“Mr. Harris?” Joshua calls out again.
“Go,” she pleads.
I do what she said, hating the fact that I have to obey, that I have to leave her alone in this house. Again.
I have to leave knowing she is the one who caused those scars, and I don’t get to know why. I don’t know if I would get the chance to ever talk to her about it again.
29
Eden
Ihaven’t been able to think about anything but the feel of Kameron’s mouth on me for the last three days. His mouth, those words, the way he set my skin on fire. Even as I sip my latte, listening to Lianne go on about how she can’t wait to see how the induction event goes now that we are adults, I can’t get my mind to care about anything but the way he slid his tongue over me.
I think about the protective energy he let off when he saw my scars. The way he tells me he would end whoever gave them to me. It shouldn’t have made me feel so warm inside, but it did. What is happening to me? I still can’t believe I confessed. That those scars are from wounds I inflicted on myself.
Shuddering, I try to shake away how it makes my body erupt with need from the memories of it alone.
“—and who knows what might happen, you know? What do you think they even do?” She takes a huge gulp of her iced mocha.
“I have no clue. I thought Samuel would give me the rundown by now, but he has been really busy. Like, way more than usual. I even tried to ask him about what to expect, but he told me we would go over it another time.” I huff out and slouch in my chair.
“Well, the minute he tells you about it, I want to know the details. Got to mentally prepare myself. Mr. Wellingburg told me it was something I would see when we got there. He doesn’t like to talk about the Divine’s many things.”
The way Lianne talks about her situation with Mr. Wellingburg has always made me want to ask her more. But every time I tried, she shot it down. It didn’t stop me from trying. I mean, she loved to dig into my life as well.
“Can I ask you something?” I ask, testing the water.
“Of course. Shoot.”
“How does your relationship work with Mr. Wellingburg?” I pick at the lid of my coffee cup. “I know I have asked before. It’s just... I don’t understand how it all works.”
She lets out a deep breath. “I know. I don’t think our ‘relationship’ is normal per se.” She puts her coffee on the table and takes my hands in hers. “If this is you worried about how your relationship will be in the future, I don’t think that it’s gonna be the same storyline as mine. Mr.Wellingburg took me in when I was fourteen. He didn’t treat me like a wife at first, but Mr. Donovan went over the expectation with us when I arrived.” She looks down at my hands. “I knew what I would eventually have to do. But Mr. Wellingburg didn’t have me take on those roles until I was eighteen. I mean... was I his wife? Technically, yes, but he was always respectful. And I was thirteen and from foster homes. I knew what he could have done to me. Trust me, he was the least of my trauma. He seems”—she furrows her brow as if she’s thinking how to word it—“ashamed of himself for allowing me to be his wife. I think that is why he always lets me have whatever I want and lets me do whatever I want to do. I mean, why else would he let me have so much control of my own life?”
“And you are happy?” I lower my voice, scared I’m asking her too much at once.
“As happy as I can be here.” She gives me a faint smile. “Anyway, you never did tell me how much you got out of Kam—Stephen that other day. Is he gonna rat us out?”
A hint of worry sparks in her eyes.
I smile at the mention of him. “We don’t have to worry about him.”
She looks at me curiously.
“Did you know he is gonna be assigned a wife?”
“Already?”
“Yeah. I heard Samuel and him talking about it when they are walking to his office the other day.”
“You little snooper, you!” She slaps my hand, placing them on the table. “I don’t know how I am friends with such a rebellious girl.”
I giggle. “What if...” As I nervously sip of my coffee, she looks at me quizzically. “What if he is my Chosen from the Divine?” I blurt out, leaning over the table so only she can hear.
Her shoulders sag a bit as she looks me over. “Eden...”
“I mean, the Divine wouldn’t have let him cross my path for no reason before he came here, right? That has to be a sign from the Divine. And the Donovan’s have been so hush-hush about who my husband is to be. Maybe this is why they couldn’t tell me all this time—because he wasn’t a part of the Divine yet.” I smile at her, full of hope.
“Maybe, but please don’t get too hopeful. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
