She stopped her pacing and closed her eyes, desperately trying to remember – or at least to let her heart remember. All she knew about this memory was that she was blissfully happy. And in love.
In her memory, the horse race with this man finally came to an end. The man reached out his hand, and she took it, squeezing it lovingly as she smiled at him. In the breeze, someone called her name. Bella glanced around the area, and she saw a little girl with black pigtails, wearing boys’ trousers and boots, running toward her, waving her hand. And the house she was running from...
Wentworth Estate.
Gasping for air, Bella blinked her eyes opened. The man in her flashbacks had been Terrick, she just knew it... and her heart felt it.
Terrick would be the one to calm her down from her recent discovery. He had always been able to make her feel normal again. Although she couldn’t remember everything, she felt it in her heart and in her soul.
She needed to go to Terrick. Now!
Taking a deep breath for courage, she casually walked past her father, still sitting in the chair, but he had fallen asleep. She didn’t want to wake him, so she must be quiet.
Bella took careful steps toward the door. She didn’t have her cloak, but she hoped the long, bell-shaped sleeves of her blue dress and the high-collar neck would keep her warm during her ride to the Wentworth Estate because she didn’t want to go up to her room to retrieve it.
As she took another step, the floor creaked. She stilled, listening to her father’s deep breathing. Thankfully, he hadn’t heard. After a few more steps, she made it to the front door. Resting her hand on the knob, she held her breath and slowly opened the door. The hinges squeaked, and she stopped.
Her father grumbled something incoherently, and she peeked over her shoulder to see if he was looking her way. His eyes were closed, but his head had rolled to the other side.
She continued opening the door until she could slip outside, and then, just as carefully, closed the door behind her. The moment the door clicked into place, she lifted her dress to her ankles and darted toward the barn as fast as her feet could take her.
Immediately, she picked up the saddle and tossed it over Pegasus’ back before beginning to prepare the horse for riding just as she’d done so many times in her life.
“Well, I must say, Bella, I’ve never seen you so eager to go riding.”
Startled, she cried out and swung around. Garrett ambled toward her, hitting his riding stick against his palm. He grinned cockily, and she wanted to slap it right off his face.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded.
“I came to see how you were faring.” He shrugged. “I still care deeply for you.”
“Why?” Anger filled her. “I have never once paid you any interest, and yet, you have constantly tried to woo me. When will you get the hint that I don’t like you?”
“No, Bella,” he said, stopping at the horse and stroking it’s mane, “you know me well enough by now. Don’t you know I always get whatever I want?”
“But why me? Why not find another woman who actually likes your company?”
“Bella, Bella, Bella.” He moved closer to her. “You are the loveliest woman around. You would look good as my wife.” He caressed her cheek, but she slapped his hand away. “And your father and brother like me. They both agree that I will make you a wonderful husband.”
“Then, they can marry you, but I will not.”
“Bella, if you’ll just give me a chance, you’ll see how happy I can make you.”
“You’ve got to be kidding.” She shook her head. “All you care about is making yourself happy. You have never thought of others.”
“Oh, but you’re wrong. I think about you all the time.” He puffed out his chest. “I’m your protector.”
“I don’t need your protection. I never did.” She pushed him away as she moved to the other side of the horse.
“Oh, but you do. When people like the Wentworths lure you to their lair, that’s when I know you need me.” He walked around the horse to her side.
A laugh blasted from her. “Lure? Garrett, I always knew you lived in your own little fantasy world, but this is getting out of hand.”
She quickly mounted her horse, sitting sidesaddle. Garrett reached up and grasped the reins from her hands, trying to pull them away.
“Garrett, if you don’t leave me alone now, I’ll make you sorry.”
He threw back his head and laughed. “Now you sound like your mother. Those were her very words to me when I tried to blackmail your mother sixteen years ago.”
Bella’s need to get away from him was stopped with the mention of her mother. “What are you talking about? Why would you want to blackmail my mother?”
He grinned devilishly, and his brown eyes turned almost orange. “Because I caught her sneaking out of the house to meet with her lover secretly.”
“You lie.”
“I threatened to tell her husband.”
She glared at him with all of the hatred in her heart. “You can’t make me believe.”
“Yes, I can.” He took her hands, keeping them still. “I am the reason you didn’t marry Terrick. It was I who convinced your mother to keep you and Terrick apart. I knew that with him out of your life, you would come to love me.”
“Ha!” She shook her head. “For some reason, my memories of Terrick were erased, and so you had seven years to convince me that you were a decent man – one that I wanted to marry. But you failed. Each year, I loathe you more.” She leaned closer to him, shooting him invisible daggers with her glare. “You failed, Garrett. I will never be yours.”
Using her
