Starlet: A Dark Retelling - Cora Kenborn Page 0,98
of losing my freedom, but out of fear of losing her.
I watched my mother break before my eyes.
I refused to watch Angel break, too.
Be careful what you ask for.
Now it’s too late for apologies or confessions. It’s almost poetic. I finally get the balls to say the words to her, and she didn’t want to hear them. But I meant every word.
I love her.
I think I always have. The type of love changed over time, but she stole my heart the moment I saw her. The hope in her eyes when she first looked at me sealed my fate. Sitting there in the eye of the storm, she looked at me like I was her world.
“Are you God?”
Every jagged piece of me belongs to her. Even the ones hell-bent on cutting her and drawing blood. Somehow, she’s smoothed the edges just enough to tolerate the bite without breaking the skin.
I’ve never allowed anyone this close, and it feels like I’m being smothered and set free at the same time. Like soaring headfirst into the sun only to suddenly burst into flames. She’s my salvation and damnation. My redemption and ruin.
The biggest mistake I’ll never regret.
As soon as I hear footsteps, I palm the back of my neck and spin back around. “Let me guess, Rosten sold the rights.”
Milly’s face is chalk white. “Dominic…”
“I hope he knows I deserve at least a third of the—”
“Dominic!” she says, again, her voice unsteady. There’s a silence in her tone that chills my blood, but it’s her next words that bring me to my knees. “It’s your mother.”
Chapter Forty
Angel
Whether you’re at the top of the world or the bottom of the river, time stops for no one. You can’t wish it away, and you can’t turn it back. It moves forward at its own steady rhythm, oblivious to the change going on around it. Awake or asleep—it doesn’t matter. The hands of the clock move whether you’re conscious of them or not.
Tick tock tick tock tick tock.
It’s been ten days since I watched Dominic drive away from my bedroom window, and nine since the world turned against me. I know because time may hate me, but the sun greets me each morning.
I’ve counted every one of them in this bed. In these clothes. I can’t face anything outside these four walls. This room is my safe place. It’s where I listen to the clock, watch the sun, and wait.
The east wing is so peaceful.
Far away from the shouts and chants of the crowd gathered outside the iron gates. Some want me to leave. Some want me to answer for my sins. A few want me to die. I should’ve been prepared for this. The leak came from an “anonymous” source, but it has Rosten’s disgusting stench all over it.
“Miss Romanov?”
Rolling over, I glance toward the door to find Hilda standing there, a forlorn look etched in the lines of her face. “Has there been any news about Violet?”
She shakes her head. “No, ma’am, I’m sorry.”
“Oh.” I figured as much. Even my calls to Detective Rubio have been ignored. Violet has been gone for three weeks and nobody seems to know why. Dejected, I roll back over and wait for the click of the door. When it never comes, I peek back over my shoulder to find her still standing there. “Is there something else?”
“You haven’t answered your phone.”
“Can you blame me?” I snap. “There are only so many times you can be called a whore. Although, I have learned how to say it in five different languages.”
“Miss Boone has tried calling you for four days,” she blurts out, stepping further into the room. “The estate’s number is inaccessible, so she sent this.” Reaching into her apron, she pulls out a white envelope. It looks like it’s been through atomic warfare. As if reading my mind, she adds, “Lars opens your mail for security purposes. I’d never intentionally invade your privacy, but…” she trails off again, worrying her lip.
“What’s wrong?”
Instead of answering, she shoves it toward my chest. “Here.”
I don’t want to take it, but before I can stop myself, Milly’s slanted, left-handed words stare back at me.
Alexandra,
I thought you should know Dominic’s mother passed away last Thursday. The hospital says it was an allergic reaction to a new medication. There wasn’t any money for a burial, so she was cremated over the weekend. Dominic’s not doing well. I know things aren’t good between you two, but