Page 24 of Original Sins (Dark Odyssey 6)

I didn’t feel hungry, but maybe I was.

“What did Dad say, Cordelia?” I finally ask.

She blows out a ragged breath. “Everything to disappoint me. He said he would deal with Peter and have a word with him, but that’s it. What Peter did should be enough to call off the wedding, but I knew it wouldn’t.”

My damn heart sinks even though I knew she was going to say something like this. My fucking heart actually hurts worse than my face, and I want to scream.

“So he doesn’t care? Peter almost raped me, and my father doesn’t care?”

“I don’t think it’s that. He cares, but like everything else, he has his own rules. He thinks that roughing Peter up a bit will fix the problem. He doesn’t get why I suggested calling off the wedding.”

“I don’t know what I’m going to do, Cordelia. I have to leave.”

She holds my gaze. “You know if you leave, you can’t come back, right?”

I nod slowly. “I do know that. Last night just made me realize everything I thought about Peter was right, so what else is true? I can’t forget that night Dante was murdered, Cordelia, and I can’t be linked to that man in any way.”

“I know. I just wanted to make sure you knew what leaving meant. I’ve been thinking too, and I don’t want this for you. The shitty thing about it is, even if your father were to choose someone else, all the men who work for him are like Peter. There’s not one among the batch who I could consider good. He won’t allow you to marry anybody he doesn’t trust to eventually take over the entire empire. That’s the way it works in our world.”

“I know. I need to leave soon, Cordelia.” The one good thing to come from the shit with Peter is being able to talk to her about my plans. I would have felt terrible to disappear on her watch and leave her in the lurch.

This way, she can see all the reasons why I need to leave.

“You’re sure you’re serious?”

“Yes. I’d do anything to get the chance to leave. Cordelia, from what you’re saying to me, it’s not just Peter I have to escape from. It’s Dad too.”

“Exactly. That’s exactly where I’m going with this. Your father loves you. He does. But we live in this archaic world where daughters are sold to men for business marriages and where fathers think they know best when it comes to love. I’m fortunate that never happened to me, and I have what I have. But even with me, there’s a limit. My life can change. All I have is the house and a small trust fund my dad left me. When you leave, you’re turning your back on a legacy of both your parents.”

Mom’s business.She’s including Mom’s business which is part of my dream.

If I leave, I’ll be broke, and I’ll have to start from scratch. I’ll have to find work and save to put myself through college, and that might take years.

But, at least I’ll be free and safe.

“I still want to leave. I can’t live my life in fear and feeling trapped.”

“Okay.” She nods. “I’ll see what I can do to help you.”

My lips part. “You’ll help me?”

“Yes, but of course, this is going to be a secret between us until death.”

“Yes, that goes without question.”

“Okay. Give me until tonight to brainstorm. Evie, you’re going to be traveling a dangerous path, and you might meet worse men than Peter. You need to be prepared for that. You might also need to be prepared to do things you wouldn’t normally want to do. Your father is a very powerful man, so to do this, we’re going to have to be exceptionally clever about it.”

“I understand.”

* * *

Cordelia spent the day away.

Feeling some reprieve from the situation and relief that I was getting help, I went to sleep after she left.

I woke an hour ago and decided to sit by the poolside where I did some sketches for my portfolio.

I managed a few drawings before I heard her car pull back into the drive.

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