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.

angel, he is

want him to

a thoughtful pause of my own, I nodded, "I would

the bed and pulled the basket from under the bed which was

a bit and then held out a thick black macrame cord in her

pang as I knew what was in her small

"Wear this.

lucky charm,

said, her

around the black stone that

"It's yours.

keep it

my hand then slammed the shining black rock in my palm and

me and I'm loaning it to

give it back to me when you

battle

nodded and

I want you to go back to

her bottom lip and regarded me with a suspicious

The thought had crossed my mind too, instead of putting

out her palm in a silent demand as she moved on her knees so she

put the threaded rock in her palm and she swiped my hair aside, then

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

who would just look in my

in a shape that 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

makes you look

announced as

hug, just then I heard

as I said with a pout,

clapped my cheeks between her palms

eyes fierce as she said,

be the

and said, "So are

in return she kissed the

"I love you."

you too,

pulled back and ruffled her

face and I said,

and I tugged

down, I kissed

"Good night, baby"

"When will

"Soon."

"Good

from the bedside drawer and made my way toward

"Yes, baby?"

be my new

and I swallowed the

will be back

blanket up to her shoulders, Closing the door, I let out a rough exhale and

asked me about her father, I had to ignore her questions or make up a lie that I didn't want to tell

and answer her vaguely but always

I think my daughter thought that I was purposely keeping her away from her father

never knew that

never knew I was pregnant when he

know even now that

the last time I had gone to meet him to tell him the truth and if I had gotten the chance to tell him the truth, if we hadn't been interrupted and

wounds inflicted by me had festered for so long that whenever his eyes landed on me they were resentful, cold and filled with

unlocked my phone, I knew it even before I opened the

prepared

in the next

Don't wear any panties."

me feel half naked so I wasn't going to obey

mother's bedroom to

I decided to

if I can

understand what kind of man this Kristian was, would he intentionally force a daughter from her mother in the name of his revenge? I locked the door behind me and slipped the key behind my

was no one out in the corridor but it wasn't the case

people started to take notice of me when