She was also a Japanese woman, just like me, although he met her in Rothkor when she’d come over here to work.Had he loved her?I think he must have.But it was sadly not to be, as number two died.I’m not sure how.The whisperings through the household tell of a fatal miscarriage, a birth gone wrong, or something along those lines.No one seems willing to talk about it.Apparently, Barrett’s never really got over her death, because she was pregnant and carrying his child.
And I can’t help thinking that he’s simply replaced her with me.A carbon copy of the woman who almost gave him a child.
So, now I am number three.
“Third time lucky,” one of the staff said when I arrived at his mansion, one small suitcase containing my scant belongings.
Since arriving in Rothkor and learning about his past wives, I realise now why I’m here.There’s no love on his part.Lust, maybe.I am aware of the beauty I carry, and maybe that’s what caught Barrett’s eye that night in the club.But all he really wanted was a replacement for the woman who almost gave him what he truly desired.He married me for one thing.
An heir.
And that’s why we’re here at Belial House.
After five months of trying, I’ve failed to fall pregnant.Barrett said we should get away from the estate and get some peace.I liked the sound of that, something a little more normal, fewer staff floating about the place.I thought getting away from the mansion might bring back the Barrett Devall I met in Japan.That, away from his business dealings, he would be the man who captured my heart.
I had visions of a private beach with a luxurious holiday house or a fancy lodge at the edge of a lake, the kind of houses you see and only dream of.But when he’d told me where we were going, I’d shuddered at the name.
Belial House.
It hadn’t sounded luxurious.It sounded depressing.
And I wasn’t wrong.
There’s something about this house.Something that makes me want to pack up and leave.Something that makes me want to cry, scream, and run—everything all at once.
I’m not the only one who feels it.
The staff feel it too.
I see it in the way they move around, their arms clasped around their bodies as if trying to keep warm, or when they’re looking over their shoulder as if something is following them.
Because it’s exactly what I feel within these walls.
Evil, as if the devil himself has built this place.
“Wow, this has got to be a first.”Hayami’s voice snaps me from the page, and I almost drop the book.I must look confused.“You’re reading a book.”She nods to the journal.
“Yes.”There’s a distinct tremor to my voice that, thankfully, she doesn’t seem to pick up on.
“Any good?”
There’s a second where I consider telling her, but I’ve made my mind up.I’ll read it first.So I do what any discerning bodyguard would do—I protect her.
“It’s nothing.”I tuck the book into my back pocket.
She hesitates, as if she’s going to push the matter, but then her shoulders drop.“I’m going to take a shower,” she says, rising from the chair.“You coming to watch?”She smirks before I have a chance to reply.“Come on, big guy, you can at least stand guard by the door.”
We make our way upstairs, and I look at the walls, studying them, wondering what evil Junko Devall felt whilst she stayed in this house—and whether I’ve already seen it.
TWENTY-SIX
HAYAMI
PRESENT
Lunch hasn’t dilutedmy attraction for Fenrir, and reading about my latest book boyfriend burying his head under the skirt of the female main character has only added to the wretched state I now find myself in.A cold shower is the only solution.
As I step under the spray, the cool water pummelling my skin, I try to imagine my current book boyfriend, his mop of dark hair, his chiselled jaw, his perfect physique.But even when I close my eyes and concentrate, the only thing I can think about is Fenrir’s hand on mine, the heat of him, the musky smell as he leaned into me and the firmness of his body pressed against my back.
