ADELINE

 

I'VE ALWAYS TRIED to be a silver lining kind of girl, even when my life seemed rather dull and meaningless.  Even when my father kept me locked away in an ivory tower, leaving me with only two options --- isolation and reading.  I read to keep myself occupied, but I also read to escape.  Books allowed me to leave my prison and venture into new worlds, discover new places and make new friends.

Being the youngest of seven girls, my father wanted to protect and shelter me from everything.  When you live in a mafia world, someone is always trying to take what's yours.  My sisters were easy targets, and they suffered profoundly for my father's life of crime and power.

I'd heard a lot of stories over the years.  They keep me awake at night sometimes, thinking about how my sisters were tortured, body parts sent to my father piece by piece until there was nothing left.

Out of seven of us, only three remain living, including me.  The four oldest had been kidnapped over the years, held for ransom or simply killed for retribution.  My father never caved, never gave into the kidnapper's demands.  Not even once.

He allowed them all to die horrible deaths, and he justified it by saying that he wouldn't appear weak to his enemies…even if it meant that all of us would have to die someday in the same manner our oldest sisters did.

And that's why I have given up hope of getting saved from this island.  No one is coming for me.  No one is going to save me.  I have to leave on my own.

If Lucien thinks locking me in this room is going to break me, he's sadly mistaken.  I've been locked up my entire life.  So being kept in one room for an extended period of time is nothing new.  I just wish I had a book or two to read to help me mentally escape from this monotonous hell.  The complete and utter boredom is the only difference from this new prison and my old prison.

I'm simply…biding my time, waiting for the right opportunity to strike.  And I have to believe that it will.

My empty stomach grumbles ferociously, and I grimace.  I have been starving myself in the hopes that an opportunity will come quickly.  If I understand my captor as well as I think I do, he won't let me starve.

The door opens, pulling me from my thoughts.  Lucien steps into the room, looking handsome in his usual attire, a dark, tailored three-piece suit.

I stare at him, warily.  It feels like all the air has just been sucked out of the room.  He emits this dark and powerful presence that takes my breath away.

He must notice my uneasiness, because his brows furrow as he stares at me.  "I…I want to show you something," he says softly, and I can almost hear something in his tone that sounds like excitement.

I'm not buying it.  Just when I think I have Lucien figured out, he always surprises me.  "W-what is it?" I stammer, feeling the unease creep into my bones.

"You'll like it," he says, flashing me a grin.

I think it's the first time I've ever seen him smile.  The expression transforms his face to make him even more impossibly handsome.

I don't want to think of my captor as attractive, because I know what lies under that handsome exterior --- a monster.

He opens the door wider and steps out into the hall, looking back at me.  "Come," he mutters.

Having no choice but to do as he says, I slowly stand and go to him.

I'm hesitant at first, cautiously stepping over the threshold, afraid of what awaits me on the other side.  When I see nothing but an empty hallway, I blow out a soft sigh of relief.  He hasn't let me out of my room since Jax made me return after that dramatic blowup I had at dinner when I realized he wasn't releasing me like he had promised.

We go to the end of the hall and down the steps.  Then he takes me into a wing of the house I didn't even know existed.  I feel my steps faltering as he leads me towards two giant hand-carved doors.

He stops and turns to me then, the rare smile prominent on his face once again.  "What's in that room?" I ask, my voice tremulous.

"Nothing bad," he tells me after no doubt hearing the fear in my tone.  And then he says, "I promise."

I narrow my eyes at him.  The last time he promised me something, he went back on his word.  So why the hell should I trust him now?  My entire body is tense as I wait for him to open the doors, expecting the worst.

But when I slowly open my eyes and take in the room that lies before me, I gasp in surprise.  "Oh!"

My feet are moving before my brain can even stop me, and I turn, doing a complete circle in the middle of a gigantic library.  It's two stories tall with a staircase on the right of the room leading up to the top floor.  There's a fireplace in the corner with a white baby grand piano situated in front of it.  And books, gazillions of books, books about animals, fantasy books, sci-fi, romance, every book by every author, even some of my favorites, imaginable litter the beautiful, hand-carved wooden shelves.

Tears fill my eyes as I go to the long shelf to my left.  My gaze skims the titles, and I instantly begin pulling out book after book, stacking them in my arms.  I'm like a kid in a candy store right now, and I feel the sudden urge of happiness and belonging.  Libraries have always been like sacred havens to me.

Lucien's chuckle behind me breaks my spell.  I slowly put the stack of books down on a nearby table and turn to look at him.  He looks happy as if I've made him happy somehow.  But why?

"M-may I take some books back to my room?" I ask, crossing my fingers that he'll grant me this one small respite.

He stares at me for a long moment before he answers.  "You may read in here, if you'd like.  I'll come collect you later when it's time for you to go back to your room."

His words shock me, and I'm so caught off-guard by the generous offer that I can't help myself when I run to him and wrap my arms around him in a hug.  "Thank you!" I exclaim against his chest.

I feel his body stiffen under my grip.  And when I realize what I've just done, I quickly release my hold on him and take a few steps back.  A blush creeps up along my neck and face as I mutter, "Sorry."

He clears his throat before mumbling, "Enjoy your time in here."  And then he leaves, leaving me completely alone in this beautiful library.

I stare at the door long after he leaves.  I don't know what came over me just a few moments ago.  The solitary confinement has definitely done a number on me.  I was so thankful for a few hours in the library that I…hugged my captor?

Shaking my head, I push my reaction to the library aside and go back to the stack of books I picked out.  Lucien has given me a great gift, and I don't intend to waste a second of it.

But as I pick up the first book, all I can seem to think about is the grin on his face at making me happy and how good it made me feel to see him finally smile.