Over My Dead Body by Michele Bardsley

Author:Michele Bardsley [Bardsley, Michele]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Tags: Romance, Fantasy, Vampires, Humour
ISBN: 9780451226778
Publisher: Signet
Published: 2009-05-04T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

“Is that why you told me about Shayla? So I’d tell you about Jacob?” Unease skittered through me. It was one thing to hear and promise to keep the secrets of another. And it was something else entirely to give away mine.

“No, Simone. I told you about my sister because I wanted you to know about her. You can trust me. But if you don’t want to talk about this Jacob guy . . . then okay.”

The only person in the whole wide world who knew about my husband was Gran. Everyone else thought I was just a financially struggling widow who moved in with her grandmother. That was true enough, I supposed. But it was only a part of the story.

I could tell Brady some of it. I could share with him what I hadn’t shared with anyone else. I trusted him, too. At least, as much as I could trust anyone.

I’d been raised by two parents who loved me and who loved God. They took me to church every Sunday. Their religion built a web of pretty lies about a beneficent deity who granted mercy and gave each of His children purpose. I believed it all—even after God saw fit to kill my parents in a car accident when I was only nineteen.

I told Brady all of this. I couldn’t hold his gaze, so I stared at his wrinkled T-shirt. “That was the same year I met Jacob. He was twenty and had already served two years in the Air Force.

“I believed God had put Jacob into my life to heal me. To guide me the way my parents had. I did everything he said. I gave up college. I gave him access to my inheritance and the money from my parents’ insurance.”

I paused, thinking about those early days. Jacob told me that he’d found the perfect woman. A trustworthy woman of faith and virtue. I was a virgin. I’d never been in love. And Jacob was handsome, charming, and said everything I needed to hear.

“He said he loved me and that he wanted a family,” I continued. “And I wanted to be loved and cherished. We married, and he was assigned to Nellis Air Force Base.”

Brady tensed. I looked up at him. I couldn’t really discern his expression, but I got the feeling he knew something I didn’t. Surely not about Jacob? Or maybe he was just getting upset on my behalf, suspecting what was to come.

“We lived off base. I hadn’t realized it until later, but he was separating me from the other wives, the potential to make friends. Every social engagement I got to attend was only on his terms, with his rules.”

I didn’t realize he was controlling me—not until the first time I broke one of those rules, and he made sure I paid the price. I couldn’t tell Brady that. I didn’t want to admit how weak I’d been.

But he guessed, anyway.

“He hit you.”

I nodded. I lived day by day, scared and compliant, trying everything possible to make him happy.

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