Every fairytale has an ending, and I suppose this could be mine. I was stupid to think I could do this alone. Not because I couldn’t protect myself, but because I think if I was pushed to the point I am currently teetering on, I would blaze past it and do something I severely regret.
Like taking this blade across Aria’s neck and not thinking twice about it.
I have her within arm’s length. I can call the police. I can call Lawson.
“You’ve taught me one thing,” my voice rings through the room even though it’s barely above a whisper. Aria’s body ever so slowly turns toward me. There is no denying she is beautiful. Her petite frame, the way she carries herself as the girl next door type. Whether her hair is short or dark or light, it doesn’t matter, nothing would change the fact that she is gorgeous. I swallow the jealous feeling spinning out of control and proceed, “You’ve taught me that no matter what happens, I will still have something you never do.”
Her eyes widen.
“I have a family. I have love.” I take two steps forward, my hand drifting out, a finger swiping across a picture frame on the mantel in our living room. “I have so much of that, you could never even penetrate it, even if you do take me from this world.”
“It will be mine.”
“But it’ll never be what I have now.”
She waves off my comment like she doesn’t believe my words. “Doesn’t matter.”
I take another step forward. “Why him? Why Lawson?”
She keeps her mouth shut.
I tilt my head to the side, pushing back the voice in my head that tells me I should just incapacitate her and call for help. “Don’t want to share why you want to take my husband from me?”
“Why should I?”
“I think you owe me that, don’t you?”
“No. I think we should end this and see who really deserves Lawson. I promise it won’t be you.”
I shake my head. “I can’t help but wonder. Did he not like you in school? Did he turn you down?” This time when her eyes widen, the shock colors her pale white face. “Oh, you didn’t think I would do my own research on you?
“I shouldn’t be surprised,” she mutters.
“So, what was it? Were you too much of a bitch for his taste or was he completely out of your league?”
I know my words are provoking her. That’s exactly what I want. I want her to make the first move.
She falls right into my trap.
Fast as lightning, she closes the gap between us, her hand reaching out and wrapping around my neck. She applies pressure, but not enough to completely close off my windpipe. I don’t fight. I stand stalk still with my weapon in the palm of my hand. Stupid mistake on her part for not seeing this.
I will wait.
I will bide my time until she thinks she fully has the upper hand.
“Need you to pick up the speed, Mack.”
“Going as fast as I can, Law.”
I sit fucking idle in this truck while my wife is God knows where having God knows what done to her. I can't even think about what could be happening to her without it making me sick to my stomach.
Mack slows the truck when the lane to our house comes into view. There’s an SUV parked at the edge with the man Benny called in standing outside it. When the truck stops just enough, I open the door and hop out. Benny’s man is the first to speak.
“Perimeter is secure. Three men, one in the back, one in the front, one at the west side of the house. Two women in the house.”
“Right. Where are the weapons?” Benny asks the man.
The man points to the back of the SUV. As we begin walking to the back, he presses a button for the lid to open. My eyes widen. It’s like a whole goddamn arsenal of weapons.
Benny steps forward and starts strapping himself with the guns laid before us. I begin to do the same.
“We approach from the side,” Benny directs.
I know I should listen to him, but fuck this shit. I’m not waiting around for something to happen to Selena.
“Fuck that, Benny. She wants me, she can have me. I’m not pussyfooting around this shit anymore.”
“We have to do this right or shit will go way the fuck sideways.”
I know he’s right. But fuck!
“Fine. Let’s get this shit over with.”
“Right. Like I was saying, we go in from the side. This will be a soft approach. Once inside, we will assess the situation.”
The other man gives an affirmative, and I do the same.
We turn and start to move from around the truck and then come face to face with the entire male population of Oak Town.
Jesus.
If it were another time, I might feel a little more pride for my town, but in this moment, I can’t.
Ben takes the lead. “Split up. Half of you go to the west, the other half to the east. Do not approach Aria unless she comes out of the house. If she has Selena, do not try to be a hero. Be fucking smart. Nobody comes out of this harmed.”
We get a collective, “Got it,” and then proceed.
When we start to approach the house, I move in front of Benny and takeover. My foot lands the wooden porch at the back of the house when I feel a hand hit my shoulder. My head turns slightly to see Ben there. “You good?”
“Will be in about five minutes.”
“Don’t lose it in there.”
Shrugging off his hand, I ignore his comment and move in, looking through the window.
Pitch black.
I can’t see a damn thing other than the reflection gleaming off the glass of the picture frame on the wall.
Pulling my keys out, I turn the knob to find it unlocked.
Fuck.
This door is never unlocked.
Then I hear it.
A shrilling scream.
So blood-curdling, I slam the door open as fast I can to get into the house.
It’s hard to describe the exact instance you know you have to take the moment of opportunity. The adrenaline coursing through your veins, heat rushing to the forefront of your skin, the way your hands become damp with sweat—they’re all clues. Your fight or flight senses kicking in.
Aria spins us around, slamming me into the wall. Her hand never leaves my neck, the pressure of her fingers becoming harder than before.
Inching my fingers up the handle of the knife to where the blade is showing and not hiding in my palm, I prepare to make my move.
Slowly, my hand raises, but not enough to bring awareness to her. Aria is intent on staring into my eyes, as if she’s trying to tell me something. I don’t care to stand here and figure this out. I take my shot. The knife blade slices into the skin at her stomach. I watch as her eyes widen, the shock evident through this action. Her hand grips tighter at this point. She doesn’t want to be defeated. This doesn’t falter me any. My hand is still wrapped around the knife handle as I push the blade in farther, twisting as I do. My other hand reaches up to hers, and using the only defense I have, I allow my nails to dig into the skin at her wrist. I don’t stop my actions until she moves back a step and her grip loosens. I pull the knife out of her gut, and she immediately clutches the wound.
“You will not get what is mine,” I seethe through gritted teeth.
The evil voice in my head is telling me to do what she did to me—mar her skin with the same scars.
She moves back, and I mimic her steps.
“Do you think this will stop me?”
“It doesn’t matter. I will fight until I die to keep my family.”
I take my final step toward her. With every fiber of my being, I throw a punch that knocks her to the ground. I straddle her and raise the knife, prepared to end this for good. The decency in me screaming I should put the weapon down and call for help.
Aria screams, bucks her body upwards, and tries to twist underneath me to knock me off her. Her efforts are useless.
A trickle of air whips across my neck, causing the hair on the back of my neck to stand on end.
“Selena!” Lawson yells as he comes barreling into the room.
I swing my head in the direction of his voice. Our eyes catch, but mine don’t stay. I return my focus to Aria.
My hand rises higher, preparing to launch the knife into Aria’s chest.
"Selena! Put the knife down," Lawson roars as he comes sliding next to us. I don't listen to him. He clasps his hand around my wrist and jerks it toward him, but not close enough to penetrate the knife through his skin. "Don't do this. Don't let her get to you like this." As his last word is uttered, a rush of men storm into my house. My hand doesn't deter from its approach. "Selena, for fuck’s sake, move away,” Lawson bites out next to me, his hand wrapping around my arm. I stand my ground over Aria as sirens blare in the distance.
This woman has put me through hell. I am not just walking away from her. Not yet.
“You thought you could just fuck with my head and then take my husband, take my family.” I shake my head as stand over her. “You are nothing to me. You mean nothing. You are just some woman who couldn’t get a man for herself, so you thought you had to take one from someone. Inside your hideous mind, you thought killing me would do the trick. What you don’t understand is Lawson loves me, not you. Nothing was ever there—nothing more than a client relationship. I hope you spend the rest of your life suffering inside your mind for what you have done. What you have put an innocent little girl through, what you put this man," I point to Lawson beside me, "through. He would have never loved you. He hates you," I hiss, my lip curling in disgust. I step over her just as the officers start to swarm around us and move into Lawson.
The knife clatters to the ground as I wrap my arms tight around him.
He steps back, moving us out of the way of the men taking Aria outside to the awaiting ambulance. My eyes dart to the side where I see a police officer waiting beside us. I know he’s doing his job and needs to take my statement, but I need this moment. I need to feel my husband’s arms around me.
“London?” I ask, the boldness slipping out of my voice, leaving behind a timid whisper.
“She stayed back at the shop with your mom.”
“Bring her to me.”
“On it.” He doesn’t let me go as he reaches into his pocket to grab his phone. In a few seconds, he is on the line with my mom.
“She’s safe. Give it ten, then bring her home.”
He listens for a moment, then disconnects.
My head tilts back from his chest to look into his eyes. His shift to mine and he gives me a small smile, and then he says, “You’re gonna need to talk—”
I cut him off. “I know I have to talk to them. I just need a minute.”
He nods.
Rising on my tiptoes, I press my lips to his. Just as Lawson runs his tongue over my bottom lip, my name is screamed.
“Selena!”
I spin around to find Carolina running through the front door, one hand on her stomach, the other holding the bottom of her gown.
“Oh my God,” she says when she reaches us. She pulls me into her and wraps them tightly around me. “Jesus. I thought you were dead.”
“I’m fine, Caro.”
She lets me go, and then turns back to the door where Benny is standing. “Did you not think to come get me?”
“Babe, literally been here for five minutes. Kinda had my hands full.”
She huffs, and if I know my best friend, just rolled her eyes at him.
He shakes his head, but says nothing as he spins and walks out the front door.
I turn back to Lawson.
“We can breathe again,” I whisper.
His face softens even more. “Yeah, baby, we can.”
The heavy weight that’s been sitting on my chest for months crumbles around my heart. I can finally take a full breath again.