Total pages in book: 152
Estimated words: 147545 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 738(@200wpm)___ 590(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147545 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 738(@200wpm)___ 590(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
I still text Tor a picture to make sure he likes it before I finalize my choice.
Shaley side-eyes me a little this time. I don’t think she thought anything of it when I texted him from the salon last time, but that was before Tor gave her a much stronger reason to think he might be controlling.
When I take the bottle off the shelf, she says, “I guess he approves.”
“He does,” I say brightly, flashing her a smile. “I swear, he’s not a controlling asshole.”
She nods, not appearing fully convinced, but she doesn’t argue with me, either.
I was surprised when Tor called her malleable because I don’t look at people and categorize them that way, but she’s definitely nicer and more easygoing than some people who witnessed what she has probably would be. Despite the clear red flags that he flew right on her property, she’s been willing to overlook them and not bother me about leaving him. She knows I’m not going to, so she’s decided to make the best of it.
To me, the sides of Tor that I see, I know he’s wonderful, but I can see how—from the outside looking in—if only given a glimpse, things might look a little… dysfunctional.
They’re not, though.
We function incredibly well together.
I figure Myra probably feels the same way from the inside of her fairy-tale prison.
I’m not in prison, though.
As long as I never want to leave, I’m completely free.
And who would want to leave Tor, anyway? He’s perfect.
At least, he’s perfect for me.
EPILOGUE
Cassie
Freshman year
The heels of my pretty white sandals click against the sidewalk as I walk hand-in-hand with Tor across the Calhoun University campus. An icy-blue Dior bag dangles from my other hand, and I’m wearing a pretty white dress he picked out for me. My dark hair is pulled half back and secured with a clip. Contrasting my lighter look, Tor is dressed all in black.
It’s a perfect night.
Tor took me to a nice dinner to celebrate my finishing a particularly difficult assignment. I’ve had no free time while I’ve been working on it, so he wanted to catch up on spending time together.
He always takes such good care of us, and he’s managing the challenges of college life brilliantly—not that I expected anything less.
The time management side of it has been more of a struggle for me. I definitely don’t have time for a job, like I thought I might. The coursework at Calhoun is tough, and I love that, but because I spent senior year so foggy, I’ve had to work harder to play catch-up.
I finally feel like I’m back on top of things, and I think that’s what Tor really wanted to celebrate tonight. We’re not taking all the same classes, but he’s been there to help every step of the way. He swears he never lies to me, but I think he lied to me back at Holroyd’s. I wasn’t the smartest kid in our class. He was—he just didn’t tell anybody.
Now we go to school with the smartest kids from a lot of different classes, and it’s awesome. I’ve made so many new friends, and so has Tor. He was right. We had a great life waiting for us here.
Tomorrow I’m planning to meet up with some of the girls on campus to help circulate and collect signatures for a petition Sophie is working on. Tor said the guys wanted to set up early tonight, so we’re heading that way now.
Only, when we get to the spot where we’re supposed to be setting up, no one else is here.
“Uh…” I look at Tor questioningly. “Are we early?”
Tor frowns, dropping my hand so he can take his phone out of his pocket. He checks it, then says, “Aw, shit. Silvan said Sophie wasn’t feeling well so they’re just gonna set up tomorrow instead.”
“Oh no. I hope she feels better in the morning. She’s been working so hard on this.”
“I’m sure she’ll be fine,” he says, tucking his phone back into his pocket. He grabs my waist to pull me close, then drapes his arm over my shoulders. “I guess we’ll just have to enjoy a little walk around campus while we’re here.”
I smile up at him. He knows how giddy I get just soaking up this campus. “Damn.”
“I know. Hope you’re not too disappointed,” he teases.
I lean my head on his shoulder, wrapping an arm around his waist so I can snuggle close while we walk. “I’m so happy,” I tell him.
“I’m glad.”
When we get to the courtyard in front of the Woodworth Library, I gaze up at it like I always do—lovingly—and Tor veers to the right as if we’re heading for it, but I know we can’t. The library is closed for the night.
I don’t question him because I certainly don’t mind taking a walk past the home of the books, but when he lets go of me and takes my hand to drag me up the steps, I grow more than confused—I grow a little concerned.