“Yes, I suppose so,” he said, a smirk on his face. “You have already changed my life.”
“I don’t know who I am,” I told him, dropping my eyes.
“That’s okay,” he spoke as though he already knew that. “You have time to figure that out.Wewill figure that out in time.”
“But what will happen to us? To me?” I asked, almost fearing the answer.
Cupping my chin, he made me look at him before he answered. “My parents are probably already planning an engagement party, as I don’t bring anyone to meet them. Ever. So, we will get married within the year. You are welcome to go to college, get a job at a place that I believe to have high security for your safety, or you are welcome to work in my family if you so decide to.”
“No college,” was my first thought. “But whatdoesyour family do?”
“Many things,” Zachariah answered, leaning back and pulling me against him once more. “We have a number of businesses, Violet is the family doctor, as we do require her services more times than I like to admit. My mom does a lot of the fundraiser gatherings, plus helps my sister-in-law when needed.”
“And you? Your dad?” I asked after he paused for a few seconds.
“I don’t want to scare you,” he sighed out.
“I’ve seen you kill,” I reminded him. “And yet I’m sitting on you lap, no less. You haven’t scared me away.”
“That is true,” he laughed, not ashamed that he did, in fact, kill right in front of me. “I work with my grandfather and father. I help keep things running and bringing in money where it needs to. When it needs to. Normally, I have my own men keep track of all those girls that you saw, but I do check up on their care often.”
“You also kill those that betray you,” I stated quietly.
“I never said I was the good guy,” he replied, almost sadly.
“You are,” I said, sitting up to meet his eyes. “You do what you have to live the life you were born into. It is expected of you. You are the good underneath everything.Youare good to me.”
“You are different, Avidya,” Zachariah said as he looked into my soul. “I will never hurt you. Not on purpose.”
“Nor will you hurt anyone that you are close to,” I said, knowing it was true.
“Never,” he said. “I would give my life to keep those I care deeply about safe. You included.”
“Why me?” I asked, generally curious.
“Because of who you are. You may have been wronged from the moment you were born, but there is a reason. A reason why you have been put on my radar. I’ve known about you for years; I have done my homework so I basically know everything there is to know about you. Or at least what there was. But you are so different than I expected. You aren’t the spoiled girl I figured you would be raised to be,” Zachariah answered. “Now that I have met you, you mean just as much as everyone else that I care for, if not more. You are mine, Avidya, and I take care of what belongs to me.”
“Okay,” I responded, trying to wrap my mind around what he said. I knew there was more to everything. More to who I was, where I came from, and more on who this man was. It could all wait for now.
“Is that all?” he asked.
“For now,” I smiled. “I’m sure I’ll have more questions later.”
“I am sure you will,” he laughed. “Now come, your belongings should be arriving in the next hour, and you need to eat.” He patted my leg in the process, a silent sign that I needed to get up.
I followed Zachariah to the kitchen, where he already had a silver bowl filled to the brink with a variety of muffins.
“Help yourself. Coffee?” he asked, pushing the muffins towards me as I took a seat at the island.
“No thank you,” I replied, picking out a blueberry one.
“Not a fan?” he asked towards the coffee.
“Not really, no,” I answered. “Not a fan of the taste, but I do love the smell.”
“I’m surprised by that,” Zachariah stated. “So, did Lynn say what was in the boxes?”
“Nothing, really,” I answered. “Just that it would contain the information about my birth parents. I have no idea what could be in them if anything important.”
