Page 86 of The Woman

After sucking in a deep breath, he begins, “This all started one night when you were around one. An old friend of mine had asked to meet me at the bar and said it was important. When I arrived, he had already been drinking a lot and it didn’t take long for him to reveal to me that the woman he had picked was a WOUN and that she had been taken away from him. That friend was Ken.”

“Ken? As in–”

“Yes,” my father confirms. “Steff was originally a WOUN.”

My gaze drops to the ground, my eyes absently tracing over the patterns on the area rug as I recall the first meeting we had together. Ken looked like he very much still adored her despite what had happened to her. Would I be the same if Avery is returned to me? Or would it feel like a stab to the heart every time I saw her?

At that same meeting, I had knocked a glass over, trying to test her reaction. I feel like a fucking asshole now.

“At the time, he was distraught and didn’t know what to do,” my father continues.

I lift my gaze back to him. “So, you both decided to build this place?”

He nods, draping an arm around my mother’s shoulders as if it’s the most natural thing.

“I admitted to him that Elliana was a WOUN as well, and then he came back to my place so we could talk more freely. It was risky, and we were taking a chance by telling anyone anything about it, but slowly, as time went by, we found more people in the same, or similar circumstances. One of which worked for them, Harold. That’s when we struck gold.”

I look at them sitting together. I’ll never know how I had no idea my father was part of such a dangerous endeavor. It’s amazing, really, how I’ve lived my life oblivious to all of this. Oblivious of all the WOUN until more recently.

“And my sister?” I ask after a moment.

“Shortly after you turned four, we found out that your mother was expecting again. This place was set up by that time, so we decided that she would have the baby here and that we’d keep the pregnancy quiet in case it was a girl.” Reaching down he takes hold of one of her hands and gives it a tender squeeze. “Elliana was already finding it hard to be around you and try not to interact too much. It was depressing for her, not really being a part of your life, so the decision was made for her to stay and raise the baby here.”

Her eyes are shiny when I shift my gaze to her, and the emotions are so clear and abundant on her face that it’s almost overwhelming.

“I’m so sorry,” she tells me, regret heavy in her voice. “I didn’t want to leave you, but your father was doing such a good job at raising you as a normal boy. I didn’t want to ruin that.”

That isn’t actually the part that bothers me. What bothers me is that I feel like I’ve been living a lie. I was in my own little bubble, none-the-wiser about my father’s other life. I get it, though. I just wish I’d known sooner because things could have turned out differently for Avery.

“I understand that you both did what you had to do,” I answer her just as the front door opens and closes. “Maybe I would have done the same if I’d had the same chance to keep Avery safe.”

“Well, you do,” my father replies, pulling my eyes to him. “You do still have that chance.”

A small smile pulls at the side of his lips right before he looks past me, causing my heart to thunder in my chest before I even know what’s going on.

I spin around, watching in stunned silence as both Rayne and Avery walk into the house.

My lungs feel like they can’t bring in enough air as I scan over her, soaking in the light golden blonde of her hair, her violet eyes that remind me of the purple sky at dusk, and the curves of her body that I could spend hours laying kisses on – all of which I feel like I’ve been starved of for far too long.

“Avery,” I choke out, sounding completely unlike myself.

The second she hears me, her eyes fly up to meet mine and her whole face transforms into a smile that is beyond breathtaking.

“Phoenix,” she breathes, then charges toward me.

Chapter 35

Avery

I can’t get to Phoenix fast enough, my feet thumping across the ground as quickly as they can take me until I jump up and crash into him, catching him by surprise and forcing a puff of air from his lips.

I wrap my arms and legs around him and press my face into his neck, feeling his arms come around me and pull me tighter. He smells like home and comfort.

I had to come to him as soon as I heard his voice. I didn’t even get a chance to take in this new place I just arrived at. All I know is that I’m safe here, and I was told there are other WOUNs like me.

“I was so scared, Phoenix,” I mumble against his neck, blinking back the mist gathering in my eyes. “I missed you so much.”

Lifting his hand, he threads his fingers through my hair and uses the hold to pull my head back so that he can look at me. The hair lining his cheeks and jaw has been left to grow, and his usually neatly done hair looks tousled.

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