Page 8 of Vows From Hell

Suppressing the desire to groan, I merely nodded.

Micah grabbing me was something I wanted, yet I couldn’t say that. It was only a matter of time before he saw the article and tried to reach out.

The real story would only put me in prison, but given the tone of the statement, it seemed as if he’d done something terrible to me, something I was too terrified to speak about in public. It was as though I’d finally gotten the courage to speak my truth.

I prayed he’d take the bait.

“Tomorrow, you’ll be out and about. Go sightseeing with Natalie,’’ Kyle instructed. “If you see him, immediately call for me or Adele. We’ll have to wire you, of course.’’

“No problem,’’ I agreed. As if Micah wouldn’t do a full body search as soon as he got to me. “Will you be following me?”

He smiled. “Of course. I promise I’ll keep you safe.’’

What a futile promise. Sincerity laced his features. He meant the words that slipped so easily from his lips, but it didn’t matter. I wanted to laugh at how mentally disturbed I was. While everyone was trying to come up with the best plan to keep me safe, I was already thinking of how to evade their grasp.

“Should we call it a night, then?”

Adele yawned as soon as Natalie asked. Kyle glanced at his expensive wristwatch and nodded, removing his glasses.

Beck, who was quiet for the majority of the conversation, kept on stealing glances at me. He had a great poker face. I was unable to determine exactly what the look in his eyes meant, but it wasn’t anything pleasant.

I only realized it after Adele and Natalie left, and the two of us remained at Kyle’s place. At first, he seemed to have a bubbly personality. He wouldn’t stop talking, no matter how much Natalie begged him to. However, now, he was staring at me as if he was trying to read me.

It was so quiet, the only thing I could hear was my heartbeat.

The intensity of his stare was great, and I struggled against it.

He was across the room from me, and with Kyle being busy rummaging through his files, it was just the two of us, having a staring contest. Somehow, I didn’t want to lose. I couldn’t afford to lose against him.

It wasn’t until Kyle had returned his attention to us that Beck sighed and looked away.

I was finally able to breathe without suffocating.

What the hell was that about?

“This isn’t working,’’ I said while sipping hot chocolate.

Natalie was sitting across from me, a cup of coffee in her hands. Her fingertips turned red, and for the past fifteen minutes, she’d been trying to warm up. I told her to bring a coat because the weather was unstable. It started raining an hour ago, and to say we were drenched would be an understatement.

At least I had my coat on.

“Give it more time,’’ she responded. “If nothing happens after we’re done, we’ll just go sleep it off.’’

It was only last night that the statement was leaked, and it already reached Sierra’s ears. Although I couldn’t tell her exactly what it was all about, she was adamant about doing damage control until it was too late.

The response was overwhelming.

I hadn’t checked it personally, but if I were to believe Adele and Kyle, I had quite a lot of support. Some media outlets spread the word before checking the source, so it was good enough.

Natalie and I spent the entire day sightseeing. She showed me all the popular spots and took me to nice restaurants. Kyle, Adele, and Beck were always close by in case we needed them, but sadly for me, there wasn’t even the smallest indication Micah was somewhere near.

While Natalie was busy scanning our surroundings, it gave me enough time to think – well, rethink my decisions.

Two years after he left me, he made contact. That was last year. He’d left me a little box with a golden band inside. Evidently, it was a wedding ring. I purchased a chain and wore it around my neck like the prettiest necklace. It was very precious to me.

The roses that came with had wilted a long time ago, yet I couldn’t bring myself to throw them away. Instead, they were covered in plastic wrap and stashed back home, at the back of my closet, where all my demons seemed to be hiding.

And a letter.

---