under the covers.
This was by far the worst part of our
arrangement. I couldn’t help but feel like a prostitute, cheating on my own
heart, when I lay beneath this man. I crawled into bed next to him, praying he
would at least have the decency to turn off the light.
He untied the belt on my robe and groped my
breast with his callused hand. My body roiled with disgust that he mistook as
anticipation. “You like that, don’t you,” he growled as his foulness spread
across my face. I fought against my instinct to flee and, instead, reached over
to the bedside table and flicked off the lamp.
The blackness enveloped the room, allowing
me to remove myself mentally from the sick situation. I closed my eyes to find
an image of Daniel—a flash of messy blond hair.
“You’re mine.” Nicholas’s voice jerked me
back into reality, making me acutely aware of his sweaty panting body hovering
above me. I closed my eyes tighter, willing my mind away.
“Melanie, my love. You’re so beautiful,” he
said as he held my body against his, tender caresses igniting a fire deep
within me.
“Daniel,” was all I could manage as he
made love to me, each touch a whisper across my skin. He gently kissed my neck
as he moved against me, and I felt the pressure build with each stroke of his
body.
“Melanie, you feel so good,” he ground
out, his voice rough with emotion.
I couldn’t help the little moan that escaped
my lips, the flash of desire that washed over my body as it remembered the way
only Daniel could make me feel.
“That’s right. I feel good, don’t I?”
Nicholas grunted as he finished and collapsed with all of his weight on me.
The nausea swept through me, and I pushed
Nicholas away. “I need to clean up,” I choked over my standard excuse as I
rushed to the bathroom. I fell to my knees at the toilet, desperate to purge
away the hate I had for myself. The act only left me feeling more empty and
alone.
Holding onto the vanity for support, I
pulled myself up to stand. I rinsed my mouth and splashed water on my
face—anything to make me feel clean again—but there was nothing that could wash
away the shame.
I stared at myself in the mirror, the
reflection no longer one I recognized. The girl I remembered was seventeen—full
of life and love. The one staring back at me may as well have been dead. The
only life left flickered in the periphery of my consciousness where a familiar
comfort waited in the darkness. As I climbed into bed, I grasped for it,
desperate to feel him for one moment more.
Thoughts and Review
The book was amazing I've also read Take This Regret and I thought It was amazing, didn't think anything could top it until this book. Melanie and Daniel seemed like they had a strong connection, and it was beautiful. I fell in love with they're relationship. It felt so real the way that A.L. Jackson described they're relationship. Sadly the book shows that sometimes things don't turn out the way you had hoped for. I was heartbroken when they weren't together anymore. I didn't expect it so I was surprised when she married that horrible guy Nicolas.He didn't treat her the way a man should and that just made me so angry It got so bad that I had to take a second just so I could continue reading. There are some characters that you just hate with a passion and others that you absolutely love and this one was both you loved to hate Nicolas. I don't know how he thought he could treat her like poop and still end up keeping her in the end. I wouldn't care I'd sign those divorce papers pronto.
Just by looking at each other there was alot of emotion between Daniel and Melanie, it was powerful and you could even feel it bouncing of the pages. There are not enough words in this world for me to tell everyone how much I loved this book I enjoyed it so much It was perfect in alot of ways! And another thing to add these covers are perfect I loved the one from Take This Regret too. Covers are so important I love them.
Author Bio
A.L. Jackson first found a love for writing during her days as a young mother and college student. She filled the journals she carried with short stories and poems used as an emotional outlet for the difficulties and joys she found in day-to-day life.Years later, she shared a short story she'd been writing in Southern Arizona where she lives with her husband and three beautiful children. Her favorite pastime is spending time with the ones she loves.
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