Chapter One
THIS BOOK DOES END ON A SLIGHT CLIFFHANGER, AND TO GET BOOK TWO (DEMON'S CLAIM), YOU WILL NEED TO PURCHASE FROM A RETAILER OR SUBSCRIBE TO MY $15 TIER. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. IF YOU CONTINUE TO READ FROM HERE, THANK YOU!
Faith giggled, drawing my eyes to her and away from the t-shirt that I was folding. She was pressing random keys on her cat piano toy, making it softly meow with each key she hit. I smiled softly, the sight of her always warming my heart, no matter how she was conceived.
A chill ran down my spine at that thought, and I shook it off.
“Sindy!”
I jerked out of my stupor, an exasperated sigh leaving my lips at the sound of my mother shouting my name across the house as if the living room wasn’t literally right next to the bedroom I shared with Faith.
After drawing in a deep breath to calm my nerves, I called back, “coming, Mom,” and grabbed Faith off the floor, settling her on my hip.
I hated dealing with my mother. When Dad had still been alive, she’d been sweet and loving—basically the perfect Mom.
After losing Dad when I was seven, things had abruptly changed, almost like Mom lost a part of herself when we lost him. She became cruel and mean, and everything I did irritated her.
And then when she got remarried when I was ten? My skin crawled as I thought about the man that was currently rotting behind prison bars.
Mom finally couldn’t turn a blind eye to what he was doing to me when I popped up at fifteen with tears running down my face, terror in my eyes, and a positive pregnancy test in my hand.
Mom was sitting on the couch in one of her best dresses when I emerged into the living room, her dyed, blonde hair in curls, her makeup done to perfection. A pair of flats sat on her feet.
I swallowed thickly. This was never a good thing. Either she was dating again, or she had once again tried setting me up with someone. She was itching to get rid of me. If that meant she essentially had to sell me, then that was what she would do.
I slowly sat on the couch, settling Faith on my lap. “I have someone nice I want you to meet, Sindy,” Mom told me, reaching over to squeeze my thigh as if she cared the least bit about me. I gritted my teeth for a moment, barely resisting flinching back from her touch. After she had called me a liar for years when I would tell her what her husband was doing to me, her touch repulsed me. “You’re in an arranged marriage.”
This again? Seriously?
“Mom,” I said with a soft sigh, “when are you going to stop trying to ship me off?” I asked her. She narrowed her eyes at me. I swallowed nervously. “No one is going to marry a girl who had a daughter at the age of sixteen,” I reminded her.
Mom had been trying to ship me off to someone else to deal with me since I’d gotten pregnant with Faith. I used to put up a fight, but I’d learned to mostly just shut my mouth and deal with whatever stupid nonsense she dished out.
Because the last time I fought her on this, I almost never got to see my child again. Mom almost stabbed me.
I was pretty sure that between losing my father and then finding out her next husband was a child molester and a rapist fucked her up somewhere down the line.
Sometimes, I seriously thought about having her committed. I was so afraid of her doing something to Faith because, let’s face it, my mother detested my child for what she represented.
And because I was terrified of her doing something to Faith or ripping Faith away from me when I least expected it, every night, Faith slept with me where I could hold her, knowing she was safe.
“This guy is really nice,” Mom said, a hint of anger in her tone. “And I think he’ll take a very nice liking to you.”
I bit my tongue to prevent myself from telling her she was wrong. We’d go through this day like we did every other day, allowing her to try to push this guy on me—definitely a guy with a lot of money—who would then see my daughter, realize she was mine, and both he and his parents would cut the deal.
A child having been born out of wedlock could be a scandal, especially since every guy I’d met so far were being forced into marriage because they’d already caused trouble for their family, tarnishing their name.
I was meant to be the one to make the guy look like he was finally getting his shit together. A woman with a child already spoiled those plans.
The doorbell suddenly rang. Faith jumped in my arms in surprise, and then giggled, her wide, blue eyes locking on mine. My mother cast her a disgusted look that made me pull Faith a little closer to my chest. “That’s them. Remember to just keep your mouth shut, only speak when spoken to, and for the love of everything holy, keep that child silent.”
With that, she got up from the couch and went to answer the door. As soon as the guy walked in, his nostrils flared, his eyes darkening. My eyes widened in surprise. He was older than what I was used to—mid-twenties at least. There was a five o’clock shadow on his jaw, most likely from not shaving in a day or two. His dark hair curled over his forehead but was tapered on the sides and the back.
And he was huge—really freaking huge—like, muscles everywhere.
He gritted his teeth, turning to face my mom and another woman that I presumed was his mother. “She has a daughter?” he gritted. “You failed to tell me this,” he sneered.
Damn, he had put that together fast as hell.
I moved to stand up, not wanting to go through another continuous cycle again. The man abruptly turned to face me at the same time my mother clamped her hand on my shoulder, tightening her grip. His eyes flickered to where her hand rested, and he clenched his jaw.
“Sit down, honey,” Mom said, her voice filled with fake sweetness as her nails dug into my shoulder.
“Release her,” the man in front of us growled at my mother, surprising both of us. My eyes widened in disbelief. My mother quickly dropped her hand.
And Faith? She cooed, her eyes lighting up as she looked at the man in front of us. He cast her a soft smile, and I couldn’t help it.
My heart melted in my chest. For once, someone looked at her like she wasn’t disgusting, wasn’t a nuisance.
And when she giggled at him, he grinned.
I began to bounce Faith to keep her occupied as the man and woman sat across from us on the other couch. My mother took a seat beside me, but at the man’s scowl, she shuffled over a couple of feet.
What the hell was it with this guy?
“So,” the woman started, speaking up for the first time since she’d gotten here, “we already bought you two a house,” she explained.
The man in front of me didn’t look surprised at all, but I certainly was. Who in the world automatically just went to buy a house without even meeting the said girl in question first?
The man was watching me, his dark eyes seeming to study everything I did. Though it should have been unnerving, his attention on me was actually slightly comforting, which was extremely strange considering he was basically staring at me—without even blinking, might I add.
“I’m Felix,” he suddenly said, the tone of his voice low and deep, sending shivers down my spine. “I apologize for my rudeness earlier. Your daughter is very beautiful. She just took me by surprise, is all. I hadn’t been informed you’d already had a child, though that will prove to be no problem for me.”
I blushed, casting my eyes down from him. “Thank you,” I whispered.
“Sindy, why don’t you go on and pack your things?” my mother asked me. I jerked my wide eyes to hers, my heart thumping hard in my chest. Was she seriously already shipping me off? She narrowed her eyes at me, and a deep growl sounded from Felix’s chest, shocking me.
“Sindy,” I slowly looked over at the beautiful man sitting across from me, “come on. I’ll help you pack, but you’re leaving here today.”
I swallowed thickly, my fingers trembling. Without a word, I stood from the couch and moved through the living room to my room.
Felix followed me silently.
“Are you sure my daughter won’t pose a problem?” I asked quietly once we were inside of my room.
Felix shook his head, reaching out to brush his hand over Faith’s pin-straight, blonde hair. “Not at all. She’s a part of you,” he said, as if it were as simple as that.
I wanted to cry because ever since I’d told Mom about my pregnancy, all anyone had done was try to make her out to be the devil’s child.
“May I hold her?” he asked, surprising me.
“Um, sure,” I said softly, handing Faith over to him. She beamed up at him.
“Big,” she whispered, spreading her arms wide.
Felix laughed. “Yes, sweetheart, I’m big,” he told her, taking a seat on the edge of my bed. It felt like his massive frame barely fit in my room. How did a guy get to be so damn tall and muscular?
I was halfway through packing Faith’s things when she yawned. I looked at the time on my phone, frowning when I realized it was a little past her naptime. The entire time I’d been packing, Felix had been keeping her occupied, playing with her, tickling her, doing all of the things I imagined a dad would do with her if she’d ever had one.
“Faith, baby, it’s nap time,” I told her, walking over to where they were settled at on the floor.
She got up on her chubby legs and reached her arms up for me. With a smile, I leaned down and lifted her into my arms, settling her on the middle of my bed. I pressed my lips to her forehead as I pulled the covers over her.
“Sleep like the good girl you are,” I told her. She just smiled at me.
Honestly, she was the calmest child I’d ever known. Other kids her age were wild and off the walls, always needing to do something.
But not Faith. She’d never been like that. She hadn’t even been very fussy as a baby.
She had always been such a happy, sweet child.
“You have much more to pack?” Felix asked me as he gracefully stood from the floor.
I shook my head. “Most of Faith’s clothes are packed. And her toys are just a simple matter of grabbing a bag to put them all in,” I explained. “Then, I don’t have that many things, so all of my things will take about fifteen minutes tops.”
Being nosy, he opened one of my drawers, a soft, displeased growl rumbling from his chest. I frowned. Was it normal for men to growl?
“All you have in here are three pairs of shorts, three tank tops, three t-shirts, and three pairs of jeans,” he complained, displeasure clear in his voice.
I shrugged. “I don’t need much,” I lied. The truth was, after having Faith, my hips had gotten wider, and my breasts grew larger as well. My old clothes didn’t fit anymore. So, my mother purchased me this little bit just so I wouldn’t have to run around naked.
And I hadn’t been allowed to work, so I couldn’t afford my own things. My mom wanted Faith out of the public eye as much as possible. It was already horrible enough her husband got arrested for multiple counts of child molestation and rape.
To see the proof of that running around town would tarnish her reputation even further. I wasn’t even allowed out. She just kept trying to ship me off to the highest bidder, basically.
She wanted to be rid of me, and honestly, I wanted to be rid of her as well.
“I do want you to know that whatever shit you faced here, Sindy, it’s over,” Felix quietly told me as I grabbed the stack of t-shirts from my drawer. I tightened my hand around them, swallowing thickly. “You’re safe now.”
I blinked back tears.
