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 is

you want him to

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

pulled the basket from under the

it for a bit and then held out a thick black macrame

heart gave a painful pang as I knew what was in her

"Wear this.

our lucky charm,

said, her

her fingers back around the black stone that had half of its piece back

"It's yours.

should keep it

my hand then slammed the shining

gave it to me and

can give it back to

losing battle

nodded and

to go

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

crossed my mind too, instead of putting it on I'd have left it out in the apartment somewhere hidden but apparently the same thought crossed my genius daughter's

her palm in a silent demand

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

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 hollow

to everyone who would

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 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 me

"See, this makes you look

daughter announced as she

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

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

clapped my cheeks between her palms

fierce as

be the

tears away and said, "So are you, my little

kissed her nose and in return she

"I love you."

you too,

pulled back and

face and I said,

down and I tugged the blanket over

I

"Good night, baby"

"When

"Soon."

replied "Good night,

my way toward

"Yes, baby?"

this boy be

another scratch and I swallowed the knot

be

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

about her father, I had to ignore her questions

and answer her vaguely but always painting her father in the light

keeping her away from her father which was in fact a

never knew that he had impregnated

he threatened

know even now

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 he hadn't

now what ifs weren't going to help me, now I didn't even know how he would react when the wounds inflicted by me had

my phone, I knew it even before I opened the message icon

prepared for his

be there in

Don't wear any panties."

half naked so I wasn't going to obey his insane

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

so I decided to wait for him downstairs because

I can

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

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

notice of me when I came into the entrance hall near the