Page 93 of Seizing Control: Part Two

Bereft.

Emotionally raw.

Some of my loneliness is self-inflicted.

I’m surrounded by people. Encased in love. Living a life filled with promise and blessings. Their constant support is the only reason I am strong enough to stand by my decision to leave once the twins are born. The home I’ve purchased using the money from my mum’s trust is almost ready for us. Five bedrooms. State-of-the-art security. Baby-proofed. Adjacent to Slash’s house but far enough away to provide peace of mind. Within walking distance of Crystal and Angelis’ new home. Half an hour from the law offices so I can return to work once my maternity leave is over—if Gabriel will take me back considering my performance has fallen off in the past few months.

I have a pile of briefs stacked on my desk downstairs that I haven’t even looked at yet.

Maybe once I’m safely ensconced in my new home things will be easier...

It’s been an impossible mission to make the preparations without Lazarus discovering my next move, but Nadia, Delia, and Crystal have been fundamental to my plan. They’ve worked themselves to the bone to get things setup properly, and their promises to assist me as I take my first steps toward independence soothe my nerves whenever they flare.

I am determined to stand on my own two feet.

Resolute in my choice to put me and my children first.

The future is promising.

As long as I ignore the missing pieces of my soul.

They are the bane and the balm to the isolation that stalks me.

When the door opens further, the shadow that looms across my bed tells me my middle of the night visitor is Slash. His wide shoulders tapering down to his trim waist. The strong arms that I miss. Big hands capable of violence and ecstasy.

A shiver of desire runs the length of my spine.

My nesting instinct is in hyperdrive.

My overheated libido is even worse.

I haven’t been touched since the night Slash demanded a divorce.

By choice.

Lazarus wants me, he’s made that clear, over and over.

Fuelled by my anger at his duplicity, I gave him a cold shoulder.

Slash ignores me, his abrupt reappearance is as confusing as it is infuriating.

The darkness in the ice-blue stare that follows me all day makes my skin prickle.

I’m a bundle of tension. Electrified to my core. My head and heart are at war. My craving for the two men who treat me like an afterthought rages at an all-time high. I am bearing down on my due date, the twins growing inside me almost ready to arrive in this world, and I don’t have a solid foundation to build a safe world for them.

In his crib, Garrett makes a snuffling sound.

He works his pacifier back into his mouth.

The sound of him sucking on it is loud in the quiet room.

My husband snaps out of his stupor.

He backs out of my bedroom.

Closes the door shut behind himself.

Leaving me alone, apart for the three children I’ll kill to protect, once again.

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