Chapter 55

ELLA

It had been two weeks since the nightmare that nearly led to me overdosing.

Four days of that time had been spent in the hospital being slowly and painfully withdrawn from the medication before the doctor stopped giving it to me altogether.

The rest of the time I had spent wallowing at home in a whole lot of misery. I’d moved on from the initial overwhelming flood of emotions, and now everything felt sort of…unreal.

My mind was a fog of confusion filled with hallucinations and fear, the world some strange reflection of reality, and my emotions anything from spiraling depression to nothing at all.

The doctors said it was normal after withdrawal from benzos, but that didn’t help my desperation to just feel normal again.

I was out in the forest, lying among the leaves on the forest floor, staring up through the branches at the folds of charcoal clouds rolling across the sky in their thick fleets of gray.

The air had turned to a bitter chill, and the once-gentle breeze had whipped up to the early blows of a gale. Even down on the sheltered ground, loose wisps of my hair danced at the edges of my face.

The crows and ravens had left their roosting perches in the trees to patrol the skies, painting endless feathery circles in the darkest of inks.

They croaked and screamed and cried and shrieked, usurping the final signs of peace from the forest.

Soon enough, a single drop of rain fell onto my forehead and dripped down the bridge of my nose. I felt the smoothness of its movement and closed my eyes as another fell onto my cheek and then my hand and then my foot.

“Ella,” a voice said from a few meters away.

I reopened my eyes to see Leo, his hair blowing in the wind and a soft expression on his lips.

It’d been nearly all day since I left the house for what was meant to be a short walk, so I had no reason to be surprised that he’d come to find me now.

“There’s a storm coming,” he told me.

“I know.” I sighed.

“Let me take you home,” he replied, walking closer.

“No,” I said. “I want to feel the rain. I want to feel something real.”

I closed my eyes again, and for a few moments, neither of us said a thing.

When I heard his footsteps approach me, I opened my eyes, expecting him to coerce me to my feet. But then he simply sat down and then lay next to me.

“Then let me feel it with you,” he said.

I smiled, and my hand made my way to his as the droplets fell on us.

We must have lain there for half an hour. The rain slowly got heavier until it was pelting down, at which point we decided to go in.

We raced toward the house, hand in hand, the rain lashing us. When we got through the door into the warm house, I let out a laugh at the sight of Leo. He was totally drenched to the skin.

He smiled. “I don’t know what you’re laughing at. You should see your hair.”

He then headed into the living room, dripping as he went, and returned with a blanket.

He wrapped it around me and brushed the wet strands of hair out of my eyes.

“Real enough for you?” he asked.

I nodded.

“How about a nice warm fire?”

“That would be lovely.”

Half an hour later, we had escaped our squelching clothes and snuggled in warm blankets in front of a crackling fire.

“I think things are finally getting better,” I said as I lay with my head resting on his chest as he gently played with my hair.

“Oh yeah?” he asked.

I nodded.

“Life is bearable again,” I replied.

“That’s the best news I’ve ever heard.”

I took his hand and squeezed. “I don’t know what I’d do without you. I know this has been hard for you, too, but you’ve been so understanding and patient. And you always say the right things and know how to comfort me.”

“What else would I have done?” he asked. “I’m your mate. I was just doing whatever I could to help you.”

“I know. It’s what you’ve always done, so thank you,” I said. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he replied, kissing my head.

I rested my head back on his chest and watched the flickering flames in the hearth. They were so warming and relaxing that I found myself slipping into a soft sleep in a matter of minutes.

—TWO MONTHS LATER…—

It was a sunny Sunday morning. The sun shone into the library, and there was a gentle breeze through the open windows as I sat on the carpet playing with Stefano and Zacharias.

Leo was out working, but Max sat on the other side of the room with the twins on his lap reading to them as we listened to the crashing of Cato, Mathias, Silas, and Lili playing in one of their bedrooms.

But even still it was peaceful.

I felt like myself again, and I was happy. I could be a mother to my children again and just simply enjoy life.

The nightmares were fading, and every day the hugs and cuddles with Leo grew longer as the memories of Andrea that being touched could trigger became less painful.

My progress and recovery were slow and predominantly made up of occasional little steps, but we’d both agreed there was no need to rush it.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Max looked up and stopped reading.

“Don’t stop the story,” I said. “I’ll get it.”

I left Max and the kids upstairs before heading down to answer the door.

There was nobody standing on the doorstep, just a small white envelope. I picked it up to see my name written in an elaborate hand on the front.

Except it wasn’t my name. Not the name I went by anyway.

Ella Martinez

I looked up into the forest. Everything was as still as ever. I then ripped open the envelope and tipped out the contents.

A silver ring fell out onto my palm with a large glistening diamond. It shone beautifully in the daylight, yet I shuddered at the sight of it.

It was a ring that had belonged to me, that I had discarded in some Venezuelan jungle months ago, thinking I’d never have to set my eyes on it again.

The accompanying note read:

~We’ll be back together soon enough, Blanca.~

My hands began to shake, and I slammed the door, locked it, and ran upstairs.

“Frannie, Marie, why don’t you go and play in your room? Max will finish the story later,” I said.

He looked at me confused as there were a couple of disappointed whines from the twins, but they soon left after a little encouragement, and I thrust the letter toward Max.

“This was on the doorstep,” I said.

“Ella Martinez?” he asked.

“Read inside,” I ordered.

He did, and his face dropped.

“And this was with it,” I added, presenting the ring. “It’s the ring Andrea gave me when he proposed.”

“And it just showed up on the doorstep?”

I nodded.

He stood up and marched down to the front door where he looked out into the forest. There was still nothing.

“I should search the area. Whoever it was can’t have gone far,” he began. “But I can’t leave you alone in case they really haven’t gone far.”

So instead, he phoned Leo, who on hearing the news was a terrible mix of angry because somebody had managed to get so close to me and into the pack.

He was concerned about the sudden reappearance of Andrea’s threat, and shocked at the news that he actually still did exist.

“Are you okay, Ells?” Max asked me as we sat in the living room, awaiting Leo’s arrival home.

I shook my head.

“No,” I replied. “I was beginning to believe he was gone. I was beginning to move on. Now this has brought it all back, and it feels like poison in my veins.”

“It could be nothing,” Max suggested.

“You don’t know Andrea like I do,” I replied. “He’s got something planned, and it will be the most flawless, clever, and wicked scheme in existence. This was just the warning.”

Twenty minutes later, Leo was home and staring motionlessly at the letter as he spun the ring in his fingers.

“I don’t understand. How did he get it to our front doorstep without the border guards or anyone else noticing a thing?” he said.

“I don’t know,” Max replied. “But at least he did. We wouldn’t have had a warning otherwise.”

“You’re right. He’s sacrificed covertness for grandiose,” Leo concluded. “Now we will see him coming. I need to go and prepare my army. Max, stay here until I get back. I’ll send Luca too, just in case.”

“Leo, wait,” I said. “Andrea wouldn’t have just blown his cover without meaning to. You know what he wants you to know, remember? He clearly wants you to know he’s coming.”

“I don’t see how that could ever be a disadvantage to us,” Leo replied.

I sighed. “Neither do I but just be wary. Try not to fall into any of his traps, okay?”

He nodded and pulled me into a hug.

“I will protect you at all costs, Ella,” he said, kissing my head. “I will not let him hurt you. Not again.”