His Sweet Menace novel

---- Horace misunderstood. "You mean he lives on in your heart?" "But Shayla, you're only 24 years old. Your life is just a quarter gone. You have three quarters left. People say I torture women to death, but it's all gossip. I've never actually murdered anyone I shouldn't." He didn't usually say things like that, and he looked a little smug. "Yes or no? I can give you everything Charles gave you.

After what happened between you two, unless you leave Grouchester , no one else will want to be with you." I knew he was right. But why should a woman rely on any man at all? "It's not over between me and him," I said softly but firmly. Horace shook his head. "You really don't know Charles. He can be heartless. Once he decides it's over, he never looks back. Honestly, you should hope he shows some mercy and doesn't destroy you." Maybe Horace was right.

In the days that followed , I became the biggest joke in Grouchester. People gossiped behind my back, and everything I tried fell apart. Maybe it was all the humiliation Lilith went through in the past. Now, she just kept coming after me, as if making me suffer made her feel better. ---- "Shayla, if I were you, I'd have left Grouchester . You actually have the nerve to stay?" The more she taunted me, the clearer it became that she and Charles still hadn't reconciled.

She just kept insulting me but never actually did anything. That showed even she wasn't sure if I still had a place in Charles' heart. "Shayla, Charles is announcing our engagement tonight. By tomorrow, I'll be his wife. I'll make sure you're out of Grouchester for good!" Lilith hurled that threat at me and left. Tonight? I touched my belly and dialed Horace's number.