Page 161 of Bound By Crimson
The roses bloomed downward, their stems trailing into the ceiling like they were trying to escape gravity.
“No,” she breathed.
But she didn’t dare pull it off again.
The paper would tear.
The glue would show.
It would look worse.
She angled the dresser just slightly in front of it—just enough to block the area from a passing glance.
Hopefully it would be enough.
It wasn’t perfect.
But then again, neither was she anymore.
Her back throbbed. Her feet ached.
And as she lowered herself into the bed, the familiar pinch of a cramp rolled across her abdomen.
She gritted her teeth and rubbed her belly in slow circles.
“Okay, okay,”she whispered to her child.“I know. I shouldn’t have done all that. I know.”
She lay there for several long minutes, willing the tightness to fade, trying to catch her breath.
Then her eyes landed on the mattress.
The journal.
The photograph.
The birth certificate.
She hadn’t imagined any of it.
She pulled the journal out slowly and ran her fingers over the cover.
The name inside stared up at her like a whisper:
Eden Celeste Thornwick
May the truth live longer than the lies.
Lyric exhaled.
Who are you?
And what do you have to do with Malachai?
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Never Meant to Be Found
The room was still.
