She shook her head. “Nothing is the matter. Everything is fine.”
He knew she was lying to him, but he wasn’t going to force her to talk to him.Evil had been aware that her grandmother had passed while Noelle had been a young age. What he didn’t realize was how close she’d been to the older woman.
Even now, he saw the tears in her eyes, the sadnessfor a woman she hadn’t gotten to spend a whole lot of time with, and his heart went out to her. Her parents didn’t deserve Noelle, but from the sound of her grandmother, she did.
“Actually, I’ll be back.” Noelle put her food down on the table, pushed back her chair, and disappeared into the bedroom.
Evil had an idea of what she was going toget, but he also couldn’t be certain.
Sitting back, he watched the door, waiting.
Her painwas so clear. Evil would do anything to make sure she never felt that way again. Anything.
He tapped his fingers against his carton of rice and thought about the ring inside his desk drawer. Evil had purchased it six months ago. Noelle was more than some fun to him. She was his entire world, but he had a feeling she didn’t even see it.
Evil knew he had to change that. He had to make her see that he wanted a lot more than some fun sex.
****
She had packed them away with all of her belongings.The recipe books. Noelle hadn’t opened them in years.
Her mother had been ready to toss them out as if they were trash. Her parents had been vultures aroundGrandma Noelle’s things. Jewelry had been pawned, so had the furniture. Everything that had value was sold, and all the items that didn’t were dumped or thrown in a fire.
The recipe books that hadGrandma Noelle’s recipes had nearly gone in the trash. Noelle kept them, hid them away.
There had been a few times she had pulled them out, but the pain had been too raw.After getting to her feet, she walked into his bedroom, toward the back of the closet, and pushed aside a box she had hidden them behind.
Once she’dpulled them down, she stared at the faded, torn, and well-used binding. She carried them back to the table and placed them in front of Evil.
“This is it. This is part of my childhood that was good.” She took a seat opposite him and grabbed her noodles.
Evil opened the book and then lifted a single picture.
Noelle hadn’t looked through them.
It was a picture of her and hergrandmother. She must have been about seven or eight. She wore an apron and held a can of applesauce in her hands. She looked so proud.
“Dated September,” Evil said.
“Yeah. She liked to take pictures of everything. I got to the house too late. They hadburned her photograph albums. So all I have are memories.”
Evil placed the picture on the table and slid it across to her. She picked it up and looked at it.
This had been a happy moment for her. She’d been watching her grandmother preserve for solong, and that jar of sauce had been all of her own making. Her parents, they’d been pissed at such a wasted afternoon.
She never got to try the applesauce as they had smashed it outside in a fit of rage. “They tried to take so much.”
“Don’t think about those people, Noelle. Think about your grandmother. She is who is important now.”
Evil stood and rounded the table. He took the chair in front of her,putting his hands on her knees and sliding them up toward her thighs.
She turned toward him. “I wanted to be like her, you know? A couple of kids. No, a lot of kids. I used to think about that. Being happy. Having a family, a big family.” Noelle nibbled on her lip. These were all desires of a young woman.
“Then let’s have them,” Evil said.
Noelle lifted her head. “What?”
“You heard me. You call my country home a mansion. It has plenty of rooms, and it would be perfect for you to live your dream.” He pressed his hands to her stomach. “I haven’t used a condom, Noelle. You could be carrying my baby right now.”