We were the prom king and queen, and on top of our game. The day she and I married was the best day of my life.
But it wasn’t to last.
Anna Marie found that modeling wasn’t an easy career to break in to. There were thousands of other models, all fighting for their place in front of the camera, and many of them had the money in their families to put them there. Though we loved each other dearly, it was no secret that money wasn’t a luxury we’d been given in life.
We had enough to scrape by, but with Anna Marie missing work to audition for modeling gigs, things were getting strained between us. I’d never been a stellar student and college wasn’t in my plan. The job I had working at the factory close to our small studio was barely covering rent. I knew I had to figure out a way to make some cash that would support her, and the answer seemed to be coming from the military.
The promises of the benefits they would give me for enlisting were more than enticing when I thought about how happy Anna Marie would be. She would get her career, I would get to see the world, and after a few years of me being away, we’d get to finally live our happily ever after.
At first, she didn’t like the idea. But I managed to convince her, and by the time I was twenty-one I was on my way to basic training. It wasn’t easy, that was for damn sure, but I thought about my bride back home, and how much I wanted to make her dream come true.
I thought about what we’d be able to do with our lives when she was a model. Treating one of the best cities in the country as home base, we’d be able to travel to our hearts’ content. I’d show her all the places that I’d see in the military, and she’d look even prettier in my eyes.
Life was set to be perfect.
Until it wasn’t.
I served four years with the SEALs, but when I came home on leave, it quickly became evident that the money wasn’t going to be enough. Anna Marie was stressed out and angry most of the time, blaming me for not having the funds to support her.
It hurt to hear the words coming from her lips after all that I’d done over the course of those four years, but once again the answer seemed to be in signing up again. After all, we’d managed to make it work for four years, so what was another four?
It would all be worth it in the end I told myself again, when I got to see how happy I’d made my beautiful bride, and she’d get to realize her dream. I went back in for another four, thinking that that would be all that I had to do to make her happy.
But things began to change. Two years into my second enlistment, we began to fight even when I wasn’t home. Anna Marie didn’t feel like she was seeing me enough. She refused to understand that I was once again signed into service, and I was going to have to live out my commitment to the Navy.
It became stressful to hear from her, and I started replying to her emails less frequently. I didn’t call her as often as I could have, and I didn’t prioritize video chats back home. I wanted her, but I couldn’t handle the stress of fighting with her while I was overseas.
I swore to myself I would fix things when I was home, and the time couldn’t pass fast enough. I made promises to my wife, telling her that things were going to work out between us. I would make damn sure of that. She would get to be a model, and she would be happy.
But, as time wore on, I started to notice that she wasn’t reaching out to me as often as she could, either. She would let my emails sit for over a week before sending me something short and trite in reply. She didn’t prioritize me, and I began to worry.
My best friend, Charlie, had promised me that he would make sure Anna Marie was alright while I was gone. He was the son of a prominent banker in the city, so he had his career laid out for him from the cradle. I trusted him with everything I had; I thought he was a good man.
When I asked him about my wife, he’d often assure me that she was doing just fine. She was doing her best to work and audition for gigs, and he did what he could to treat her to a dinner or a movie every so often. I was grateful to him for it.
I didn’t like the idea of my wife sitting at home for eight years while she waited for me to get out of the Service.
When I was finally free, I headed home as fast as I could. I had spent enough time away from my wife, and I wanted to start our lives together in the same place. I had no intention of ever getting back into the military, and I hoped that we were finally financially secure enough that she would be able to focus solely on modeling.
I didn’t mind finding another job to help us get by. As long as we had the money in the bank from the time I spent in the desert, I knew we’d be fine. It would be the boost we needed to get through the early years of our careers, and we’d get to finally see our dreams come true.
But I came home to emptiness. Anna Marie wasn’t the only thing missing, either. As I looked through our little studio, I could see that there were a lot of her things missing as well. It was as though she had packed her bags and gotten out of there quickly, perhaps as soon as she heard I was coming home.
I’d wanted to surprise her and called her when I was just an hour away. I’d wanted to give her enough time to get ready for a nice evening out on the town, telling her that I was taking her out as soon as I got back.
She was out, alright, but it looked to me like she didn’t have any sort of intention of returning.
It didn’t take long for me to learn the truth. She and Charlie had been having an affair for over a year, and she was done with me. He had money, and he could help her achieve her dream. He clearly didn’t care that she was a married woman or that I was his best friend who had trusted him, and the two of them were moving in together into his penthouse in another part of Chicago.
I was crushed. All my dreams, all the hard work that I’d done, was gone. It didn’t matter that I’d spent all that time in the Service, I had nothing to come home to. The entire reason I had joined in the first place had run away with my best friend, and I was left to face life alone.
Devastated, I went back to the only thing I’d really known in my adult life. I joined for another four years, only to be shot two years in. The bullet had come close to my heart, and I’d spent more than two months in the hospital. Unable to return to duty after that, I was discharged with honors, but once again sent back to Chicago.
I’d been back in town a week, and I had to admit, I was sick of living in a hotel room and out of a duffle bag. My wife was gone, my best friend was gone, and I didn’t want to leave. But I didn’t want to stay, either.
Other friends I had in the city tried to get me to go out with them. They encouraged me to move on from my wife by finding another fling. I was good looking, they said, so it wouldn’t be hard for me to get another girl in bed. Not to mention how many women went crazy for a military man.
There was a part of me that thought they may be right. I was muscular, very much in shape after my time spent on missions. I’d turned thirty-one just days before I was shot, so I was still in the prime of my life. My black hair was a stark contrast to my blue eyes, and my angular jaw was one thing Anna Marie always said was sexy.
I could be a catch if I wanted to.
But that was the problem. I didn’t. It had been two years since she’d broken my heart and I still didn’t want anything to do with love.
I was done with women. Done giving my heart to any of them, anyway. I didn’t want to get into another relationship. I was just out to make myself happy. Sure, I wouldn’t mind seducing a woman and bringing her back to my bed, but I didn’t want it to go any further than that, and I didn’t have the patience for drama I was sure that scenario would cause.
With all that Chicago had to offer, I still felt trapped and alone. I didn’t want to talk to anyone, I didn’t want to hear from anyone. The city was far too small knowing that Anna Marie and Charlie were in it, and I just wanted all of it to go away.
But that wasn’t going to happen. I was back to civilian life, and that meant that I had to face the facts. No more hiding out in shit-ho
le barracks in the desert, no more pushing my problems out of my mind so I could just worry about my orders.
I was home.
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A Note from the Author
Thank for you taking the time to read my latest novel Saving Sky.
I hope you loved reading my story, as much as I enjoyed writing it.
It would mean the world to me if you could take some time to leave a quick review for this book. Reviews allow me to understand how my readers truly feel, and they keep me improving.
I appreciate you supporting me, thank you so much.
- Natasha L. Black
Also By Natasha L. Black
Here are a list of my previous releases, some of which that went to the top 100 of all of Amazon.
Protecting Her
Forbidden Daddy
Pretend I’m Yours
Redemption
Sweet Tooth
Training the Rookie
Pretend You’re Mine
Double Trouble
The Cabin
Cuffed to my Roomies
About the Author and Mailing List
Natasha L. Black is a romance author focused on making your wildest dreams come true.
She tries her best on making everyone fall in love with her work.
Empty your thoughts and enjoy the fantasy she will bring to you.
She loves writing romances that have gorgeous men who always protect their sassy and sexy women.
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Saving Sky Page 15