Annihilate Me (Vol. 3) (The Annihilate Me Series) Read Online Free PDF Page B

me.”
    “Then Alex knew his father.   After one particularly ugly,
alcohol-fueled fight that lasted long past midnight, that son of a bitch went
for his gun and shot Constance in her bedroom.   I assume that when he realized what he’d done and the
scandal and prison sentence that were upon him, the coward shot himself in the
head.   End of story for them, but
the beginning of a major turning point in Alex’s life.”   She shook her head.   “Sometimes, I don’t think he cares what
happens to himself.   Not so much
because of what happened to his parents, whose relationship was brutal on him,
but because of how Diana’s death affected him.   Since then, he’s been absolutely focused on work, but adrift
in other ways.”
    “I’ve only told Lisa this, but he wrote me
a letter.   A love letter is what he
called it, and I suppose that’s what it was.   He gave it to me that night on the roof deck.   In it, he said that he was in love with
me.   If that’s true, why didn’t he
tell me about any this, from his parents to the threat itself?”
    “I have no idea.   Not unlike you, Alex has a shield around himself, clearly
because of what he’s been through.”   She looked at me.   “Are you
in love with him?”
    “I don’t know.   I think so.   Maybe.”
    “How can you not know?
    “Because I’ve never been in love before.”
    “Then let me tell you what I’ve seen.   I’ve watched you, I’ve watched him,
I’ve watched you two together, and what I’ve increasingly seen is a couple
falling in love with each other.   Alex knows what love is.   You may not recognize it as quickly as he because you’ve never
experienced it.   But the woman I
saw in that room a moment ago?   The
woman who was crying at his bedside?   That was a woman in love.   That was a woman in private who wasn’t putting on a show for others
because her boyfriend happens to be a billionaire and grief was expected of
her.   That was you alone with Alex,
who was asleep and unable to see the state you were in.   But when I saw you like that?   It said it all to me.   You’re in love with him.   That’s how love feels, at least in this
situation.   When it’s good, it’s
also everything you’ve ever heard and read about.   It can be delirious and wonderful, and it can make you
happier than you’ve ever been in your life.   But it also can drop you to your knees, which is where you
are now.   Have you ever hinted at
how you might feel about him?”
    “Not verbally.   But I have physically.”   I took a breath and decided to just come clean with it.   “This may sound pathetic at my age, but
he took my virginity.   There’s no
question in my mind that he knows how important that moment was for me, and
that after waiting so long, I wasn’t giving it away to just anyone.   So, if I’ve said anything truly meaningful
to him, it was through that decision.”
    “That’s fine, but sometimes people need to
hear the words.   Why can’t you tell
him how you feel?”
    “That’s a road you don’t want to go down.”
    “Why?”
    I knew Blackwell well enough to know that
she wouldn’t let go of this, so I opened up a bit.   “My father abused me when I was young.   My mother did nothing about it.   I was routinely beaten.   As a result, I have a mother lode of
trust issues.”
    “I’m sorry to hear that.”
    “It is what it is.   I certainly can’t change it.”
    “To a point, I’ll agree with that.   You can’t change the past, and you
certainly can’t forget it.   But
you’re very much in control of your present and your future, Jennifer.   Look at what you’ve accomplished so
far.   You did that.   When we first met, I stupidly tried to
get in the way of it, but you worked hard and found a way around even me.   That’s no small accomplishment, my
dear.   Not many succeed.”   She cocked her head at me.   “Are you and Alex committed to each
other?”
    “I’ve verbally