Todos os capítulos de Dirty Seduction: Capítulo 71 - Capítulo 80

NICKLAINE NEEDED to be cared for, just as I needed to care for her. Both need that special someone to slot so nicely into their broken parts.It was beautiful.It still is beautiful.But this game can’t be all we are, not anymore.I pour her a whisky as I pour myself one. “It’ll help calm you down,” I say.She manages a smile.I take a seat at the table opposite and we sit in silence no longer simmering with conflict.We’re past that now.My demons have backed away into their shadowy pit, and the girl in front of me no longer looks like her soul is breaking.“Tell me about Kelly Anne,” I say. “Not just about what a cow she is, but about why you ever liked her in the first place.”“You want to know?”I nod. “I want to know. It was part of you, Laine. I want to understand why. Maybe that way we can stop it ever happening again.” “It won’t happen again anyway. I’m done with her.” I believe her. Her eyes are full of the pain of betrayal.I know it’s a tough pill to swallow.She takes a m

EPILOGUELAINEHE TELLS me my old house is finished. Good as new he says.I kick off my heels and thank him, but it feels so far away from that place.I guess it will be nice for Mum should she ever come back.Maybe she’ll be back for Christmas. Maybe I’ll get a text.Maybe she’ll even come to dinner with Nick and me. Maybe I don’t care that much anymore.I’m EXCITED about my own life now.I’m excited about finishing up my college course, even though Nick tells me he earns enough for both of us. For all of us. For the children we plan to have and the life we want to lead. Enough for everything.At least child studies put me in an alright position to have babies of my own.I want so many of Nick’s babies.HE SAYS he’s going to redecorate Jane’s room. A new room for new little people when they come along.He’s already started boxing up her things.He’s moved her DaDDy drawing to the corkboard in the pantry. I trace my fingers around the letters sometimes and wonder what it will be like

I pressed my back to the front door when I slammed it closed, eyes shut tight as I tried to come down from hyperdrive. I must have been as pale as a ghost as I gathered myself, choking back a fresh round of sobs. My ears were ringing, and I could feel my pulse in my temples, but it would be ok… Mum would be ok now… she’d be ok.The man upstairs was in the kitchen when I opened my eyes. He was helping Mum to her feet, supporting her as she winced in pain with her hand on her side. Shit, it looked like Scottie had punched her in the ribs, too. No surprise, since it was his usual go-to spot. Nobody could see the bruising.Together we eased her onto the sofa as she gritted her teeth. I was sitting right beside her when I saw him reach into his suit jacket and pull his phone out. I watched him key in the emergency services number, but I choked out a wait before he hit call.He looked at me, his piercing green eyes so hooded with rage that I felt the burn.“There’s no point,” I told him, ha

I opened the first bottle of pills and started the pile. Bottles two and three helped it grow. Four and five made it look lethal. Six, seven, eight. The stash was high. The result is a certainty. I’d need at least a liter of whisky to wash them down. Luckily, I had one to the side of me.I got the bottle ready and took hold of a fistful of pills, heart thumping to a different tune as I prepared myself. I’d been stalling for another few months again, backing out at the last minute every fucking time. But not this time. Not. This. Time.Fuck earning credit by being a hero this evening. I’d been a villain a thousand times over back at home, and I deserved to pay for it. I deserved this.I pictured Katreya’s face, tears streaming. I remembered Grace and Ryan’s horror as they realized what a perverted piece of shit their father was. I imagined Michael’s shock as he realized what a fuck up his brother had become. My mother-in-law, Kristelle, cursing my name.I recalled the sneers of my disg

Why did he think his dad was such a good guy under the surface? He was more deluded than my mother, who was saying something. Still, I was probably deluded about my mum, too. He was likely as optimistic as I was, hoping one day they’d turn a corner and be the parents we needed. At least my mum never raised her fists at me, and at least I was eighteen now, and able to provide support for us both, rather than depend on her to keep our electricity on.College went by in a blur as I tried to concentrate. English, Maths, Science. My surface-level friends chatted their usual pointless chatter, and the buzz of Friday was rippling through the other students, but I wasn’t feeling it. I had no plans for the weekend, other than longer shifts at the pizza place. I was done with any more fake illusions of friendship than necessary. I felt thirty years older than everyone around me anyway.I hung on in the library for a decent few hours after college finished, because I really couldn’t be doing wit