AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The cards beneath my skin shift, reminding me they are there and that power flows inside me. With a smile, I roll my shoulders and reach for the doorknob. I twist it slightly before kicking the door open. It goes flying with a bang, slamming against the wall and leaving a dent behind as I step into the warm hallway.
“Honey, I’m home!” I call, giggling at my words.
There is no answer.
I immediately realize the lights are coming from hundreds of candles, the tiny flames flickering along the hallway walls with wax melting onto the floor. It’s as if Roger set up some sort of great, romantic gesture, even if it comes across as creepy, and it makes me scowl.
This could all be a trap, but I also know I’m not leaving here with Roger. He has no idea I’ve become a monster. I made a mistake in letting him live, and I won’t make it again.
My boots creak on the floorboard as I step farther inside. Freedom, in contrast, makes no noise at all despite her weight. She moves behind me, stalking silently, just as I do. I peek around the corner of the first doorway and find the empty kitchen. There are more candles there but nothing else. Some of them are on top of the refrigerator, the wax dripping down the front of it, giving it an eerie look. Those ones are red.
I continue forward, easing deeper into the house and checking each doorway, only to find them empty. It isn’t until I reach the living room that I find him.
Stepping into the room, I take in the sight of the man standing with his back turned to me. He’s looking out the window, his hands in his pockets, appearing as casual as I’ve ever seen him. He’s dressed in new clothing, and he cleaned himself up. His hair is perfectly styled, and his clothing is ironed. He looks every inch the man every woman dreams of.
But not me.
He was never my dream.
“I watched you come closer,” he remarks as he stares out the window, his voice pensive but not afraid. Why would he be? To him, I will always be the cowering, broken girl he married. “You didn’t even try to hide.”
“Why do I need to?” I ask, my voice hard as I watch him. “I wanted you to know when I was coming for you.”
He chuckles under his breath before finally turning to look at me. Just like always, his face is perfectly groomed. It’s been months since his injuries, so he’s all but healed now, but there’s still a small bump in his nose that he wasn’t able to fix. One of my men broke it, and he can’t erase that. I bet that slight imperfection drives him mad.
His hands still linger in his pockets, but when his gaze shifts to Freedom, I tense. She can take care of herself, but I don’t want his eyes on her at all. She stands behind me, her tail curling around my thigh as she offers support and protection.
Roger looks me up and down, taking in my outfit and the blood covering my skin. His expression tightens ever so slightly, the muscle jumping in his jaw the only sign of his displeasure. “Those circus freaks have changed you.”
“Yes.” I nod, tilting my head as my smile blooms. “They have.”
He tsks. “Such a shame. You used to be the perfect housewife. No worries,” he says as he pulls his hand from his pocket, revealing a knife, the sharp edge catching the glow of the candles as he meets my eyes. His gaze is filled with the evil and rot I know lives inside him. “I can make you like that again.”
He lunges for me. I should have been prepared for it, but instead, I only have a few seconds to bring my arms up and grab his wrist as we both go tumbling to the ground. Freedom growls, clearly intending to jump in, but I hiss over at her.
“No! This is my fight!”
She immediately backs down, but not without an angry growl. She watches, waiting to see if I need her help as she paces away from us in agitation.
Roger may have gotten the jump on me, but that doesn’t mean I’m helpless. I’m stronger than I used to be, and when he tries to shove the knife into my stomach, I’m able to hold him off. My hands grip the blade, it cutting into my palms, and my blood runs down my arms and across my body. This is the last time he will ever make me bleed. I grin up at him as I push the blade up and away from me, cutting myself deeper. His hands shake as he tries to resist, but the power in my veins helps me shove him. When I snarl obscenities and kick, he actually flies off me long enough for me to scramble to my feet.
Crouching, I reach for my blade once more as he scrambles to his feet, his chest heaving.
When I face him, I see something flash in his eyes I’ve never seen before—fear.
It’s a hell of a drug.
“What’s the matter, dear husband?” I ask, grinning as I lift my bleeding hand and lick a line across my palm as his face pales, and he hesitates. “Tiger got your tongue?”
With an unhinged laugh, I turn to lunge. I swipe my blade at him, but he dodges out of the way at the last second, missing being gutted by a millimeter. I don’t let it frustrate me. I swipe out again and again, dodging his attacks and making sure every movement of mine counts. We dance back and forth across the floor, our breathing loud in the quiet farmhouse. It’s my blade against his, my anger against his manipulation.
My back hits the wall when I leap to avoid a wild swing, and plaster rains down on me. I duck under his knife just in time for it to embed in the wall where I was standing. Sliding behind him, I slice his leg, making him snarl and turn to chase me once more. He goads me with each step, spitting his own insults. The word “whore” is thrown around a lot, but most of his insults fall on deaf ears. He swings his blade toward me, and I jump back just in time, but not before the edge catches on my corset and slices through it. A bloody cut appears on my pale skin, another wound to add to the list of injuries he has given me.
“I really fucking liked this corset,” I hiss as I lunge toward him, laughing when I catch his bicep and tear through his clothing, his blood blooming from the cut.
He bares his teeth at me as he glances down at it, the sight of his blood infuriating him even more. “Bitch.”
I wave my knife at him, the sight of him bleeding giving me way too much joy. “What are you going to do about it, asshole?”
