Which is the same time I happen to accidentally lose a book on his bedside table. About how to poison a human and get away with it while thinking you were the one who came up with it.
Perfect.
Epilogue
Natalie
A year later
It took months to clean up the community and the temple and get rid of all the male memorabilia as well as the pervasive patriarchal systems that were in place. Not only because it was hard to bury all the bodies and lay them to rest but also because it took a long time for people to adjust to a new way of life. But we’re getting there slowly, and it’s worth the time it takes.
The temple has been repainted, the rooms redone, and all the furniture has been replaced with benches and chairs. The throne room has been turned into an actual auditorium, and the temple is now a community school for all genders and ages.
Girls and boys no longer learn about the archaic systems for marriage and conception, but about love and community, about living with each other and valuing one another as one big Family. Science and facts are now welcome at the school, and we’ve bought books from the outside world to give the children actual proper education.
In fact, the gates to the community have been opened and all the people living here are free to enter and leave whenever they please. Visitors are also allowed, though not a lot have discovered this place, nor do many people know it exists.
Celebrations are still held in the community but are no longer a fuck-fest for men. They’re now a celebration of women and their ability to raise and nurture, and rise above the pains of the past.
But we also remember the before and after, so no one ever forgets what took place.
In the middle of the community, we created a sort of shrine to honor those who died for the cause. Emmy’s candle is the biggest of all and burns the brightest. She was the first … the one who set the hearts of all the others ablaze.
And every month, we pray to God for justice and forgiveness, and we paint the walls of the temple with scenes from our revolution, to pay tribute to the women who fought and overcame their struggles, so we always remember what they did for this society.
Men and women are equal here, there is no submission, and no man can take anyone as their wife. Marriage only takes place when a woman wants a man and vice versa, and their love must be truthful, not based on lies and deception.
We screen every marriage before it takes place, asking them questions only they know the answers to before allowing it, to make sure everyone involved is safe.
The children adapted to this new way of life so quickly it’s almost as if nothing ever changed. They seem so happy to play around with each other while the men and women work equally hard, and they’ve adapted well to their new environment, despite having lost so many lives.
Many of the orphaned children were taken in by other families who couldn’t conceive, and while the women were blamed before, they are worshipped now for opening their hearts to children in need of a warm home.
There is no more need for a hierarchy, so everyone lives in the huts now. And no one is forced to shower when others are present, as we created small doors in the showers that serve to block anyone from entering. The dining hut is now open to all as well, with no one being disallowed from talking.
I’ve never seen this community more vibrant and the people happier than they are now, and we have ourselves to thank for it. I can honestly say that it’s a true Family now. There is only one thing left to take care of … And that is finding April.
There is no paper track, no records of her disappearance, but I know I will find her one day. Soon, we’ll go out into the world and start the search for the other communities.
And then we’ll set them all free.
I sigh and stare up at the clouds as I lie here in the grass in the middle of the tree orchard. Noah lies right beside me and holds my hand.
“We should get back, shouldn’t we?” he murmurs.
I shake my head. “Just a little while longer …”
“Your mother’s going to be mad at us, you know that, right?” he muses.
“She loves watching little Emmy. I doubt she’s keeping track of time,” I reply.
He suddenly rolls over and lies on top of me with half his body, caressing my cheek. “Well then, if you don’t care, neither do I.”
And he smashes his lips on top of mine, claiming me like he always does, but it feels so different now, so much better than it ever did before.
“Wait,” I say, inching back.
He pauses and looks at me. “For what?”
I smile broadly. “This.” And I grab his face and smother him with kisses.
When it’s time to breathe, he sucks in the air and says, “What was that for?”
“This time, it was my choice,” I reply.
A grin spreads on his face. “You know, I never asked you the question … but I will now.”
“What?” I ask frowning.
He picks up an apple lying on the ground mere inches away from us and holds it up. “I don’t have a ring, so this will have to do. But … will you stay married to me?”
I laugh, but my heart swells with love at the same time, and I grasp the apple, and say, “Yes, silly!”
He grabs my wrist and leans in to take a bite, chomping down. “Good, because I don’t think I’d survive if I had to go out there and look for another wife.”
I narrow my eyes. “You wouldn’t …”
“No, I don’t have time. Besides, I have you, and that’s more than enough for me to handle,” he says, raising his brows. “Plus, I intend to enjoy every minute I have with you.”
He leans in and presses another hungry kiss onto my lips, persuading me to kiss him back. The tension is rising. I can feel it in my body, which begs for him to touch it. He grasps my wrist and forces it down onto the grass, and the apple rolls away.
I don’t feel captured or subdued …
I feel free.
###
The end!
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Read on for an excerpt of A Debt Owed, book 1 in the Debt Duet!
Excerpt of A Debt Owed
Prologue
Easton
A few weeks ago, age 25
I can’t stop staring at the pretty pink-haired rich girl dancing in the picture on page five of the newspaper I’m reading.
“Davis heir celebrating a birthday while father’s business on the verge of bankruptcy.”
My lips curl into a vicious smile when I read that headline. Now this, this is something I can work with. This is how I’ll get inside … how I’ll destroy his multi-million-dollar business and get my hands on the girl.
Charlotte Davis; the daughter of my nemesis and my lifelong obsession.
When we met for the first time at her father’s wedding, I knew right then that she was made for me. It was never a choice, but she thinks it is. She thinks she can decide her destiny, but she’s wrong.
I worked hard for years to build an empire for the sole purpose of destroying Davis Holding and taking Charlotte as my own. And I will get my fucking way.
The newspaper crumples in my hand as I get up and throw it away.
Time to make some calls and get to work.
Chapter 1
Charlotte
Present, Age 23
A bird locked in a cage won't ever be happy. One day, it’ll fly away into oblivion.
This diner where my father waits for me makes me feel like a caged bird. His mere gaze makes me choke on my own breath again.
Nothing has changed.
I shouldn’t have answered his desperate call and come here. But I can’t turn away now. It’s too late; he’s already seen me.
What if he has something important to say? What if he’s sick or dying?
I
don’t want to be that jerk who doesn’t show up when it’s the last time you could ever see each other. When it’s the last time a father and daughter could make amends. Everyone desperately wants to love their parents, even the damaged ones. The ones who use and break without a single thought. That’s my father in a nutshell … and for years, I let him.
But not anymore. I’m finally working hard and living on my own without his help, and I’m proud of it.
But no pride reflects in his eyes. Nothing exists except misery and hatred.
“Charlotte,” he mumbles, and I bend over to kiss him on the cheeks. “Sit down, we have to talk,” he says, and he snaps his fingers at the waitress who glares back at him.
Way to get to the point, Father.
“Hello to you too,” I say, chuckling it off.
God, it’s been such a long time ago since we last saw each other, and I’m immediately reminded why.
“How are things … at work?” he asks, clearing his throat while he makes it sound as though he doesn’t believe I actually work.
“It’s fine,” I lie.
The truth is that I quit my job as a daycare provider in order to start my own business to support families in need with supplies and advice. I want to do something more fulfilling, but investors are tough to come by … especially when they don’t trust me and my idea. For now, I’m pulling money from my savings account to pay for my rent, but I’m not about to tell him that. Even though it’s soon run out, I won’t ever ask him for help.
“How’s Elijah doing?” I ask, avoiding the topic.
“Your brother? Oh, he’s … well, he’s busy, as always,” my father says, waving it away. “But enough about that. Do you want some coffee?” Father asks. Before I can answer, he’s already ordered my drink for me. “One cappuccino.” I don’t even like cappuccino, but I’ll take it.
“Thanks,” I mutter. “So how have you been?”
“Awful,” he says, slurping his coffee. “Just like this coffee. Don’t you have anything better?” he snarls at the waitress.
She shrugs. “Sorry, sir. That’s our best blend.”
“Bland indeed,” he says, rolling his eyes.
“Father,” I mutter.
Has he always been like this? Probably. I made him seem better in my mind just to cope.
“No, they should make better coffee,” he growls while the waitress places down my cappuccino in front of me.
“Why did you even wanna meet at this place if you don’t like it here?” I ask.
“Because it’s the only option I had.” He clears his throat. “Considering my budget.”
“Budget?” I frown and lean back in my seat. “Wait, you don’t mean to say—”
“The business is not going well,” he interjects, but it sounds as though he’s grossly understating things. “But you already knew that. I told you a while ago when I asked you for help.”
“Yes,” I say, folding my arms, “and I specifically remember saying no.”
“I know you did, but listen …” He takes in a deep breath and licks his thin lips. “I’m on the brink of losing everything. I did the only thing I could. I got a loan.”
“So? What does that have to do with me?” I ask, not touching my cappuccino. I know where this is going. I’m almost inclined to leave right now, but I don’t wanna jump to conclusions too quickly.
“Everything,” he says. “You’re my last hope.”
“Really? What about your wife then? Can’t she pitch in?” I snort.
“She’s left me.” He swallows as if he didn’t see it coming from a mile away.
I raise a brow. “Let me guess, she ran away with all your money?”
He narrows his eyes at me, but it’s all I need.
“Figured.” I sigh. “I tried to warn you.”
“Charlotte,” he says in a condescending tone. “You’re my daughter.”
“So?” I suck on my bottom lip. He can’t play on my emotions, not now.
“A loan always needs to be repaid. And part of the agreement was that you—”
“No,” I interrupt, my heart palpitating. “Tell me you didn’t.”
He closes his lips and stares me down, which tells me he really did do it.
“No, not happening,” I say, shaking my head. “How dare you try this on me again?”
“It’s too late. The deal has already been made,” he replies.
My heart stops. “What?!”
I get up, and with a flat hand, I slap his face. The whole place has gone quiet, and everybody’s looking at us, but I don’t care. “I am not an object you can trade for money! I’m your daughter!”
I refuse to become that woman who belongs to someone like some sort of pet. I want to be independent, someone with her own business and her own life. No man will ever make that happen, and no man can make me as happy as my independence does.
Father reaches for my hand, but I pull it away before he can grab it. “Charlotte, you’ll be happy with this man. I promise you.”
My father has always tried to control me by telling me what school to go to, how to dress, and what to say. When I didn’t listen, he scolded me … sometimes, he even hit me.
And now, he’s gone and traded me to some man in exchange for a loan.
“No. You can’t say that. You can’t do this to me.” I shake him off and try to walk away.
Right then, the door to the establishment opens and in walks a handsome, suited-up man with wavy dark hair, a cleft chin … and an insufferably arrogant grin on his face.
My eyes widen, and I begin to stutter. “Easton …”
Easton Van Buren … once a simple waiter in my father’s restaurant with big dreams, he’s now a notorious business mogul who opens clubs all around the world. We first met at my father’s second wedding when we were still kids, and now we meet again … at what seems to be mine.
“Hello, Charlotte,” he muses, his voice still as salacious as I remember. “How nice of you to be here too. Right on time.”
No, this can’t be happening. Not here … and not with him. Even though he sure looks like James freaking Bond when he walks and talks, I know he has an ulterior motive, and it’s anything but good.
He walks toward me and briefly grazes my arm, but the implications are huge.
“You,” I mutter in complete shock. “Why are you …?”
He licks his lips, and a wicked smile forms on his face. But those eyes … those dazzling blue eyes only show contempt and vengeance.
“No,” I mutter.
“Yes,” he murmurs. “I’m the one who lent money to your father, and I want you as payment for that debt.”
For a few seconds, all I can do is stare. Then my palm instinctively comes up to slap him. However, he grabs my wrist before I can even come close.
“Ah-ah, Charlotte. That’s not nice. Hasn’t your father taught you manners?”
I spit in his face. “Asshole.”
He wipes off the spit with one hand. “Now, now … it seems I’ll have to teach you to behave.”
My father clears his throat as if to grab his attention. “I take it you’ll accept this agreement then?”
“Oh, yes.” The way Easton says it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
“What?” I mutter. I can’t believe this. He honestly sold me to a rich asshole just to get rid of his loan? “I’m not a bargaining chip!” I exclaim. “How dare you?”
Easton grabs my chin, and says, “I dare because I’ve wanted nothing more than to own you, and now I do.” The smirk that follows makes me want to smack him, but I don’t think he’d let me.
“I’m not an object. I’m a person, and I don’t fucking agree with any of this,” I hiss, glaring right back at him, so he knows I mean it.
“Tsk … we’ll have to do something about that dirty mouth of yours,” he growls, licking his lips. “And I know just the thing.”
He grabs my wrist and drags me toward the door.
“Let
go of me!” I yell, punching his arm, but he’s too strong for me.
“No, Charlotte,” he says. “You’re mine now to do with as I please.”
“Are you insane? Do you think you’ll get away with this?” I stare him down. “You don’t scare me.”
My eyes widen as he lifts up his shirt to reveal a gun.
“Do I scare you now?” he murmurs.
When I nod, a grin spreads on his lips that remind me of the devil.
“Good,” he says. “Now … don’t make a scene, and do as I say, and no one will be harmed.”
“You’re trying to sell me! Please, Father!” I call out as a final plea for help.
But my father ignores it. “Charlotte, do your duty to your family.”
I glance at the waitress, the only other person in this diner, but she completely ignores us. Easton probably paid her off to keep quiet.
“Charlotte …” Father adds. “Do this. For me. Please.”
That last word hits me hard, and I stop fighting Easton. My lungs suck the air in and out like no tomorrow as I gaze into my father’s sincere eyes. He’s never begged me for anything. This is the first … and probably the last time.
Easton leans toward me, whispering dark words into my ear. “Your father sold his soul to his company, and he paid the ultimate price.”
“What do you mean?” I mutter.
“The only way to pay it off was with you … Or with his life.”
My eyes widen as I face the guilt laced in my father’s eyes. He’s never looked at me like that … like he owes me his world. But he does. And now I have to pay with mine.
“No,” I whisper, tears welling up in my eyes. “His life or mine? No, I can’t do this. Don’t ask me to do this, please,” I beg my father, but he looks away in defeat.
My knees buckle, and I have to fight not to sink to the floor.
“Look at it this way,” Easton muses, holding me tight. “At least now you’ll both live, and you get to say you saved your father’s life.”
Beyond His Control Page 21