Page 105 of Cruel Promise

“I didn’t know you needed help,” he says, shrugging.

“You didn’t notice I was a prisoner?”

“Nope.” He slowly cuts the onion. “I didn’t ask. I didn’t care. I’m paid good money for this job. Nothing in the world will make me give it up.”

“So, you stay here for money.”

“Who doesn’t?”

“Edmund stays because he knows it’s too dangerous to leave this life.”

“Well, Edmund and I are vastly different people.”

That is very true.

I pat Claude on the arm. “Never change, Claude.” He jerks away from me with a scrunched-up face like I have a disease.

I chuckle as I walk away. It’s only once I leave the kitchen I realize I have a large smile on my face. How often have I smiled like this since being married to Nik?

Not often, I realize.

Maybe things are starting to turn around for the better.

Yale is perfect as fall starts to come around. The leaves are turning red and yellow and orange. It’s cozy and comfy. I’m reminded of the nights my mom and I would drink hot chocolate on the couch, our toes curled under a blanket, a pumpkin vanilla candle making everything smell better.

I stop short in the middle of a walkway as a pang hits me. I still don’t know what happened to her, and I’ll never fully be satisfied until I do know.

I’ve tried not to think too much about her because the pain cuts me too deep, but right now, I can’t get her off my mind. Panic bubbles up into my chest, and I bend over, breathing in deeply. God, I miss her so much. I’ve let myself get distracted by Nik and my growing feelings for him when I should be focused on finding her.

She’d be so upset with me for developing feelings for the man who bought me and letting her body remain missing.

“Ava.”

That voice makes me stand upright immediately. Jason stands before me, smiling like he didn’t just get punched in the face by Nik a few nights ago. He still has a bruise.

“Jason,” I say warily.

“I’m not here to fight. I just saw you bent over and wanted to make sure you were all right.”

“I’m fine.”

His smile turns to scowl. “Fine, don’t tell. I was just trying to help.” He starts to walk away, but something inside me calls him back.

“Wait.”

He turns back with an expectant smile. I hate him for that. Why can’t he understand that we’re just friends?

But I need to talk, and I don’t have any other friends on campus. That reality makes me even sadder.

“I was thinking about my mom.”

“What about her?”

“She’s dead, Jason. Her body is missing. Someone took her.”

He has the decency to look worried this time. Not for me, he didn’t, but I guess for my mom he can conjure up the emotion. “I’m sorry. That’s … I can’t even imagine. Do you want to talk about it?”

“You know what? I do.”

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