Chapter 17 #2
I freeze at this, my hands hovering over another arrow as the realization hits.
I love him.
In fact, I must have fallen for him at first glance.
I’ve never loved anyone before. Scratch that, I have never had a serious relationship with any other man. I trusted him enough to share myself with him despite knowing only sadistic men my whole life. What if I choose him because he’s the first man to show me kindness, only to end up exploiting it?
It’s easy to attach an innocent creature to you, right? She doesn’t know any better, and she would believe anything.
No.
I’m not a child. I’m a grown woman, and I know what I feel and want. He didn’t manipulate me into doing what he wanted; he gave me every chance to escape. And he did warn me about crossing the line.
That he won’t let me go once we stepped over it, and I made that decision willingly.
I stand by it still.
What I want is a life with a man who I love and who loves me, but is a man like Orion capable of loving someone?
Obsession is a far cry from love, although they may exist in the same trajectory. Obsession causes a lot of destruction, whereas love is supposed to heal our cracked souls.
Does he even understand the emotion?
“You need to talk to him,” I tell myself, grabbing the arrow and focusing on the fourth target. “An internal monologue won’t give you any answers.”
I’m about to try to score another bull’s-eye when my father’s voice echoes in the evening, mixing with the thunder.
“You little bitch!” I spin around to see him walk toward me, wearing a washed-out suit and anger like I’ve never seen etched on his features.
“You ruined everything,” he seethes, rolling up his sleeves.
The familiar fear in the pit of my stomach starts.
Usually, his rolled-up sleeves meant he was about to deliver his punishment to me.
“My son is in the hospital because of you. We lost our business and will have to sell all our properties to pay off our debts. You ruin everything you touch. I should have never trusted you to fix anything. You’re this family’s downfall. ”
Without thinking, I shoot an arrow his way as he continues to march toward me, and he gasps in shock when it lands by his feet, lightly grazing his calf. “What are you doing, you stupid girl?”
Quickly picking up another arrow, I point it at him and speak, coldness seeping through my words as I decide to do something no one has ever done. Protect the little girl who still exists in me. He doesn’t get to hurt her anymore. “Stay away from me.”
“Or you’re going to shoot me?” He takes another step forward, dismissing my warning, and my arrow pierces his calf this time.
Father’s painful yelp is music to my ears.
“Have you lost your mind?” He grabs the arrow and pulls it out, blood smearing the tip.
It’s just a graze and won’t do much damage.
“That’s how you repay me for everything I’ve done for you? ”
I notice he doesn’t move another inch when I grab a new arrow. My father demonstrated over the years that his hatred for me is far greater than common sense.
“You haven’t done anything for me. You had an affair and then punished us for your weakness. If anything, you’re the one who ruined our lives.”
He huffs. “You got way more than you deserved, and you proved to me you’re your mother’s daughter.
Jumped right into the bed with the man you married and turned your back on us.
He wants to give you the company. You! A bastard!
” he shouts, and while in the past his words would have hurt me, they don’t mean much to me now.
My father is the true monster, and Orion, with all his vices, could never be like him.
He would never hurt his daughter, this I know without the shadow of a doubt. He raised Actaeon despite all the horrible circumstances of his birth, and my father couldn’t even face the consequences of his own actions.
Warmth spreads through me at the thought of him wanting to give me the company even though I don’t need it. I do not wish to preserve the legacy that brought me so much pain.
“I’m proud to be my mom’s daughter. At least she had a heart. Not sure what pumps the blood in your veins.”
His breathing speeds up, and he takes a step forward, only to still when I pull the string of my bow, aiming the arrow right at him as we face-off. “You took everything from me. My beloved wife. My com—”
My laughter stops him. “Your beloved wife? If you loved her so much, maybe you shouldn’t have cheated on her.
” He fists his hands at his sides. “Your son is a spoiled brat who has no talent for the family business. The only person who took everything from you is you yourself. Because you’re a coward who could never admit his mistakes.
” And saying it all finally frees me from the guilt that consumed me my whole childhood.
My entire life, I felt guilty for merely being born because in my head, without me, my mom would have been free from him. She’d have left him and found happiness with someone else. And then my existence wouldn’t have shamed my father.
Except it was just a childhood illusion.
My parents made their own choices, and whatever happened to them is the result of those choices.
I should stop looking back and focus on my future, and my future holds a man who actually adores me, and part of that adoration is kicking the asses of those who hurt me.
How could I ever hold that against him?
“You’re my biggest mistake, and you think you can live happily?
” My eyes widen when he fishes out a gun from his pocket and removes the safety.
Sending my arrow his way won’t do a thing because he’ll pull the trigger faster than I could shoot.
“I have nothing to lose. But I won’t let you live either. ”
Before he can fire, a whistling sound rocks between us, and he cries out, the gun dropping on the ground when he sinks to his knees.
My father’s hands grip blades of grass, and that’s when I notice the arrow protruding from his back, his gray suit jacket slowly staining red.
Once again, the wound isn’t deep enough to kill him, but it’ll hurt and damage his spine.
And if it’s not treated soon, it will have fatal consequences for him since the wound is very close to an artery.
I raise my eyes until they meet possessive, angry green ones.
Orion holds his own bow and throws another arrow up, catching it in midair and twisting it around before sending it flying right at my father’s lower back. This earns him another agonizing scream, which turns into a painful groan.
He just shot my father, and the worst part is, I don’t care about him that much. All I can think is that my husband found me, and he looks furious!
A conversation from a few days ago on the island flashes in my head from when we explored Rush’s family house.
“Why does he need all these targets?” I ask, pointing at the shooting ranges in the distance, and Orion wraps his arm around my waist. I notice the axes lying around on the table and mutter, “Oh.” My nose twitches in disgust. “He likes to throw around axes.”
“They have a certain charm to them, don’t you think?” Orion asks, rubbing his stubble on my shoulder, and I giggle. “They reach the target fast, and the weather conditions rarely affect their performance.”
“Axes are very dangerous. They can easily harm the ones who throw it.” Some of them are heavy too, so if someone inexperienced grabs it and decides to play, they could do more harm than good. “I prefer archery.”
He spins me around and threads his fingers through my hair, tilting my head back and pressing a soft kiss to my lips as the sun beams brightly all around us, and we can hear seagulls in the distance. “Of course you do, my beautiful huntress.”
Rolling my eyes, I slap his chest and sigh. “That was so cheesy.”
“It was, indeed.” We share a laugh. “Want to know a little secret?”
“Always.”
“I prefer archery as well. In fact, you’re looking at a champion.”
Circling my arms around his neck, I rise onto my tiptoes, our mouths a breath apart. “Is that so?”
His fingers dig into my hips, bringing me closer, and I gasp when my body molds against his muscles.
“Yes. My private school liked to host all these competitions, and Mom loved the idea of her Orion having archery skills, so it kind of fit. After her death, it became something I continued to do. Just for her.” His hollow chuckle chills my blood.
“Conrad hated it, so it added to my desire to succeed in the sport.”
My heart flips inside my chest at the echoes of pain still present in his voice, so I hug him tighter and whisper, “Want to know a little secret?” He nods. “I was a champion in my school too.”
“Then we make quite a pair, don’t we, darling?” He bites the tip of my nose. “Maybe we should host our own competition.”
“That depends. Are you a sore loser?”
“Never lost in my life.”
“I’d hate to burst your bubble then.”
“I like your confidence, darling.”
Turns out, people who say “be careful what you wish for” are right, because I would have preferred never to know any of his other secrets.
“At least we know where Grant gets his stupidity from,” Orion says as he walks past my father, kicking him in the stomach. He yelps and falls to his side. “Your biggest mistake was hurting my wife her whole life, so I’ll make sure you are hurt for the remainder of yours.”
Marta and Martin rush out of the house, their jaws dropping at the sight, while my husband addresses Timothy, who stands behind him.
“Take him to the nearest police station. Call Rafael and tell him to release all the files. Also, give them our footage. No plea deals. I want the case highly publicized. Let the whole world know what he did to Diana and her mother. And I don’t want anyone bothering us in the next twenty-four hours.
” He shifts his attention to the people behind me.
“You can live here for as long as you wish. I’ll pay your salary and for your yearly vacation.
I give you my word on this.” They nod. “Now, please leave me alone with my wife. We have a thing or two to discuss.”
“No.” No one listens to me, Martin and Timothy picking up my groaning father and dragging him to the car, where they carelessly throw him inside, and then all of them hop in the vehicle, giving me a wave.
So much for the shotgun. This whole situation is surreal! Who in their right mind leaves a woman with an angry man who almost killed her father?
To be fair, Martin and Marta never liked my family. I think they only tolerated Grandma because they loved the land so much, and they always had a soft spot for me, as they don’t have their own children.
Regardless, shouldn’t they show a little more concern instead of deserting me?
“You ran from me,” Orion says as he removes his suit jacket. He throws it away before toeing off his shoes and socks. “You shouldn’t have done that, my beautiful rose.”
“You lied to me.” I step back, and my stomach flips several times when he picks up an arrow from the table, his bow still hanging on his shoulder.
“You’re a monster.” I say the words that are true to the world, but not to me.
In my opinion, the true monsters are men like Conrad, Grant, and my father.
Hideous and heinous individuals who seek to bend everyone to their selfish wishes and exploit innocents to their hearts’ desire.
Vile men who can never be killed by goodness because they don’t understand or fear it.
No.
Only an evil with a similar nature can extinguish them, leaving nothing but ashes in their wake.
Does understanding that force me to accept Orion and his morals, though? What would that make me?
An accomplice in his crimes?
The muscle on his cheek twitches, and his eyes glisten with a fire so strong that I can almost feel it burning my skin. “No, darling. I’m a hunter.”
Another tentative step back, and I lick my dry lips, asking, “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He has his own question for me. “Why did you run from me, Diana?”
“Because you lied to me,” I repeat.
A sinister smile shapes his mouth, and he hisses through his teeth, thousands of goose bumps breaking all over my body while sizzling sensations skim along my flesh. “No, darling. You wanted me to chase you.”
Oh God.
That statement uttered in his hushed, seductive voice doesn’t let me hide behind my facade and forces me to face the truth.
I did want that, didn’t I?
All my life, everyone has accepted my presence as a cross they had to bear.
My mother loved me in the only way she knew how, but still, she would have given up on me in a heartbeat if it meant my father would have stayed by her side.
My grandmother accepted me because her son’s blood ran through my veins. However, she never made an effort to truly get to know me, and once she got sick, she forgot all about me. She has flashes of recognition when it comes to Grant or Father, but never any of me.
My father and brother…well, I have no words where they are concerned.
I have never had someone need me enough to fight for me, where my absence brought joy and not pain.
Was this all a test for Orion?
Because if I didn’t agree with his lifestyle, I would have called the police rather than run away and expose myself to his potential anger.
No.
Instead, I came here, a perfect hunting ground for someone as obsessed as Orion.
“Diana.” Thunder booms, and my breath hitches in my throat when a drizzle starts. “Run.”
And that’s what I do.