Page 4 of In the Midst of Chaos

“Did you clear your head while you were away?”

“I did.”

He interrupted me before I could say more.

“Good, because Nash is right. You can’t go anywhere.”

“So, you drag me back when it’s convenient for you?” I questioned. Axton gave me a cold look.

“Finley, you’re the one that left.”

Yeah, and he knew what had happened that night, and he didn’t care. He never once checked up on me.

“Please, I’m almost done with school,” I begged.

My uncle gave me a sad smile.

“We are at war, Finley, and I don’t want you to be the next casualty.”

Chapter Two

My room was exactlyhow I had left it: the same gray walls with black-and-white portraits from the Hollywood glamour era. I walked up to my dresser and ran my finger over the countertop, and it was spotless; no dust had settled.

They were prepared for my arrival.

The feeling made my stomach dip in excitement and nerves. It was probably Huxley awaiting my return. To unite the Crulls and the Primroses was the dream. Two houses becoming one.

My once best friend, now my fiancé.

I had hoped that with my aunt’s death, all wedding talk would be pushed back.

War: a state of armed conflict.

There were many words in the English language that carried a burden when spoken with conviction, and war was one of them. It’s not like I was surprised. I grew up knowing that there would come a day conflict would land at our doorstep. It was the way of my world.

Now that I was in my old room and my body was coming down from the adrenaline high, I felt a little shook. My aunt was dead, we were at war, Hux still wanted to marry me, and no one said otherwise. Oh, and my heart and pussy still throbbed when I saw Nash.

Sighing, I sat on the edge of the bed. Eleanor was dead, and although it upset me, and I had cried when I first found out, it was just a matter of time until one of us got taken out. To be honest, I always thought about our deaths: Axton for being at the head, Nash because he was fearless, Huxley for wanting to be better than what we were brought into, and me for being the only Primrose left.

Looking down at the bedsheets, I curled my lips in disgust and walked out of my room. As the princess of Crull manor, I had one of the towers. My windows overlooked the back of the estate and allowed me to see toward the forest and the lake.

I tried to remember when was the last time I ate something, and when I couldn’t recall, I decided I should start off by getting some food.

“Welcome home, Finnie,” I muttered to myself as I made my way to the kitchen.

“Did you miss us that much, babe, that you have started talking to yourself?” Duncan’s smoky voice called out.

Duncan was sitting on the ledge that showed the bottom half of the house. The plank was about five inches. He didn’t seem to care. His feet were hanging, and he was about to light a cigarette.

“Oh, yes, Can-Can, I was going crazy delirious without you. What’s a girl to do?” My voice was low, à la Marilyn Monroe sounding like a bimbo.

He smiled and jumped off, coming to me and hugging me. He wrapped me in his arms and lifted me in the air as he twirled me.

His action had me stunned. And I wondered if any of them ever questioned my disappearance. What had happened that bloody night!

Duncan had always been my favorite. Maybe because he was younger, or perhaps because I wasn’t set to marry him or wanted to fuck him.

“Why are you nice to me?” The question slipped.

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