“Malik, I’m sorry if I have upset you, but please take my journal and protect my daughter. She is in danger from Balthazar. He will kill her.”
Malik shook his head. “Alina, after I barely escaped Balthazar, I vowed to have a normal life. I wanted to disappear from the world. I want nothing to do with Balthazar. I just lost two important people in my life, and I want nothing to do with you or your problems.”
The baby began to wail more, and I rushed inside the house. I approached the small crib and saw a baby girl with a Timebound necklace around her neck.
Malik grabbed the child and started soothing her, and she fell asleep in his arms. “Leave, Alina, and never come back.”
I stayed put. “You think you can protect her forever? One day, she will grow up and see the monster inside you and despise you.”
His eyes blazed with anger.
I took a step back from him, becoming frightened.
“You knew what Balthazar was, but you continued to fuck him and be with him no matter what,” he roared. “I will protect my child from Balthazar or anyone who will come nearher. I will die for her. But you can’t say the same.”
He slashed the air before me.
Tears went down my face because he was right. I was weak. I couldn’t protect Olivia.
I turned around and left. Tonight, I will go back and leave my journal through the window of the baby’s room, and I’ll never look back.
The diary held one final entry—undated.
I have made many mistakes in my life, but in the end, I only wanted to heal Balthazar, fix him, and make him a better man. I tried to change him so we could build a life together. But I failed. I couldn’t find the other blade, and my time ran out.
Malik has changed. Whoever led him toward redemption succeeded. I still hope that one day, Balthazar will change, too. I still love him, I still care, and I love Jack. But above all, I love my daughters. They are my most treasured gifts.
One day, I hope to make things right. Only time will tell.
I flipped through the remaining pages, but they were blank.
A deep sadness settled over me. “What did she mean by making things right? And what happened to Malik’s child?”
“I don’t know,” Emily murmured. Then, after a pause, she asked, “But did reading this journal change how you feel about her? Are you able to forgive her?”
I opened my mouth, but no words came.
I didn’t have an answer.
Chapter 11
Roman
In my twisted, time-warped life, I had plenty of reasons to be angry—plenty of moments where the fever of revenge burned hot in my veins. But never had I been more swallowed by rage than now, cradling this pathetic fool in my arms, carrying him toward Jack’s house.
Tristan.
This sniveling idiot, this weak, whimpering excuse for a man, had bedded my wife. Olivia—my warrior, fierce, and capable queen—had once let him touch her. The thought alone sent a fresh wave of fury rolling through me. He was nothing more than a worm, a blight upon humanity’s existence, and yet here I was, hauling his unconscious body like he was worth saving.
I stepped onto the porch and adjusted my grip with a grunt.
Jack had always left the door open to let the fresh air circulate through his home. The weather was pleasant today, though I felt nothing but the storm brewing inside me.
“Where shall we put him?” I called over my shoulder to Lee as I kicked the door open wider and stepped inside.
“Jack’s office,” Lee answered, his boots crunching over the gravel.
Jack appeared from the kitchen, a tea towel in his hands. He froze the moment he saw who I carried.
