Happily Ever After: A Novel by Elizabeth Maxwell Read Free Book Online

violently. Her body quaked and shuddered. She screamed in agony, falling into Aidan’s arms.
    “Aidan, help me!” Lily screamed. Clarissa kept chanting.
    “What are you doing?” Aidan shouted. “Stop!” He tried to lunge at Clarissa, but with Lily still convulsing in his arms, it was impossible.
    And then there was silence. Lily had vanished.
    Aidan staggered, the force of her disappearance practically knocking him off his feet. Clarissa stood in a pool of light cast by the overhead streetlamp, her diamond hoop earrings sparkling like stars, wearing a look of absolute rapture.
    Aidan grabbed her shoulders and shook her hard. It did nothing to wipe the bliss from her face.
    “Tell me what you did with Lily or I’ll kill you,” he said. “Right here. Right now. And I don’t care who sees me do it.” Clarissa was short on time. She’d delayed Aidan’s private security detail as long as possible, but in a minute they would show up and complicate things.
    “Oh, Aidan,” she sighed. “You’re really slow sometimes.”
    “I love Lily,” he said. “I don’t know who you are or what you’ve done, but it doesn’t matter. You can’t change what I know to be true.”
    Clarissa sneered at him. “Pathetic,” she said.
    “It’s my destiny, you crazy bitch,” he said. “And you cannot stand in the way of destiny.”
    “What does that even mean?” Clarissa said.
    “Everything,” Aidan said. “And I will do anything to get Lily back. I’ll never stop.”
    Yes, she had planned there to be talk of love and destiny, but hers and Aidan’s, not that of some girl named Lily. Clarissa decided to help her man see that Lily did not love him. She would help him see that his true destiny was to be by her side, doing her bidding. Because in her book, possession and control were the very definition of true love. Otherwise you were in for nothing but heartbreak.
    “So you would risk your own life to save this woman?” Clarissa asked.
    “Yes,” Aidan said, without hesitation.
    “And you’re sure she wants something more than just your pretty face and hard cock for a few hours in the dark?”
    The fleeting look of doubt on Aidan’s face pleased her. He had no idea how Lily felt about him. Until the words were spoken, until “I love you” was answered with “I love you too,” it was all conjecture.
    “Yes,” Aidan said.
    “Well then,” Clarissa said, “why don’t we find out if it’s true?”
    Right there in the middle of the sidewalk, she began to move her hands as if she were about to break into an exotic belly dance. Her black cape swirled around her. She looked terrifying. As her eyes rolled back in her head, a silent chant cascaded from her lips. A crowd gathered. Was this a street performance? Some sort of magic show? When her trance ended she leveled a triumphant glare at Aidan.
    “I offer you this deal,” she said. “I’ll give you forty-eight hours to find your Lily and figure out the magic that will get you two back here. If you succeed, you get your Lily and my life. But if you fail, I own you forever. Will you accept my terms?”
    The sirens grew louder, but at least her boy had the sense to understand his security could offer him no help on this matter.
    “Yes,” Aidan shouted as if on cue. “I accept!”
    Clarissa stepped forward and laid a cold hand on Aidan’s cheek.
    “Somewhere foreign for you, my dear,” she whispered, “somewhere beyond recognition. I only hope I can hit the target.”
    Aidan gulped for air, clutching his throat. He fell to his knees on the sidewalk. He tried to cry out, but it was too late. He vanished.
    Clarissa stood for a moment, watching the spot Aidan had just occupied. And then she smiled.
    Why should I miss out on all the fun? she thought.
    Why, indeed. With a simple wave of her hand, Clarissa, too, disappeared into the night.
    When security arrived on the scene moments later, they found Thomas on his knees, blubbering like a baby.

Chapter 7

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