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 to

of my own, I nodded,

leapt off the bed and pulled the basket from under the bed which was filled

rummaged in it for a bit and then held out

gave a painful pang as I knew what was in

"Wear this.

lucky charm,

her grey eyes

head and closed her fingers back around the black stone that had half of its piece back somewhere in Black

"It's yours.

should keep

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

it to me and

back

losing battle

and

want you to go

on the bed but didn't lie down, instead she bit down on her bottom lip and regarded me with a suspicious look and said, "Give it to me,

had crossed my mind too, instead of putting it on I'd have left it out in the apartment somewhere hidden

in a silent demand as she

my hair aside, then her small fingers got

she accidentally choked me as the thread wasn't

everyone who would just

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

"See, this makes you

daughter announced as she

engulfed her in a tight hug, just then I heard my

phone and focused on my daughter as I said

cheeks between her palms and brought my face closer to

as

be the

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

her nose and in return she kissed the corner of my

"I love you."

you too,

back and ruffled her

and I said, "Now,

I tugged

down, I

"Good night, baby"

"When will you

"Soon."

"Good night,

and made my way toward the

"Yes, baby?"

this boy be

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

will be

and pulled the blanket up to her shoulders,

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

the time, my mother would interrupt and answer her vaguely but always painting her father in the light that would leave room for more

that I was purposely keeping her away from her father which was in fact

never knew that he had impregnated

when he threatened me and told me to

now that he has

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

didn't even know how he would react when the wounds inflicted by me had festered for so long that whenever his eyes landed on me they were

I pulled myself straight and unlocked my phone, I knew it even before I opened the message icon that it would be

I wasn't prepared

be there in the

Don't wear any panties."

feel half naked so I wasn't going to obey

bedroom to check up on her before I turned toward the apartment

to wait for him downstairs

I can help

of man this Kristian was, would he intentionally force a daughter from her mother in the name of his

it wasn't the case as I stepped out of the elevator on

take notice of me when I came into the entrance