God of War (Legacy of Gods, #6)

by Rina Kent

Usually, I’d touch her throat to feel her pulse—it’s the surest way to know whether or not she’s in a fugue state. If it’s low, she’s out of it. If it’s pumping hard and strong, she’s all right. For a while, at least.

She can have everything. Except for this house. I lie on her side of the bed and stare at the stupid neon-pink stars dangling from the ceiling as I pull out my phone and dial the number I’ve called every day since she left.

The actual trigger was that I saw a video of him at a party that I couldn’t attend—and he didn’t ask me to—because I was a mess. At said party, Gemma touched his arm and openly flirted with

“Ava…” She takes my hand in hers. “First of all, you’re not a loose screw. You’re just someone who’s struggling by no fault of their own, and you made the hard decision to be admitted into a place you loathe in an attempt to get better. You’re so strong and impressive, I don’t even know how you do it. So I will not hear any self-deprecating rubbish again or I will smack you. “Second of all, I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but Eli didn’t demand to be your guardian for controlling purposes. He really thought your parents, Ari, and even I were too soft and unable to handle hard decisions that could benefit you. We all knew you had alcoholism issues, but we were scared that if we pushed you to quit, you’d break. Not Eli. In fact, he berated us for babying you and letting your state deteriorate so badly. He got punched by Uncle Cole for it, by the way, but he still said he’d do it his way and none of us were allowed to interfere. That therapist he kicked out of the continent? He was caught on the verge of selling your and other patients’ confidential information to some pharmaceutical conglomerate, so Eli made sure he could no longer breathe in your vicinity. “That first admission into the psyche ward was due to pressure from everyone after your constant panic attacks and fugue states. Uncle Cole was about to take him to court for negligence if he didn’t agree. He resisted it to the very end, but even after it happened, he visited you daily and spent a few hours with you ...

He didn’t have missionary sex with me in the beginning, because he believed looking at his face would trigger me. He only changed that after I demanded it and he saw I was okay. He never took off his clothes, because he didn’t want me to see the stab scar and somehow regain my memories of that time.

The idea that I caused him pain broke me so much that I couldn’t survive with my memories intact.”

I recognized my life wouldn’t be peaceful the moment this motherfucking twat walked up to my eldest daughter the day she was born and kissed her on the mouth. That was when he was a six-year-old twat.

Eli, though, has his father’s face. Which means it’s often begging to be punched.

“This isn’t funny. I think I’m having a midlife crisis, butterfly.” “Then we’ll get through

“There’s no need to wait.” He strokes my cheek and my skin ignites at the contact. “You have already captured my heart, body, and soul, Ava. I have no clue when it started, but at some point, my possessiveness and obsessiveness with you turned into this inferno of emotions where I was prepared to lose you if it meant protecting you. That’s when I realized I was in love with everything about you, whether it’s your obsession with pink, candy floss, or cheesy books and films. The lack of you has stripped my world of color and made me realize you’re my sole light in the darkness. It’s why I killed for you and would do it again in a heartbeat. I’d kill everyone if it meant I’d get to keep you. Perhaps that’s not the healthiest form of love, but it’s all I have. The heart you slowly awakened is entirely yours to do with as you please.”

“You’re a beautiful mythical being who can be born from the ashes of your illness.”

“Anything. If you ask for the moon, I’ll lay it at your feet.”

“Thank you for loving me, for giving me these precious babies, the daft dog, and the diva cat. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me, even when I was completely unaware of my surroundings. Thank you for your patience, your unconditional support, and for seeing and treating me as normal. Just thank you for gifting me with this beautiful life.”