Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 129687 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 519(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129687 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 519(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
She didn’t answer him and instead bent her head in silence. A few seconds later, and he felt it, her tears falling onto their clasped hands.
“I’m sorry.” But this time, the words weren’t just an apology. They were a promise that she would live.
Willem’s chest tightened. Pulling his hands away, he tipped her chin up, and something inside him ripped open at the sight of her tear-streaked face. He wiped the tears away with care, conscious all the while of the way Serenity stared at him like he was...everything. The knowledge was both a burden and a treasure, and Willem couldn’t help thinking that he, too, had made a choice today. He wasn’t fucking sure what it was or what it meant. The only thing he knew was that it was damn important because...this girl had become important to him.
Too important for their own good.
“Will you promise me something,” he heard himself ask.
A fragile nod.
“If you ever choose to leave me, don’t just...go away. Let me know. I won’t ever stop you, but just...tell me.” As he spoke the words, Willem knew then that a part of him had accepted it could not always be like this between them forever.
“I will.” And it seemed that Serenity had realized the same thing.
Chapter Seven
“IT’S NICE TO SEE YOU again, Serenity.” Dr. Fergus shook hands with his patient.
“It’s nice to see you, too, Dr. Fergus.”
After being discharged from the psychiatric ward, a fourteen-year-old Serenity had then requested him to be her therapist. After giving the matter serious thought, he had accepted, even though it required him to fly to Amsterdam several times a year and rent clinic space in a hospital near Serenity’s home.
Today was their first meeting for the year, and at seventeen, he was pleased to see that Serenity Raleigh had blossomed into a breathtakingly beautiful woman. She was dressed fashionably in a military green parka thrown over a white diamond-printed sweater, denim shorts, and black leggings. The doctor knew that she would only become more stunning over the years and could only wish that she would also become happier. God knew she deserved to be.
Pressing the record button, he set the player on the coffee table between them and asked, “How are you?”
“I’m fine as I can be, Doctor.”
Still suffering from guilt, but less so than last year, the doctor thought. It was obvious with the way her lips curved ever so slowly and cautiously, as if the girl still wasn’t convinced she had the right to smile.
To put her at ease, he changed tack and said conversationally, “Mrs. F has been keeping me abreast of all the latest gossip about you.”
Serenity’s cheeks flushed. “Most of it isn’t true, Dr. Fergus.”
He raised a brow, asking teasingly, “So that rumor about you and a certain Continian prince—-”
She shook her head vehemently. “He is not my boyfriend and never was. I...I have never had one, Doctor.”
“I see. Why’s that?”
“Just not interested.”
The words came out as a mumble, which interested the doctor greatly. Perhaps his patient had a crush, someone she didn’t feel comfortable talking about? But if so, why?
“Do you have any crushes, Serenity?”
She shook her head quickly, too quickly.
He changed tacks again. “How’s your life at home?”
“It’s okay.” Serenity was staring hard at her hands, avoiding his gaze.
“You’re getting along with your stepmother?”
“Yes.”
“You know you shouldn’t lie to me, don’t you, Serenity?”
The younger girl bit her lip. “She’s...the usual.”
“Which means?” he prodded gently.
She shrugged uneasily. “Just that...she doesn’t talk or look at me, and I c-can’t blame her. I’m not her child, and if not for the will, we both know our lives would have never crossed.”
“And your sister?”
Serenity didn’t speak right away. Even now, the shock hadn’t really worn off. Ever since that scene during her first internship, the local media had become obsessed about her, and Serenity’s own sister had fanned the flames, using every opportunity to drop not-so-subtle hints about Willem having taken Serenity under his wing because of their relationship.
“Are you getting along well with Shane?”
Serenity gave the doctor another discomfited shrug. “As well as we could be, considering we didn’t really grow up together.”
“Is that why then,” he asked quietly, “you’ve always come to our meetings alone, even though I’ve told you I’d appreciate meeting any member of your family?”
A slow nod. “But it’s not their fault, Doctor. I was never...I’m not really a part of their family, and it’s unfair to force them to treat me like I am when I’m not.”
“What about friends? I told you I’d like to meet any friend of yours if possible.”
Serenity shook her head. “I have friends, but not the type I could invite to...this.”
The doctor raised a brow. “Not a single one?”
Another shake of her head.
Because of how she looks probably, the doctor thought, and because of how famous she is now. This made him remember the very cause of Serenity’s sudden surge in popularity, and he asked slowly, “What about your sister’s boyfriend—-”