Page 109 of His Wild Seduction

I could not recall a single time in my life when that man treated me as anything other than an obligation or a burden. And that was only during one of the rare and far between visits I’d had with him after my mother died.

Nannies took the burden of my upbringing, and as lonely as that had been, I was grateful for it now. Anything would have been better than that man.

I remembered so very little about my mother. She’d killed herself when I was barely in kindergarten.

I remember her having dark eyes and hair. She was beautiful.

Too beautiful.

She used to laugh a lot, and it sounded like bells tinkling.

What I remembered most vividly was her dancing with me. She used to make me stand on her feet as she moved to no music at all.

Franklin had always hated that.

He would always barge in and say something sharp. I couldn't remember the words, but the tone was always cruel or snide. Even a child knows when someone is being ridiculed.

I hated him for treating her that way. For making her feel so small, so useless, unloved, and uncared for.

I couldn't pretend I understood all the reasons she left me. And I was angry at her for that, too.

People had always assumed I was a spoiled rich princess, but not everyone had a storybook upbringing. I knew that firsthand.

Josef had been my first taste of the real world.

How could I have known he would be the best of it?

My heart warmed whenever I pictured my handsome husband. He’d been gone six days, and I missed him like crazy.

My phone pinged again as Mario opened the condo door, but I waited until I was inside to get it from my purse.

Josef had left strict instructions that no one was to be inside with me, except for this.

Every time I returned, Mario did a check of every room while I waited inside the closed, locked front door.

Then he would leave, and I’d secure the double bolt and re-engage the alarm system.

“Everything is good, Mrs. Aziz,” Mario said before exiting.

“Thanks, Mario. Goodnight.”

I took off my shoes and dropped them on the little rack by the door. Today had been a tough one.

Josef’s lawyers and realtors worked with Fr. Augustus on securing a property with the money I had from those payments I’d received from Gray Corps over the years.

The historic Victorian was in the same town where I grew up. Morristown, New Jersey, was one of the oldest towns in the entire country.

It was the site of the winter headquarters for George Washington himself, during the American Revolution. There were tons of museums and parks dedicated to our country’s beginning, places with historical significance.

The house itself was on a nice little cul de sac. Quiet, secluded, close to the local school.

It wasn’t a mansion or anything, but it was clean and there were plenty of bedrooms. Eight to be exact.

Ellie and her son were moving in first. Josef had arranged for a construction team and building inspector to fix the place up first, and they’d moved like lightning.

I’d offered to take them to the new house before I’d known Josef wouldn’t be there to help.

Tomorrow was the day, and I was not about to back out.

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