Page 49 of Sick Little Devotion

She only married Will out of desperation. I knew that, even as a child. I could see it when they got married. She hadn’t been happy. But Dad didn’t have a life insurance policy, and she thought she was doing what she had to do.

“Sara?” Aiden’s voice breaks through the noise in my head.

I lift my head from where it’s been buried against my knees. Aiden lingers over me, somehow having walked right up to me without my realizing it. I don’t say anything to him, but I immediately wipe the moisture from beneath my eyes.

“Did something happen?” he demands, dropping to the floor beside me. “Did someone do something to hurt you?”

I swallow hard and shake my head. “No.”

He studies my face for a few beats, the silence growing more charged with every second that passes. “Is it me?”

I don’t know what to say to that, considering it partially is him—of course, it is. I’m stuck in a fucking castle of a prison, and there doesn’t seem to be any reprieve in my future. And the lack of an answer from me seems to be enough for him.

His shoulders slump as his palms rest on my knees. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, Sahara. I don’t know how to make you understand that I’m doing what’s best for you. This is what we wanted.”

I stare at him, trying to wrap my brain around his words. “How could you say this is what we wanted when it was so long ago? And you know what, I would be happy here, maybe, if you’d just let me see my family. If you’d given me a choice.”

His face twists up in a way that makes me feel guilty. “I’m not…” Aiden’s voice trails off as he looks away, the soft moment reaching me in a way that I wasn’t prepared for. “I’m not trying to keep you from your family. I’m only trying to keep you safe. I’ll let you see your family… Once I know that it is safe to do so.”

I squeeze my eyes shut to stop another flood of tears.

“How is it not safe, Aiden? You’re the one who kidnapped me.”

“It’s not about that,” he says quietly, tugging at my hand. I can’t tell him no, and I let him pull me into his chest. The scent of him wraps around me, and the warmth of his body against mine brings instant relief. I don’t know why it’s still like that, but I welcome it, regardless of everything that’s happened between us.

“Sara,” he murmurs, brushing his lips across the top of my head. “Someone is threatening us, and I don’t know why or who. Until I know the answer, I can’t let you get in touch with your family. But once I know that the danger’s passed, I’ll take you to see them.”

“Okay,” I whisper, no longer feeling the strength to argue. “I’ll trust that you’ll do that.”

“I will, I promise,” he says the words with confidence, his tone taking on the same one that it used to when he would curl up next to me in bed and swear that we were going to get out and be together.

More emotions overflow, and I begin to cry again, sobbing into Aiden. My fear of vulnerability washes away as Aiden wraps his arms around me, holding me against him even tighter than before. He lets me cry without asking any questions or taking offense.

And for some reason, the moment of softness brings forth the love that I had buried deep inside of myself. I do still love Aiden. Even if this entire situation is a mess.

I suck in a deep, ragged breath and lean back from where we sit on the floor. “I was going to make brownies, but I don’t have the recipe.”

He gazes down at me, his eyes alight with love. “I can get a recipe for you, if that’s what you want.”

“I just wanted a distraction from being alone,” I tell him the truth, my heart aching at my own words.

He nods, his lips turning downward. “I’m sorry I haven’t been here for you like I should have. I had business to take care of today. But I’ll stay with you for the next few days. I could use a break. I have people to take care of things for me.”

“People…” I echo him, thinking of how many people he employs. Given his house, it has to be a lot of them. “Don’t you feel bad selling—”

“Yes,” he cuts me off before I can even finish the question. “I do. I always have. But it is what it is, and like I said, I’m hoping to get out of it at some point. I’m not hands-on with the product, and I don’t allow for it to be cut, if you know what that means.”

“I want you to get out of it,” I say carefully, preparing for a bad reaction.

He doesn’t argue with me. “Okay, I will.”

I peer up at him, lean forward, and then brush my lips against his jaw. The slight stubble on his face tickles, and I think back to the days when it wasn’t there—when he was still trying to grow into a man. I never would’ve pictured him like this, wearing suits and ties and living in a mansion…

But I’m happy for him.

He’s made it.

Aiden’s grip around me tightens as my lips kiss their way to his earlobe, sucking it gently into my mouth. My fingers slip to the buttons on the front of his dress shirt, loosening his tie.