Page 68 of Midnight Wedding

“Don’t do it, Lena,” I mutter to myself. Turning away is like ripping off a piece of my own body. “Be strong, Lena. Things are going good. Don’t ruin it for yourself.”

Instead of breaking in, I find Maud and beg her to give me a job. “Body piercingandhard work?” She studies me, lips pressed together. “You really are an odd one.”

“I’m desperate. I’m so bored! There’s got to be something you need help with.”

“Well, the library hasn’t been catalogued in a while and I haven’t dusted in there for a couple weeks.”

“Perfect! Yes! I can Dewey Decimal the shit out of that place!”

“You just need to run a cloth?—”

“I’m going to totally rearrange the shelves and set up a master cataloguing system. When I’m done, it’ll be organized so well a master librarian would break down in tears to see its majesty.”

“That seems like a little much.”

“Brew me some tea. I’m getting on it.”

“Whatever you say, dear.”

“Thanks, Maud!”

I storm into the library, feeling like a conquering hero. The locked door is like an itch in the back of my head, but having a job helps ease some of that obsession. So what if there’s a mystery? So what if I’m expressly forbidden from breaking in?

There are thumps in the walls and I feel like I’m being watched.

None of that matters.

I’m going to respect Arsen’s wishes and refrain from doing something stupid for once in my life. No more curiosity. No more exploration.

Just a girl, her library, and a big old dust mop.

This’ll be totally fine.

Chapter 24

Arsen

“Why the fuck are you smiling so much?” Tigran frowns at me. He’s slumped down in the passenger seat of my BMW. “And why do you keep looking at your phone?”

“I’m smiling because I’m thinking about killing Aunt Sona. I’m looking at my phone because I fucking want to.” I glare at my brother. “How about you concentrate on the job?”

He shrugs and looks away. “All this good cheer just doesn’t really seem like you, that’s all.”

Tigran’s not wrong. Before Lena came into my life, I was one grumpy fucking bastard. I still am, except now I have her to obsess about, and it’s making me all stupid.

I keep looking at my phone because I’m hoping I’ll find a message from her.

Which is pathetic. Mooning after a girl like that. Absolutely weak. And yet I can’t help myself.

Lena’s everything to me. Our day together only emphasized that and made it that much clearer. She’s my wife, the mother of my child, and the only woman in the world that can make the scattered, screaming madness of my brain quiet down for an entire day.

When we were together, I didn’t hurt.

My shoulder ached, but the pain in my soul was dimmed to nearly nothing.

No horrible memories. No bloodlust. No rage.

I could just be with her.

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