Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 46619 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 233(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46619 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 233(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
Everything from the couch to the dining table reminds me of Abram. I remember the way he’d smile at me from across the room. And the way he’d hold me protectively in his arms.
My legs give out from beneath me, and I grab onto the couch for support.
I close my eyes and take in a deep, steadying breath.
I’m here to work, and I should get on with it. I square my shoulders and raise my chin.
I would just get through this like I’ve been doing every other day since he left.
I’ll endure the pain.
I set to work, intentionally keeping my mind blank. I open the door to the make-shift studio and am about to set to work when I notice the canvases piled in a corner.
My curiosity gets the best of me, and I slowly walk over to the pile. I pick one up and gasp in surprise.
It’s me, but I seem like an entirely different person...happy and so free.
My eyes shine like they could rival the stars, and I seem like I have no worries whatsoever. I find it hard to reconcile this image of myself with the one I see in the mirror every day, but it touches something deep inside me.
The painting makes me feel hopeful but at the same time, nostalgic.
I place the painting back in its place and pick another one.
This time, my cheeks color up as I gape at the painting of myself.
I look caught up in the throes of passion, my gaze heavy-lidded and my cheeks rosy with a sinful passion.
I quickly drop the canvas like it’s burned my hands, my heart slamming hard against my chest.
I can’t believe I ever posed like that.
Slowly, I go through all the paintings, surprised to see that they are all of me in different forms and positions, even ones I hadn’t posed for. Going through the paintings brings back memories that I’ve tried so hard to push to the back of my mind.
Why would he give up on painting when he’s so good?
He’s managed to portray me as exotic, seductive, happy, and so many other things when I’m just a plain woman with one too many curves.
I sigh softly and get to work.
I mindlessly sweep the ground and clean the room. I leave the room and am just about to head into the kitchen when the doorbell rings.
I head toward the door, wondering who it could be at this time. I pull the door open and freeze in shock.
Is this another dream where I fall out of my bed?
Or this time, am I falling off the edge of a cliff, losing any sense of reality I know?
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Abram
I realize for the thousandth time how much I’ve missed her. I’ve barely survived the month without her, but I persisted just for this very moment.
I smile slowly at her.
“How have you been?”
“Hello, sir,” Melody says with a slight bow. “I’ve just finished cleaning and am getting ready to leave now.”
She sounds so cold that I pause to stare at her in surprise.
This wasn’t the reaction I was expecting. Yes, a degree of anger was expected but not this scary indifference.
Melody turns away from me and picks up her handbag from the dining table.
I quickly recover from my shock and block her exit with my body.
“Wh...What’s going on, Melody? Why are you acting this way?”
She scoffs and looks at me like I’m not making any sense.
“Are you seriously asking me that? You waltz in here after a month without any communication, and you expect everything to be alright? What did you expect? That I’d jump into your arms and weep about how much I missed you? Keep on dreaming, honey.”
“Look... I’m sorry,” I say, hoping she will look me in the eyes with the same love and adoration I was used to. “I can explain. I...I needed to put everything together as soon as possible so that I could get back to you...to Hudson. I worked so hard so I wouldn’t have any reason to go back, or at least for a long period of time.”
He pauses looking dejected.
“So many times, I stopped myself from leaving it all behind and running back here to you. I missed you so bad, but I had to comfort myself with the thought that we’d soon be together. I did all of that for us, Melody. Can’t you see?”
“No,” Melody replies, shaking her head slowly. “I can’t see... I do see what I’ve refused to accept all this time. You were always like this, testing boundaries. Did you think I’d wait around for you forever? I can’t do this anymore. You've got this push and pull thing going on and I don’t want to do it with you anymore. “
“What are you saying, Melody?” I ask, my chest swelling with mounting horror.
My brain is refusing to process her words, and I can barely think amidst the deafening ringing in my ears.