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

you want

pause of my own, I nodded,

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 had gathered

for a bit and then held

was in her small fist even before she opened her

"Wear this.

lucky charm,

her grey eyes

my head and closed her fingers back around the black stone that

"It's yours.

keep it to

hand then slammed the shining black rock in my palm and

gave it to me and I'm loaning it to

can give it back

battle when I

and

you to go back to

instead she bit down on her bottom lip and regarded me with a suspicious look and said, "Give it to me, I'll help

years old daughter was a freaking smartarse? The thought had crossed my mind too, instead of putting it

demand as she moved on her knees so she was

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

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

everyone who would

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

makes you look the

daughter announced as she

tight hug, just then I heard my phone pinging with an

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

clapped my cheeks between her palms and brought my face

as she said,

always be the

blinked the tears away and said,

her nose and in return

"I love you."

you

and

and I said, "Now, go back to

laid down and I tugged the

down, I kissed her

"Good night, baby"

asked, "When will you

"Soon."

"Good

and made my way toward the bedroom door when her soft

"Yes, baby?"

this boy be my new

suffered another scratch and I swallowed the knot in my throat as

be back

turned away and pulled the blanket up to her shoulders, Closing the door, I let out

I had to ignore her questions or make up a lie

interrupt and answer her vaguely but always painting her father

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

never knew that he had

was pregnant when he threatened me

now that he has a

time I had gone to meet him to tell him the truth and if I had gotten the

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

I knew it even before I

I wasn't prepared for his

be there in the next ten

Don't wear any panties."

dress already made me feel half naked so I wasn't going

made my way toward my mother's bedroom to check up on her before I turned toward the

that he will be here soon so I decided to wait for him downstairs because I didn't want him anywhere near my

I

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

out in the corridor but it wasn't the case as I stepped out of the elevator

me when I came