Total pages in book: 166
Estimated words: 169305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 847(@200wpm)___ 677(@250wpm)___ 564(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 169305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 847(@200wpm)___ 677(@250wpm)___ 564(@300wpm)
“I will be.” She leaned her head back, resting it on my neck. “I think.”
The amount of strength this woman had in her fingernail alone could detonate a nuclear bomb.
“Of course, you will. You’re the strongest person I know.”
“And I intend to deliver the cruelest blow.” Her gaze caught mine. “But first, I need to break.”
“Break?”
“You know—fall apart. Cry like a baby. Let myself break for all the times I refused to.”
“Break.” I pressed a kiss to her shoulder, cheek, temple. “I’ll put all the pieces back together.”
Even if it’s the last thing I do.
Ihad a one-track mind, and it begged for blood.
First, I called Andras, my hands choking the steering wheel of my Prius as it zinged through familiar streets.
He picked up on the first ring. “I see you have come to your senses.”
Yes, and all five of them want to feast on your blood.
“I texted you an address. Meet me there.”
“It’s ten—”
I hung up, knowing he’d come. Even the prospect of a longer jail sentence for his son must’ve made him tremble.
So stupid, Fae.
You should’ve known it was too good to be true when The Andras Horvath showed up the day you landed back from Seoul and offered to take you under his wing.
I let a snake into my garden. A spy.
Time after time, he convinced me to focus on fencing. Random training sessions that interfered with lawyer meetings. Tears in my training gear that required money to replace.
Distraction after distraction.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Twenty minutes later, I pulled up in front of my childhood home. I stood on the very step I’d been abandoned on as an infant.
Suddenly, I couldn’t fathom why I ever wanted to live here. A sliver of regret collided into me.
Maybe I shouldn’t have rejected Zach’s invitation to join me, but I needed to stick up for myself. If I didn’t learn now, I’d rely on him forever.
I shoved my key into the hole and jiggled it, only to discover Vera had changed the locks. A cloud of cold condensation rushed past my lips as I laughed to myself.
“Of course. Doesn’t matter.” I dumped the key onto the mat, pounding my fist on the door until it rattled. “It’s only your house on paper. You were never welcome here.”
The pitter-patter of slippers dragged across the hardwood.
“Someone woke up today and chose violence.” Tabby groaned on the other side of the door. “Hell-oooo, tone it down. I’m on my way.”
“Did you DoorDash without asking me what I want?” Reggie’s voice came from above, probably up in her room. “What’s all that noise? Who died? Ugh, please say Farrow.”
Not that I needed any more reason to be mad, but I just got it.
Tabby swung the door open, only to find me standing on the porch, alive and well, waving back at her.
Her nose scrunched, my mere presence apparently stinking up the place. “Speak of the devil.”
“I’ll take being a devil over being a common bitch.” I shouldered past her, striding into the house. “Where’s your mother?”
The sour tinge of decaying food slipped into my nostrils. A thick layer of dust coated the entryway bench.
Something smelled like wet fur, though the Ballantine women only liked animals on their plates and coats.
As expected, nobody had bothered to clean up since I’d left.
Tabby chased me into the living room, breathless as she tried to keep up with my pace. “Mom changed the locks.”
No shit.
Footsteps hammered down the stairs. Reggie rounded the corner seconds later.
“You have no right to be here.” She yanked the sleeve of my jacket, but I pushed her off. “You ruined our lives. You quit the company, and now we’re poor.”
“And you’re suing us?” Tabby splayed her arms out, trying to stop me from crossing. “You should sue whoever cuts your hair first, you horrible witch. Is it even straight?”
For starters, I cut my own hair with one of those haircutting clips that promised a straight cut. I supposed I had a case against them, too.
I stepped around the giant gap between Tabby’s outstretched arm and the television. “You wanted me to be your maid.”
“It’s called paying off your debts.”
“Debts? I’m not the one dripping in Prada.” I tilted my head, eyeing her blouse. “Well, I suppose it’s Frada now.”
“Yes, debts.” Reggie tossed her hands up. “Daddy and Mommy footed the bill for your little trip to Korea. He practically bled out for you. You know how much money that school cost? We couldn’t even afford to keep my horses.”
“Nothing.”
“Huh?”
“It cost nothing, because I had a full scholarship.” I dipped into the dining room after finding the living room empty. “And the horses went to an equine therapy center because you never fed them.”
“I had school.”
“So did I.” I spun, getting in Tabby’s face. “I only left for Korea because you spent every waking moment reminding me that I’m not part of this family.”