Prologue

Prologue - Nina Deveraux

Since my Mum died giving birth to me, my Dad was my whole life. He was a good Dad and until my 8th birthday I was happy.

Then he married my Stepmom Justine, she had a son who was two years older than me called Peter.

First she was nice to me and a classic 50s Wife, prim and proper. She seemed to love my Dad. But then she turned out to be the evil Stepmother like in all those Fairytales. She was mean to me and Peter, when my Dad wasn't around. Peter tried to protect me, every time she went mad and was about to punish me. He downright got all rebellious on her, defied her in every which way possible. And took my beatings. At night I sneaked into his bed and we held on to another for comfort. But eventually she got enough of his behavior and convinced my dad it would be better to send Peter to a boarding school far away, to take the rebel out of him.

He was fourteen by then.

My Dad was so besotted with her and agreed with all she wanted and since he wasn't around as much, because he was working twelve hours a day in his company, he also wasn't there for me anymore.

As Peter left I cried a whole week and then I began to bury my nose in books, I only left my room to go to school, to eat something and other necessary things. Reading was my refuge.

Then my dad died soon after my fifteenth birthday. He had a heart attack and as much as that ruined me, the harder it was to be alone with that bitch called Justine.

I saw Peter only on the day of the funeral, because he arrived late at night the previous day. After the funeral he slipped into my room and tried to soothe me, while Justine made a great show out of being the grieving widow, to get the attention of the people downstairs.

He stayed with me the whole time and even slept beside me in my bed, holding me tight. I think that was the time I was beginning to love him.

In the morning he woke me and kissed me goodbye. A chaste kiss on my lips. Then he had to leave again to go back to the boarding school. We used to text nearly every day.

Justine was furious the day when the will of my father was revealed. My dad left her nothing, all his wealth got into trustfonds for me and Peter. It seemed like somehow he sensed the evil in her.

Since dad "paid" for Peter's school she left him there even in the holidays and she left me mostly alone and went out every evening for a date.