Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 89162 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89162 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
“That—” he said and followed with a low, guttural curse in another language that her Translation Bacteria couldn’t translate. Maybe it was the Jorgen Kindred mother tongue, she thought. But even though she knew his anger wasn’t directed at her, Molly couldn’t help feeling anxiety.
“I’m really, really sorry about that,” she said quickly as he started the ship. “About what that guy did, I mean.”
Torus frowned.
“Why are you apologizing? That human male being rude and intrusive wasn’t your fault.”
“I know, I just…” Molly shrugged helplessly. “I guess I feel like it is my fault. If my ex hadn’t sent you that video and you hadn’t gotten so mad on my behalf—”
Torus gave her a serious look.
“Listen, sweetheart—your ex-Mate sending me that video was the only good thing he ever did, as far as I’m concerned. Not because of the pain it caused you, but because it brought us together.” He cupped her cheek in one big, warm hand and looked at her searchingly. “I’m so sorry for the pain he put you through, though. If you ever want to talk to me about it…”
He left the sentence hanging and Molly felt like her stomach had suddenly filled with ice cubes.
“No, that’s okay,” she said, trying to keep her voice light. “There’s nothing to talk about other than the fact that he was an asshole.”
“Well…all right.” Torus nodded and went back to the process of getting the ship ready for lift-off. “Just know that I’m here if you want to talk,” he rumbled.
Molly nodded but inside her stomach was churning. The idea of telling Torus everything that Zach had done to her—of letting herself really remember it, was more than she could stand right now—maybe more than she would ever be able to stand.
I’m not going to think about it now, she told herself. I don’t have to—it’s in the past. I don’t care about Zach anymore—he’s gone, I don’t have to deal with him.
Except she would have to deal with him—very soon. The last message they’d gotten from Councilor Paige had said that the case was moving quickly because it was so high profile. It might not be long before she and Torus were both called on to testify. And what if Zach’s lawyer asked her the same awful, intrusive questions the “reporter” guy had asked? What if he demanded to know if Zach had raped her? What if—
“Hey, sweetheart.” Torus put a hand on her thigh and squeezed gently. “I can feel your fear and anxiety,” he told her. “Please don’t worry—whatever happens, we’ll get through it together.”
“Really?” Molly asked in a small voice.
“Really.” He squeezed her leg again, reassuringly. “I’m not going to leave your side—I promise.”
“Thank you.” Molly felt a little bit better. The ice cubes in her stomach seemed to melt and she smiled back at the big Kindred. “Come on—let’s go back to the bungalow. I’ve had enough of being out in public for today.”
“I have too.” He nodded. “Let’s have a quiet Last Meal and cuddle on the couch. We can watch one of your ‘com-rom’ movies so I can learn more about Earth culture.”
Molly smiled.
“That’s ‘rom-com’ as in romantic comedy and it sounds perfect.”
“Good—then let’s go,” he rumbled and the ship lifted off.
Molly watched as the ground receded, eager to get back to their little love nest on the beach.
She had no idea that this was the last quiet evening they would spend together in the bungalow…the last real night of their honeymoon and she certainly had no idea what would happen to end it.
31
MOLLY
“Well, the two of you have officially gone viral.” Lizabeth Paige’s face on the holo-projector in the living area of the bungalow looked grimly satisfied.
“Oh no—have we? What for?” Molly exclaimed at the same time Torus said,
“What do you mean we’ve gone ‘viral’?”
“It means that a video of the two of you has taken social media by storm. This one here…”
Councilor Paige’s head disappeared to be replaced by an image of the “reporter” guy in the backwards baseball cap shouting questions at the two of them.
“See?” the lawyer said, reappearing. “He only uploaded it last night but that little ‘interview’ he did with you two is all over social media today. You’re trending everywhere.”
“Who is that human?” Torus demanded. “He was very insulting towards Molly—I was extremely angry.”
“He nearly went into Rage again,” Molly said, glancing up at her huge husband. “But we just left instead of, uh, getting into a confrontation.”
“It’s probably a good thing you did. That’s a social media star called Mandrew Pate but he usually goes by the title “Manwitch” or just ‘The Big M,’” Councilor Paige told them, reappearing on the holo-projector. “He’s very into the ‘men’s rights’ movement.”
“Men’s rights? What rights is he talking about?” Torus asked, frowning. “Do males have some kind of special privileges on Earth?”