บททั้งหมดของ Broken Vows, Rising Flames : บทที่ 171 - บทที่ 180

Clara’s POVThe Supermarket was just a few minutes drive from our home. Damon pulled over in the parking area, the engine humming softly as it went dead. I tapped my phone to check time which had become my friend all of the sudden. 7:25.I had just Thirty-five minutes to get to the location. “We’ll make it quick,” he said, unbuckling his seatbelt.“Sure. Very quick,” I added, emphasizing on the quick because I really needed it. We got out of the car, heading inside the supermarket. My legs were struggling to kept my body afloat…. I just wished I could cast some spell and vanish. I grabbed a shopping cart from the row by the entrance. It was more of something to hold onto, than what I was meant to use for the shopping.Inside, the lights were too harsh, shunning so bright It took a while to adjust to it. I checked my watch.7:28. Thirty-two minutes.Damon moved at his own pace, picking things up, turning them over, reading labels like we had all the time in the world. I could

Clara’s POV“I went somewhere.”“I texted you.” His voice was low, controlled in a way that scared me more than shouting would have. “You said you went home. But you weren’t here. I waited. I called. Your phone was off.”“I know. I’m sorry.”“Sorry?” His voice cracked upward. “That’s all you have to say? I’ve been worried sick about you. What’s wrong with you, Clara?”I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. There was nothing I could say that wouldn’t unravel into a lie or a truth he wasn’t ready to hear.I walked past him toward the stairs.He caught my arm.“Don’t walk away from me. I asked you a question.”“Let go of me.”“Not until you tell me where you were.”I tried to pull free, but his grip only tightened, and something in me stretched thin from weeks of fear and doubt and lies stacked on top of lies then finally snapped.I turned and slapped him across the face.The sound cracked through the room like something breaking.We both froze.I stared at my own hand, then at the red bloom alrea

Damon’s POVI pulled out of the driveway and let the smile spread across my face the second the house disappeared in the rearview mirror.She signed everything. Every last page, without so much as glancing past the first paragraph.I could still see her face this morning, trusting, tired, grateful, like I was the one holding her together.Not an ounce of suspicion.Poor Clara. She actually believes I’ve changed. She thinks I love her.I laughed out loud in the empty car, the sound bouncing off the windows. It felt so good because I didn't think I'd be able to pull this off since Clara feels she's so smart.She thinks I’m protecting her from Leonard. She has no idea what’s actually coming for her.I thought about the years it had taken to get here. The patience. The humiliation I’d swallowed when she took everything from me and thought I'd let go of that. I’d banked on that action since day one and had been waiting for the day I would get my pound of flesh.The feeling of freedom wasn't

Leonard’s POVI sat in the dark corner booth with a glass of whiskey sweating in my hand. The club was lively just like every other night, only that this night….. I didn’t come to drink and party. I took another sip from my drink, my gaze on my target who was seated at the bar section. The view from upstairs was nice. From there, I could see almost anything and anyone. Michael Vance was slumped over the counter, three bottles of champagne down already, and from the looks of things….. he was ready to take more. Just then, I heard her foot steps approach me. Even with the loud music, it was funny how I could make out the sound, and how I managed to do it very well. She slid into the booth beside me, leaning close….so close, her intoxicating cologne clung to my nostrils. “You have a job for me?” I turned to meet her gaze. She was probably decked up, face painted, nails done, ready for the victim that was going to come into her den.“Yes.” I nodded toward the bar without turn

Clara’s POVThe coffee in front of me had gone cold a while ago, a thin skin forming across the top. I checked my phone again.1:45 PM.He was forty-five minutes late.I dialed the number he’d texted from. It went straight to voicemail. I tried again a minute later, drumming my fingers against the table, and got the same flat, mechanical greeting.“This is ridiculous.” I muttered it under my breath, loud enough that the woman at the next table glanced over. “I knew it. He’s playing games with me.”I waved the attendant over. “I’ll take the check, please.”I paid, dropped extra cash on the table without waiting for change, and walked out into the afternoon heat, my heels clicking sharp against the pavement.I slid into my car and slammed the door harder than I meant to, gripping the wheel until my knuckles went pale.“That son of a bitch better never call me again.”I hit the steering wheel once, the horn giving a short, startled honk.“Really? Son of a bitch?”I screamed, my hand f