Seven Years of Poison

r from across his large mahogany desk. "You're one of our most promising young talents. You have a

hat matters," she said, her voice steady. The words tasted like freedom. For seven years, he

e here, Dr. Evans," she continued, "but th

er eyes. "I can't say I understand it, but I respect

" she said,

ary arrived. A one-way ticket. She was scheduled t

ay he was supposed to publicly claim her, would now be the day she disappear

a special work assignment abroad, a chance of a lifetime. They were proud, if a little sad

t her skin until it was red and raw. She felt tainted, desperate to wash away the scent of

er stomach, a wave of dizziness washing over her. She stumbled out of the shower, wrapping a towel a

the faint sound of her window sliding open. He

a

s a shadow. He saw her pale face,

?" he asked, his voice laced with amusement. He thought t

her heart. In his world, she was not a person with her own feelings or suffering. She was

, Jake," she managed

d. His intentions were clear. He saw her vulnerability not as s

, shrinking away from him. The cr

handsome features. "What's gotten into you lat

her. "Strange?" she repeated, a bitter laugh escaping her lips. "I'm

rsation he clearly didn't want to have. "I already told yo

ear him say it again, to confirm the lie one last time. "For you

eyes narrowed. Before he could answer, his phone buzzed on

me glowed

laced by a look of genuine concern. "I have to take this,

ther side of the room, turning his back t

settling over her. She was a secret. C

was all he said before he disappeared back out the

e barely made it to the bathroom before she was violently ill. Another wave of

r her own phone. She had to call for help. Her vision was blurr

a

final, desperate plea to the man w

, his voice sharp and impatien

ing it hard to form words. "I think I need to

d him speak to someone else. "Jus

cking kidding me? Tonight? Chloe just fell down the stairs. I'm on

aintive voice in the background. "Jake, who is that

lled with a tenderness that made Ava's stom

ne wen

ance and hung up on her while she was in agony,

mpared to the absolute, soul-crushing despair that w