Page 150 of The Loathing

“Morning,” my voice floats through the empty room as Titus pulls me back towards his warm body and I curl up and let my head rest on his shoulder when I feel his soft lips brush against my forehead. I let my eyes flutter shut for just a moment as I enjoy every second of how my body reacts to him.

“Sorry if I woke you,” I whispered.

“You didn’t wake me Little Red, I haven’t slept,” he admitted, a soft sigh brushing past his lips.

“Don’t worry about Wolfe, what he did yesterday…” my stomach twists but I am cut off when I am dragged from Titus’ side and pulled on top of him, legs either side and I try my hardest to ignore the hard bulge that is currently hiding in his boxers.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he shakes his head from side to side as his thumb brushes against my cheek.

Silence falls between the both of us as his other hand rests on my hip, his fingers dancing over my skin in small circles.

“I feel like I am being punished for something,” I admit, my eyes gazing into his.

“Baby, you’re not being punished. We have just fallen into an unfortunate situation.”

“It’s not just a situation though, is it?”

He says nothing and pulls his eyes from me.

“I’m being married off, to a man I loathe and wish dead every minute of every day. I have two days, two days until I say, ‘I do’ and once those two words pass my lips, my life is over. The future I have pictured from the moment I met you is slowly slipping out of my grasp. Living on a ranch with you, our kids running round and living their best lives as they make mud pies and dig for treasure. I’ll come out onto the wrap around porch telling you all that dinner is ready and then there’s you. Sweaty and beautiful in the dusk of the evening, walking hand in hand with our children after working on your ranch that you have always dreamt of. I would move across the world for you, just because I would never want to know what it was like to not have you in my life. But now…” I pause and my head falls forward, my hands resting on the warm skin of his chest as his heart begins to race under my tingling fingertips.

“You will always be with me, always etched in my heart Twilight. But we won’t be living out our dreams,” his fingers graze against my jaw, his head tilting slightly as his fingers continue down my neck, down my sternum until they eventual trace across my stomach and I feel my heart tremble in my chest.

Lifting my hand from his skin, I place it over his as we sit in silence dreaming of the what if’s.

CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

AMORA

ONE DAY TO GO

Standing on a small platform, I gaze into the mirror, but my mind is elsewhere. The bitch of Satan was fixing the hem of my dress and making sure everything was perfect for tomorrow.

Tomorrow.

My stomach rolls with nausea and I close my eyes to try and not even think about what my life is about to become.

“Are you okay?” I hear Titus’ voice and a small smile pulls at my lips.

“I will be,” I inhale deeply and let my eyes focus back on the mirror.

The dress looks better now it fits me correctly, and the slit has been sewn up so it’s not as revealing.

“There,” she claps her hands together loudly and I jump. “Happy?”

“Not particularly…” I roll my eyes and then let them roam up and down my body. “It’ll do, but I think maybe the dress should have been black seeing as I’ll be entering a mourning period.”

She tsks, shaking her head from side to side as she walks away.

Poisonous little dwarf.

“I think I hate her more than Wolfe,” I smirk, turning to face Titus. “So?”

He stands, hands fisted deep into his pockets as he walks towards me, and I can see the pain that tarnishes his beautiful face.

“It pains me to say it but…”

I nod.

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