Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 32946 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 165(@200wpm)___ 132(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32946 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 165(@200wpm)___ 132(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
His father had been an addict. The drugs had affected him, and made him paranoid. In taking them, he’d completely killed his family.
Draven cut the memory off, but instead, in his mind, he thought about the night he had finally taken it all from him. It had been a blessing to what remained of the family. His father hadn’t been high that time.
He walked into his father’s house. Draven had slowly taken out every single person who fought to keep his father on the throne. He created a ghost, someone to fear. The man who came and went without a trace.
“Do you not remember me?” Draven asked.
“You’re here to fucking kill me, what does it matter?”
Draven had removed the hood he wore and looked into his father’s eyes. He saw the moment he realized who it was that was about to end his life. Draven loved every second of it.
Antwone had nearly died with the beating his father had given him that day. Draven was covered with scars. Some given to him that day, most of them had come from the years it had taken to put his brother on the throne. To right the wrong of that day. Antwone had the most scars. His father had been beating him for nearly three hours. He had also gotten quite inventive in doing so.
****
Lifting the oval pan, he stared at the plate of spaghetti and meatballs. It was one of his favorite meals. It was also Antwone’s favorite. It had been a long time since he last thought about something mundane as Antwone’s favorite meal. He wondered why he thought about it now?
Chapter Six
Maria didn’t know what she did wrong. Was it something she said? Was she not good enough for him? Did Draven suddenly realize he didn’t want her?
Sitting up in bed, she glanced around the room. Should she go down to dinner? Tears filled her eyes and she hated the uncertainty she felt. Nothing made any sense.
Pressing her hands to her face, she took a couple of deep breaths, trying to gain her composure. He looked so angry.
She quickly ran through everything they had done tonight, trying to pinpoint where it could have gone wrong. There was nothing that stood out. She didn’t hurt him. The moment he told her not to use teeth, she stopped.
Could it be the fact she watched porn? He didn’t want her anymore? She wasn’t a virgin? Maria didn’t have a clue which it could be, but she did know it made her nervous. What if he’d grown bored already?
The tears refused to back down, and she swiped at her cheeks as the offending droplets fell. She didn’t have time for tears. Rushing to the bathroom, she turned on the cold water and quickly splashed her face.
Her stomach chose that moment to growl at her, but how could she go down there and face him? Should she starve herself tonight? If he came to bed, he’d hear her stomach growling, and that might anger him.
Draven was supposed to be the Devil. Was this part of his act? Mind games? She was so confused, and not sure how she should think.
Maria splashed cold water on her face a few more times before heading back into the bedroom. She glanced around the room, trying to take it all in, but nothing really registered. She couldn’t go downstairs completely naked. There were still several boxes on the floor, but she ignored the fancy clothes and instead grabbed a pair of sweatpants and oversized shirt, pulling them over her head. She ran a brush through her hair, and even though she was nervous, she made her way downstairs to the dining room.
Draven was sitting at the head of the table, eating. Calmly. There was no frown on his face. No indication that he was angry.
She walked to her place, sat down, and lifted the oval cover off her food. Meatballs, spaghetti, and fragrant sauce met her senses. It looked like it was still warm. Her mouth watered and her stomach gurgled. She’d not eaten since lunch, and in all honesty, she’d not touched any of it. It was hard to relax with The Boss around.
Putting the cover aside, she picked up her knife and fork, and began to eat. She took small bites, because even though she was starving, she also felt incredibly sick. This had to do with the man beside her and nothing to do with the food. Twirling the spaghetti around her fork, she placed it in her mouth and sucked up the final strand, cringing when she made a lot of noise just trying to eat.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“You don’t need to apologize.”
Maria felt like she should apologize again and very nearly did, but kept that to herself and tried not to say a word.