Susanna
As I lay in Gabriel’s arms, I know I need to tell him what I’ve done.
“I tried to kill my sister-in-law.”
He goes still for a moment before he looks down at me. “You did?”
I force myself to look him in the eye since I know I need to tell him this. I need to say out loud what I’ve done. The bad person I used to be. And maybe I still am bad, falling for a man like Gabriel, but I want to be better.
“When Alek married Katya, I was upset. It felt like a betrayal. I used to have a crush on Alek back in the day. Yes, he was like a father to me and Nina but he wasn’t our actual father. I felthurt when he married Katya. I was so angry. Sixteen and full of attitude. I… pushed her into a pool. She didn’t know how to swim. Fortunately, she was ok. But I still did that. And at the time, I tried to act like I hadn’t done anything wrong when I knew I had. I knew how in the wrong I was. But I doubled down. I understand your darkness because I have felt it before myself. I always feel it. Because I know what I’m capable of and it’s not pretty.”
He runs his hand over my hair, being more gentle than I ever thought possible for Gabriel. “Your past doesn’t bother me. I like that you have that darkness like I do.”
“But I don’t want to be that way anymore. I don’t want to sink into that darkness again. But my family will never let me fully grow. Never let me change. But you’re allowing me to. I’m not saying I’ll become a better person. But I can become a woman I am proud of with a man who accepts me for me.”
“I’m at war with your sister’s husband. How does that make you feel?”
“Not great,” I admit. “I want to see Nina again. I miss her. But I can’t change with her. She’ll always see me the same way even if we have worked on our relationship.”
“Will you be happy with me, knowing you’ll never see your family again?”
I can’t answer him because… I don’t know.
Gabriel nods like he understands. “It’s been a long day. Let’s get some sleep.”
I find myself snuggling into him – my scary, dangerous husband who I shouldn’t care for and yet I do. I’ve taken the chance to change my life, even if it means leaving my old life behind.
Alek
I get a bloody sheet in the mail. Attached to the sheet is a note.
I claimed Susanna as my own. Here’s the proof.
I crinkle the note in my hands. Gabriel touched Susanna and sent me the bloody sheet so I would know exactly what he did. He’s playing a dangerous game here and I will not let him win.
But I can’t involve Luca. He’ll only kill Susanna to get to Gabriel. I need to find Susanna myself and save her. Then Gabriel will be free to kill. It’s the only way to end this for good.
Susanna
True to his word, Gabriel doesn’t keep me captive in the cage now that we’re married. He trusts that I’ll stay by his side and truthfully, there’s nowhere else I want to be.
But I can’t stop thinking of my sister. Is she worried for me? Does she miss me like I miss her?
Nina may never let me fully grow into the woman I want to be but she is still someone I love. Someone I care for. Someone I miss.
And I need to see her again. I need to let her know that I’m ok and that I’ve decided to make my life with Gabriel. It’s the only way I can truly be happy with him.
So the moment Gabriel leaves the house for business – business that I hope doesn’t lead to Alek’s death – I sneak out too.
I don’t have a car so it’s up to public transportation to get to Nina. I swipe a couple of bills that Gabriel has laying on the kitchen counter and head to the nearest subway station. The only thing I had to wear was my wedding dress and a jacket of Gabriel’s I stole.
I pay for my ticket and as I wait in the station, I notice a homeless woman sleeping by the wall. She’s shivering. The old me would have scoffed at a woman like her. Would have said it was all her fault that she’s in the predicament she’s in.
But I know what it’s like to have nothing. Know what it’s like to be cold and shivering in a basement after having been kidnapped.
Before I know what I’m doing, I take my jacket off and place it over the woman’s body. She opens her eyes.
“It’s for you,” I tell her. She gives me an appreciative nod and wraps the jacket tighter around herself.
