Page 3 of Cruel Betrayal

Me:The stalker was here again. I don’t know what to do.

Three little dots bounce on the screen before disappearing.

My heart sinks in my chest.

Maybe messaging him right now is a bad idea.

He doesn’t know me beyond the conversations we have. The ones of the carefully crafted woman I put in front of him.

The only reason he knows about the stalker is because I messaged him in a moment of weakness, not knowing what else to do.

“I’m an idiot.” I push myself off the ground and go to put the gun away.

My phone buzzes as I triple-check the lock on the door.

Pulling it out, I hold my breath, hoping it’s not one of my brothers checking in. I don’t know how to lie to them about everything right now.

I’ve been doing it for months, but that’s normally after a bit of time to calm down.

ThatsRenfieldInTheCorner:…I don’t know what to say. Are you okay? Did you call the police?

Me:No. Not much they can do. Don’t know who it is. Don’t know what they want. Starting to lose my mind, I think.

ThatsRenfieldInTheCorner:They’re not still there, are they?

Me:No.

ThatsRenfieldInTheCorner:Did you tell your brothers? Sisters? Anyone other than me? There’s nothing I can do to protect you, but I think you should tell someone. Make sure that they know you’re in a dangerous situation.

Me:Can’t do that. Ellie is pregnant and tired. Gia is taking care of two young kids. Summer is off doing fuck knows what. Zoe is…difficult. And Skyla… well, she’s got issues of her own.

ThatsRenfieldInTheCorner:The doors and windows are all locked, right?

Me:Yeah. Everything is locked. Please, can we talk about something else? Maybe distract me from this hell?

ThatsRenfieldInTheCorner:Well, if you want to talk, I started reading Little Women. You were right about Jo. She’s strong, but a hard character to like at times. Not because of the rebellion, but there’s something about how she seems to need control over everything that’s off-putting. And she’s too hard on Amy often, which is leading me to think Amy is often wronged by her sisters.

Me:So, you’re not to the second half of the novel, then.

ThatsRenfieldInTheCorner:No. Several chapters in, though.

Me:Oh boy. Get out the tissues when you get deeper into the novel. You’re going to cry like a baby.

ThatsRenfieldInTheCorner:Shit.

Me:I gotta go meet my sister for dinner.

ThatsRenfieldInTheCorner:Tell her about the stalker.

Me:Maybe.

I sigh and close the app, finally pulling myself to my feet and heading for the shower. I need to get cleaned up.

If Summer senses even the smallest thing off about me, she’s going to tell Aiden, and then he’ll breathe down the back of my neck until I tell him everything.

It would only prove him right and put more burden on his life, and he doesn’t need that with Noah taking over the Rinaldos once more.

Aiden’s too busy trying to keep our family from getting slaughtered.