AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I fill the kettle with water, return it to the stove, turn on the gas, and ignore the sensation of Gavin’s eyes on my ass. The only reason I’m tolerating him is to restore my only source of income outside of Mom and Dad. Several of my videos have gone viral, and that money can buy my independence.
That, plus a mourning dress and a grand flower arrangement for Xero’s funeral.
Gavin turns up the volume on his phone, taunting me with the sound of Xero’s fight with the prison guards, followed by the tasing. He snickers as a guard declares him immobilized, and they drag him to a holding cell.
Whoever said hell hath no fury like a woman scorned hasn’t met Gavin. Gavin’s anger at his involuntary celibacy could rival the rage of heaven. The kettle bubbles as the priest gives him his last rites, and it whistles as I hear the governor order the executioner to turn on the electric chair.
“Isn’t it boiled yet?” Gavin asks.
“No,” I reply through clenched teeth.
He snickers. “Your man is a resilient fucker. Look at the way he’s jerking on the chair. He’s taking ages to die.”
My sinuses throb. I want to tell Gavin to stop torturing me with the sound of Xero’s death, but there’s a part of me that’s still curious about the text messages claiming to be from him. Maybe there’s an infinitesimal chance he cheated death.
The kettle continues to whistle, the shrill sound making my ears ring. When a male voice on the edge of my awareness says that Xero survived the electrocution, I double over and steady myself with a palm on the counter.
“Shit,” Gavin says, his voice breathy with awe. “They’re doing it again.”
I whirl around, my eyes widening. “What?”
“Come and see.” Gavin rocks back and forth in his seat with the force of his excitement.
“No.”
He rises to his feet. “You need to see this.”
“Why?”
“So you can stop clinging to the past.”
I huff a laugh. “He’s barely been dead for twenty-four hours.”
Gavin holds out his screen, which reveals Xero still convulsing on the electric chair, his large body barely restrained by the leather straps. Flames erupt from the back of his head, followed by black smoke. It fills the execution chamber and spreads toward the camera.
One of the guards flaps his arms about, and with the help of some powerful fans, he eventually manages to clear the air. Xero’s body continues to jerk and spasm within the restraints until he finally falls limp.
Every muscle in my body tenses, and I stand frozen with my back to the kettle’s shrill whistle. My gaze is glued to the screen as every detail unfolds before me with a surreal clarity that roots me to the spot.
Xero’s chest remains still as a man in a white coat approaches and performs several tests before declaring, “Time of death, 6:05 PM.”
“You see?” Gavin sneers. “He’s dead.”
“And this is why a man like you can’t get a girlfriend, let alone a submissive,” I reply, my voice breaking. “You’re a creep who preys on women at their most vulnerable.”
“What did you say?” he hisses.
“A coward, too.”
He advances, his nostrils flaring, his chest rising and falling with rapid breaths. I raise my chin, look him in the eye, and dare him to try it. Gavin is about to find out who he’s fucking with. And there’s a kettle behind me, whistling his name.
The doorbell rings, and his gaze darts toward the hallway. Without another word, he walks out of the kitchen. I blink, loosening tears that roll down my cheeks. I follow him to the front door, watching him take possession of his food delivery and walkdown the street without a backward glance before sliding into the driver’s seat of his red sports car.
“Fuck you, Gavin,” I snarl and close the door.
If tolerating his presence is the price of getting back into my account, I’d rather starve.
When I return to the kitchen, steam surrounds the stove, and I turn off the gas. My phone buzzes with a text message from the delivery app, announcing that my order arrived in ten minutes and asking if I’d like to give the driver a tip.
