Chapter 13
Alaric never told Eileen about their real first meeting – behind the high school, by that stinking ditch.
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He was a mess then. Filthy. Starving. Digging through garbage for food.
Then she appeared.
Like some angel in white, standing at the alley’s mouth, looking at him with soft eyes.
She pulled out two grand and handed it over.
“Find something better to do.”
Her voice was gentle. “Stop doing things that make you hate. yourself.”
Alaric never knew why she helped him.
Maybe pity, maybe sympathy, maybe she was just bored and passing by.
All he knew was Eileen saved his ass.
He used that two grand for a bus ticket out, worked his fingers to the bone, played the stock market like a genius, caught the tech boom just in time.
Chapter 13
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When he rolled back into this city, he was all Armani suits and
yes–men.
Eileen? She’d turned into a knockout, cycling through.
boyfriends every couple months, living it up.
It didn’t surprise him.
A girl like Eileen was meant for this, meant to have guys worship. the ground she walked on.
But fuck, it hurt.
Maybe it was his fucked–up genes, but something wild inside kept screaming to grab her, lock her up, take her.
Wrong. All so fucking wrong.
He tried fighting it. And fighting it nearly broke him.
So, he ended up with serious mental issues.
Strong–arming her family into this marriage was his desperate decision.
–
He was dying to have her this goddess of a girl. The loneliness was eating him alive, driving him crazy, nearly breaking him.
But if Eileen didn’t want him… he’d back off.
No way in hell would he turn into a piece of shit like his old man.
Chapter 13
Then she walked right into his arms, all on her own.
And Alaric? He finally felt like his life meant something.
Six years after the marriage, their kid was running around at
[wo.
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Alaric had this dream about his past life.
He died in that cold, dark hellhole and watched Eileen leave a rose by his dead body.
That night, he chain–smoked on the balcony till dawn.
His bloodshot eyes fixed on the moon, round as those pizzas she’d made few days ago.
His chest felt hollow.
If she’d bolted back then… yeah, he probably would’ve just killed himself.
The rational part of him couldn’t get why he’d gone so batshit crazy with despair, but it made sense.
Mental illness made you do wild things.
But this time around, she stayed…
“Hey, what’s eating you?” Eileen wrapped around his waist, snuggling close. “You’ve been off since this afternoon.”
Chapter 13
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Alaric felt sad and wanted to whine about it, but the words got
stuck.
He scooped her up by the waist instead.
She squeaked, legs automatically locking around him, playfully smacking his shoulder.
“You’re being bad!”
His ears went red as he buried his face in her neck, nuzzling before swallowing his questions.
Eileen hated when he dug up the past. So she always said, “Let’s focus on making our future good.”
So he let it go.
Whatever happened before, she was here now. That was what mattered.
He smiled against her skin. “You know, I just love you soooo0 much.”
THE END
