Dahlia Wellburg hates her misery as much as she loves it. She sees herself as a stone: ordinary and unwanted. Yet, they know her to be a rose: soft, but with thorns.
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Mature Content. Check the tags.
"Lust is so inadequate. And loving exhausts me." - Anne Sexton, A Self-Portrait in Letters
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Dahlia
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My heart hurt.
They never said they'd only be with you. Calm down. Calm down. Calm down.
I was walking towards the greenhouse. I entered the dark place and sat on a bench, taking deep breaths to calm myself down.
What if he had lied about not being with her? What if he was with her? Would he do that? Why wouldn't he?
I rubbed the skin over my heart, trying to calm myself down.
They weren't mine. They never said they were.
"Dahlia."
I looked up at the shadowy figure. I couldn't see him right. There was a faded golden light behind him.
I stood, looking at his hands. No axe.
But that didn't mean he wasn't him.
"Who are you?"
"I can't answer that. I'm the one who gave you the envelope."
"Yes, and I said no. So why are you here?"
"I don't think they know how much danger you're in, Dahlia. There is a bounty. I'm trying to protect you. Come with me."
"What are you talking about?" I demanded.
"She added you to her will," he told me. "One of her last wishes was to have you murdered. The family will give a million dollars to whoever brings them your head."
I didn't know you could add hit lists to your will.
"The one who was obsessed with Noah?"
"Yes. He took so much from her. She wanted to return the favor."
"And why do you want to keep me safe?"
"I...I can't answer that."
"So, you have zero credibility."
"I know how to hide. Noah taught me."
"How do you know Noah?"
He went silent and then suddenly, disappeared into the darkness of the plants.
Someone touched my back. I screamed till I was pulled to a hard chest.
I looked up at Alexandre who was accessing the greenhouse.
"Who were you talking to?"
I told him.
His body became more and more rigid as he listened.
