Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 109674 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109674 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
“And where will you and Amelia live while things go down?”
I hadn’t thought about it. I just knew I needed to do this. For Amelia.
And even for me.
“We can live in the pool house.”
Nobody had used it in many years. I never went into the pool, even if I kept it running, and the staff kept cleaning the pool house and changing the linens. Everything was prepared for guests that we would never welcome.
“Well, I’m not sure about that, but I’ll give the construction company we usually work with a call. They’ll be able to help us.”
“I want the house gone by the end of the week.”
“That’s in five days.”
I hung up and moved toward Amelia. She opened her eyes when I sat beside her. “You look at peace.”
“I am, at this moment, in this place, and I feel peaceful.” She took my hand and smiled.
I brought her knuckles to my lips and kissed them. “I’ll tear down the manor. Next week, it’ll be gone, and we’ll have room to build a home without history.”
Amelia’s expression twisted with shock. “Are you serious?”
I nodded with a small smile.
She threw her arms around my neck and sobbed. I held her as she cried. “Are you happy?”
“I am. That’s why I’m crying.”
I never understood the concept of happy tears. Eventually, Amelia pulled back, her face tearstained and eyes teary. “I can’t believe it. Where will we live?”
“In a palace of our own making.”
She sank her teeth into her lower lip and looked back toward the manor. Her smile widened. The look on her face was worth it. She and I would build a new palace worthy of our love.
Two days later, four demolition balls surrounded the manor. Staff and our bodyguards temporarily used containers for cooking and to find rest. The pool house, the security house near the gate, and the animal enclosures were the only buildings that would remain on the premises. Even the fighting pit would be torn away.
“Where will fights take place now?” Amelia asked as she leaned against me to survey the upcoming destruction.
“I’ll build a bigger and better amphitheater just on the outskirts of LA. It’ll be spectacular. You and I will get a loge with splendid thrones so the audience in the ranks and at home on their screens can fear and admire us from afar.”
She let out a laugh, then she sank her teeth into her lower lip, her gaze darting up to the bone crown atop my head. “If you create a crown for me, promise me it won’t be from bone.”
I smirked and touched her cheek. “Black onyx would suit you beautifully. The red of your hair will look like flames against it.”
“That sounds beautiful.” She narrowed her eyes in thought. “Why do you keep the bones of your enemies close? In your crown and as trophies on your walls? Why not banish them from your life for good?”
“I never understood why people thought bones were a disturbing sight. Once cleaned, the material is beautiful, which is why humans used to create art from animal bones.”
“Maybe because we prefer to bury the dead.”
“I prefer to remind myself of every enemy I killed. That way, when the nightmares become too real, I’ll know they are just the past and not my present.”
She nodded as if she could accept that explanation. Her eyes were drawn back to the mansion just as the four wrecking balls swung toward the walls. The resulting bang let birds in the surrounding trees and rose maze shoot into the sky. Clouds of dust rose as the walls crumbled.
We watched for several hours as the place that had been our prison for many years, and in many ways, was torn down piece by piece.
I held Amelia in my arms as she cried more happy tears, and I felt lighter with every part of the house that disappeared.
Amelia had shown me photos of houses that she liked. She wanted big windows, a bedroom full of light. I wanted a place worthy of the name Romano Manor, a castle that would awe people from afar but unsettle them enough to stay away.
Five days later, like I had wanted, nothing of Romano Manor remained but a huge plain area.
“Time to rebuild our home,” I told Amelia as we headed up the slope toward the barren land from the pool house where we’d spent the past few nights.
In the following six weeks, construction workers built the house Amelia and I envisioned. A castle reminiscent of old Scottish fortresses made from basalt, granite, and slate. Two huge turrets towered on both sides of the highest floor. Windows allowed an all-around look from our bedroom in one of those turrets. While we based our design on Scottish castles, we changed the window sizes so more light would penetrate the halls and rooms. Amelia and I watched every day as our new home became a reality.