Blackmailed For Love

I sat down on the sofa and opened the first box of the two in the soft overhead light coming from above the tv console.

I peeled the soft tissue that glimmered in the dim light and looked at the dark purple silk nestled in there.

With hesitant fingers I picked up the silken fabric, it unfurled in my hands as I let it drop down in front of me.

It was a sleeveless and a backless dress with a slit up to just below the waistline.

I would be half naked in this dress but still the thought of wearing it lit up a spark of anticipation deep inside my lower belly.

The other box had the same colored heels with red bottoms.

It took me twenty minutes to get ready as I didn't do much except to put Band-Aids on my nipples as the dress won't allow me to wear a bra and my nîpples poked through the fabric as if begging for attention and applied a natural shade of pink lip gloss.

I looked like a virgin trying to be a seductress.

I shook my head at my own thoughts as I stepped out of the bathroom, 1 faltered when my eyes met dark greys.

My daughter was sitting up in the bed and she was looking at me with wide eyes and a curious tilt of her head.

"Anna…"

"Mama, you look beautiful."

My heart squeezed with love at her words.

I walked to her, concentrating on not falling face first because of the heels I was wearing, it was safe to say I wasn't used to such type of footwear.

"What are you doing waking up? I thought you were asleep."

I said as I sat down on the bed beside her.

"I was."

She said with a silent Duh at the end.

I bit down on my bottom lip as my lips twitched, but she slipped closer to me and said, "I had a bad dream."

I cupped her cheek and pulled her on my lap, uncaring of the expensive silk.

Cradling her against my chest, I smoothed her dark hair back and asked, "Talk to me.

What did you dream about?"

"Someone was taking me away from you."

She replied, her voice small and a slight shaking entered in her voice.

My arms tightened around her.

And I said, "No one is going to take me away from you."

2 "Promise?"

I pressed a kiss on her head.

"Promise, my little angel."

She looked up at me and asked, "Where are you going?"

I didn't know the answer to that myself, but I replied, "Dinner."

Her brows lowered and her grey eyes turned inquisitive.

"But we had pizza."

I tapped her nose.

"Yes.

But I am meeting someone."

"A boy or a girl?"

For some reason I didn't lie to my daughter.

"A boy."

She made a thoughtful face and asked, "Is he your boyfriend?"

I shook my head.

he

you want him

of my own, I nodded, "I would prefer it if he

my lap and then I watched as she leapt off the bed and pulled the basket from under the bed which was filled with the few toys she

rummaged in it for a bit and then held out a

what was in her small fist even before

"Wear this.

lucky charm,

her grey eyes

around the black stone that had half of its piece back somewhere in Black

"It's yours.

keep

She pursed her lips and picked up my hand then slammed the shining black rock in

gave it to me and I'm loaning it

can give it back to me when

losing battle when I see

nodded and

want you to go back to

down on her bottom lip and regarded me with a suspicious

freaking smartarse? The thought had crossed my mind too, instead of putting it on

demand as she moved on her

threaded rock in her palm and she swiped my hair aside, then her small fingers got busy

my fingers between the thread and my neck before she accidentally choked me as the thread wasn't too long and the broken rock came to settle on the

who would just look

resembled a human heart, not the one that we drew as children but with jagged edges and veins running inside it, crystal clear and shining but now I only had smallest broken part of it, the other half and the bigger part was left behind in the cottage on the Aaron estate when I accidentally dropped it while trying to pack all the things I could get my hands on which didn't matter later when I had to run from one place to another because of the stalker that didn't let

makes you look

daughter announced as she

her in a tight hug, just then I heard my phone pinging with an incoming

phone and focused on my daughter as I said with a pout, "I thought I was already

clapped my cheeks between her palms and brought my face closer to

grey eyes fierce as she said,

always be

away and said, "So are you, my little

kissed her nose and in return she

"I love you."

love you too,

pulled back and ruffled

a face and I said, "Now, go

and I

I

"Good night, baby"

asked, "When

"Soon."

"Good

and made my way toward the bedroom door when her soft voice

"Yes, baby?"

boy be

I swallowed the knot in my throat as I said,

be

she turned away and pulled the blanket up to her shoulders, Closing the door, I let out a rough exhale and closed my

time that my daughter had asked me about her father, I had to ignore her questions or make up a

vaguely but always painting her father in the light that would leave room for

I was purposely keeping her away from her father which was

never knew that

pregnant when he threatened me and told me to

even now that he has a

gone to meet him to tell him the truth and

would react when the wounds inflicted by me had festered for so long that whenever his eyes landed on me they were resentful, cold and

phone, I knew it even before I opened the

I wasn't prepared for

be there in the next

Don't wear any panties."

naked so I wasn't going to obey his

and made my way toward my mother's bedroom to check up on her

I decided to wait for

if I can help

I would try as much as I could, until I understand what kind of man this Kristian was, would he intentionally force a daughter from her mother in the name of his

was no one out in the corridor but it wasn't the case as I stepped out of the elevator

me when I came into the entrance hall near