The Turning Tides - By Derrolyn Anderson
PROLOGUE
~
Weary from a long day’s work, irritable and depressed, he let himself in to find her perched on the edge of the couch expectantly. She handed him a letter, watching his face change when he recognized the handwriting. The corners of her lips twitched up when he left the room, and she waited triumphantly, legs crossed, ankle twitching.
She strained to hear a muffled cry, followed by crashing sounds and dull thumping thuds that shook the walls. She cringed, taking a few halting steps towards the door. When it was quiet for a few minutes, she reached for the knob, slowly turning it with a grimace.
The room was in complete disarray, bookcase reduced to matchsticks, the lamp shattered into a million pieces, clothes strewn everywhere. He was sitting on the bed with a letter clutched in his shaking hands, shoulders heaving. She entered gingerly, laying her hand gently on his back.
Using her most soothing tone, she purred, “Don’t be so upset baby, she just wasn’t the one for you.”
He turned his head away from her, and his voice was harsh, “I don’t want to talk about it! Leave me alone.”
She paused, continuing, “Hun, I’ve hated girls like her my whole life. Spoiled rich brats! They think they’re entitled to everything. They think they’re better than us.”
He looked up with reddened eyes, “I thought you liked her.”
She shook her head vehemently, “I could tell she was no good the second I laid eyes on her! I knew she was cheating on you before I even saw her with him. She was bound to run off sooner or later.”
“What?” he looked confused, “You read it?”
She continued on her tirade, “Little miss, ‘I’m so smart’… Showing off all her fancy things! I mean, she even has expensive underwear, for God’s sake! And that rich aunt of hers– Olivia said–”
She checked herself, suddenly realizing that she’d gone too far.
“Olivia?” he croaked.
She froze, unable to think of a good enough lie, “Nobody.”
His voice was deadly calm, “How do you know Olivia?”
“She’s just some old friend of the family’s. I met her in Vegas. She warned me all about it… How her family will never accept you. She convinced me to come out and help you to see...” She saw the look on his face and started to back away. “I know what it sounds like… but once I got here I could tell that it was the truth! You’d know it for sure if you talked to Olivia…”
He sprang to his feet, grabbing one of her arms, “She sent you here?”
“She told me what was going on… We wanted to spare you the heartache– Show you what she’s really like. For God’s sake– She’s cheating on you!” She was indignant, “You saw the pictures!”
“You were the one who found them,” he said in a monotone.
“I didn’t want you to make the same mistake I did! You’re too young to settle down…” her voice trailed off when her eyes met his. “I left a good job for you,” she whined pathetically. Her eyes welled up as she started to feel sorry for herself.
He dropped her arm and visibly recoiled, looking horrified, “Oh my God… She was right about you.”
Tears started to streak down her face, stripping away all the artifice, revealing guilty eyes. She wiped them with her wrists and took a step back, “Can’t you see that she’s no good for you? She’s just a spoiled little rich bitch!”
His jaw clenched tightly, and his eyes blazed with anger, “You…”
“I saved you from her!”
He took a step towards her, thrusting the paper in her face. Slowly, and in a controlled voice dripping with menace, he asked, “Where… did you get this?”
~
The Turning Tides
Derrolyn Anderson's books
- Alanna The First Adventure
- Alone The Girl in the Box
- Asgoleth the Warrior
- Awakening the Fire
- Between the Lives
- Black Feathers
- Bless The Beauty
- By the Sword
- In the Arms of Stone Angels
- Knights The Eye of Divinity
- Knights The Hand of Tharnin
- Knights The Heart of Shadows
- Mind the Gap
- Omega The Girl in the Box
- On the Edge of Humanity
- The Alchemist in the Shadows
- Possessing the Grimstone
- The Steel Remains
- The 13th Horseman
- The Age Atomic
- The Alchemaster's Apprentice
- The Alchemy of Stone
- The Ambassador's Mission
- The Anvil of the World
- The Apothecary
- The Art of Seducing a Naked Werewolf
- The Bible Repairman and Other Stories
- The Black Lung Captain
- The Black Prism
- The Blue Door
- The Bone House
- The Book of Doom
- The Breaking
- The Cadet of Tildor
- The Cavalier
- The Circle (Hammer)
- The Claws of Evil
- The Concrete Grove
- The Conduit The Gryphon Series
- The Cry of the Icemark
- The Dark
- The Dark Rider
- The Dark Thorn
- The Dead of Winter
- The Devil's Kiss
- The Devil's Looking-Glass
- The Devil's Pay (Dogs of War)
- The Door to Lost Pages
- The Dress
- The Emperor of All Things
- The Emperors Knife
- The End of the World
- The Eternal War
- The Executioness
- The Exiled Blade (The Assassini)
- The Fate of the Dwarves
- The Fate of the Muse
- The Frozen Moon
- The Garden of Stones
- The Gate Thief
- The Gates
- The Ghoul Next Door
- The Gilded Age
- The Godling Chronicles The Shadow of God
- The Guest & The Change
- The Guidance
- The High-Wizard's Hunt
- The Holders
- The Honey Witch
- The House of Yeel
- The Lies of Locke Lamora
- The Living Curse
- The Living End
- The Magic Shop
- The Magicians of Night
- The Magnolia League
- The Marenon Chronicles Collection
- The Marquis (The 13th Floor)
- The Mermaid's Mirror
- The Merman and the Moon Forgotten
- The Original Sin
- The Pearl of the Soul of the World
- The People's Will
- The Prophecy (The Guardians)
- The Reaping
- The Rebel Prince
- The Reunited
- The Rithmatist
- The_River_Kings_Road
- The Rush (The Siren Series)
- The Savage Blue
- The Scar-Crow Men
- The Science of Discworld IV Judgement Da
- The Scourge (A.G. Henley)
- The Sentinel Mage
- The Serpent in the Stone
- The Serpent Sea
- The Shadow Cats
- The Slither Sisters
- The Song of Andiene