Page 113 of Rise of a Fallen Man

He stared at me intently. His eyes flicked between mine as if trying to read the truth. I held his stare, having nothing to hide. I’d go anywhere, as long as he came with me.

“Then let me say to you something I never could say before.” He brought his face closer to mine. “I love you, princess. Maybe not from the first day we met, but definitely from the first time we kissed.”

Air rushed into my lungs, making me feel lightheaded with happiness.

“I love you, too, Salas. And it feels so fucking good to say it out loud at last,” I breathed out before his lips touched mine, taking my breath away.

Chapter 30

Ari

Six months later.

Sharp whistling cut through the hot summer air as I approached the bus stop. Three young men lingered in the shade of the bus shelter, playing cards and passing a booze bottle between them.

“Hey, babe, want a drink?” One of them shoved the bottle with a cloudy liquid my way.

I shook my head and stepped closer to the only other person at the bus stop—a middle-aged woman in a long-sleeved dress.

“Bitch! I’m being nice to you!” the man shouted.

I kept my gaze down, doing my best to ignore him. I knew from experience that any kind of acknowledgement would make it worse. By being nice, I’d provoke further advances. By being rude, I’d risk a physical assault. By ignoring them, I could only hope that they’d forget about me soon and return to their game.

Another man pulled on the arm of the first one, taking the bottle from him.

“Leave her. An ugly cow. There are much prettier chicks out there.”

“But that’s disrespect!” the first man raged. “My booze is not good for her? Who does she think she is?”

I prayed the bus would come soon, but it was nowhere in sight yet.

The woman gave me a critical look.

“Walking around half naked in public like that,” she hissed under her breath. “What else do you expect?”

It was a hot summer day. I wore a spaghetti-straps tank top, but my maxi skirt was even longer than the woman’s dress. Two of the three men were topless, the third one had a soiled tank top on. Yet according to the woman,myclothes were the problem here.

I shrugged, ignoring them all, and reached in my book bag for my phone.

The technological advances during the past decade had been fantastic and on the verge of magical. Even after four months of owning a mobile phone, I still couldn’t believe how easy it was for me to talk to Salas from anywhere in the city.

I flipped the phone open and pretended to dial the number. Salas would be in his workshop this afternoon. There was no need to bother him with an actual phone call.

“Hi, baby,” I pretended to speak to him. “I’m at the bus stop now. Should be home in thirty minutes.” I made a pause, as if listening to his reply. “I love you too.”

The three guys cringed, returning to their game. The fake phone call didn’t always work, but more often than not, men would back off when they realized I had a boyfriend. Uncanny, how much more respect men had for the boyfriend they never met than for the woman standing right in front of them.

Thankfully, the bus arrived just a few minutes later. I climbed in, then watched the cityscape passing by in the window.

Not everyone was as awful as the three men at the bus stop. I’d met many decent people in this world in the past few months. I deeply admired my professors at the university. I’d made good friends with quite a few students in my classes. Salas and I had a kind old man for a neighbor.

Sadly, kindness still wasn’t a quality admired in men. Instead, it was often viewed as a weakness. The kind, decent men I’d met often felt out of place in their own world.

That said, a lot of changes had happened in the ten years that I was gone.

The corruption and abuse at the orphanage had eventually come to light, and the establishment was closed. A nightclub opened in that building instead.

The night Salas and I arrived from Rorrim, the club security picked up the junkies at the bottom of the stairs. They tried to detain Salas and me as well, but didn’t get far with that. The club owner watched Salas toss his man all over the dance floor, then offered him a job as a bouncer that very night.

---