We’d gone to the courthouse.
I ended up going to Blaineview with the girls while Ramsey, Liam, and Deke worked on their start up. Ace had gone to Stanford, and while it had been hard to stay away, I had used the time away from him to get help for my demons.
I had also moved out of my house the weekend of Deke and Delaney’s engagement party and had rented a little vacation house in Sands Cove until we had all headed off to college.
I had severed all ties with Elise, and I remember thinking how it had taken her three years to notice. I never asked Ramsey or Ace about Peter and they never told me. But I knew whatever Ramsey had done to him had to be enough to placate Emerson. And since she was a bloodthirsty little thing, I knew Peter had finally got what was coming to him.
Now, we were all at our place, celebrating our ten-year anniversary with our friends who happened to be our only family. Greg had left Elise after that fateful weekend, but Ace and his relationship had remained strained. Greg didn’t know how to look at me anymore, and Ace wouldn’t tolerate it.
I wasn’t a victim any longer and Ace wouldn’t let anyone treat me as such.
Ace also gave me two little girls who looked just like him and it amazed me how much I loved that. Usually, you get one kid who looks like their mother and the other who looks like their father, but not us. Both D.J. and Maggie looked like Ace. They had his unusual eyes and dark hair and I wasn’t jealous one bit.
“Look,” Ace said, bringing me back to the issue at hand, “if those people out there are any kind of friends, they will keep all those kids occupied, so I can fuck my wife. It’s not like Liam, Ramsey, and Deke wouldn’t be doing the same.”
Ace ended up being a corporate lawyer, and he worked with Ramsey, Deke, and Liam, so we were all super intertwined in each other’s lives. Emerson had become a social worker. Roselyn had become an ad executive. Delaney had become another hotshot lawyer. And I had chosen a completely different route.
After four years of college, years of therapy, and the support of all my friends, I had discovered that my calling had been to be everything that had ever been denied me.
I chose to be Ace’s wife and a mother to his children.
I was a stay-at-home wife and mother, and it has been a decision I’ve never regretted.
I still had my degree in finance and business, and maybe, one day, when the girls are grown and gone, I might do something with it. But, for now, I was happy with my life. It has taken a lot of years to get to where I was today, but the struggle and hard work was worth it.
Peter, and what he and Elise had done to me, will always be with me, but their actions no longer control me. I am able to live with what happened to me, and I’m able to give the best version of myself to the people who love me most.
I looked into the face of the man who anchored me through it all and caved. “Okay, but if you-”
He was already reaching for me again. “I won’t,” he promised desperately.
And I believed him because Ace has never broken a promise.
Ever.
The End.
Playlist
Series Playlist – The Right Kind Of Wrong – LeAnn Rimes
Facing the Enemy – Pretty Girl – Sugarcult
Aerials – Systems Of A Down
Animals – Maroon 5
Centuries – Fall Out Boy
The Catalyst – Linkin Park
Hail Mary – 2Pac
Killing Strangers – Marilyn Manson
Sucker For Pain – Lil’ Wayne
Whatever It Takes – Imagine Dragons
Engaging the Enemy – Basic Instinct – The Acid
Addicted – Saving Abel
Dollhouse – Melanie Martinez
If You Could Only See – Tonic
Like A Stone – Audioslave
Unforgettable – French Montana
Where You Belong – The Weeknd
Piano In The Dark – Brenda Russell
I Shall Believe – Sheryl Crow
Battling the Enemy – She – Live
Love The Way You Lie – Eminem
Broken – Seether
I Wanna Be Bad – Willa Ford
Pray For Me – The Weeknd
I Knew You Were Trouble – Taylor Swift
Irresistible (Remix) – Jessica Simpson
Pray – JRY
Starboy – The Weeknd
Provoking the Enemy – Lighthouse – Live
Dark Horse – Katy Perry
Say It Right – Nelly Furtado
I’m Bad At Love – Maddy Benson
By The Way – Hinder
Run Away – Live
All Or Nothing – Theory Of A Deadman
Savin’ Me – Nickelback
Wolves – Selena Gomez
About the Author
M.E. Clayton works full-time and writes as a hobby. She is an avid reader and, with much self-doubt, but more positive feedback and encouragement from her friends and family, she took a chance at writing, and the Seven Deadly Sins Series was born. Writing is a hobby she is now very passionate about. When she’s not working, writing, or reading, she is spending time with her family or friends. If you care to learn more, you can read about her by visiting the following:
Smashwords Interview at:
https://www.smashwords.com/interview/MonClayton
Bookbub Author Page at:
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/m-e-clayton
Goodreads Author Page:
https://www.goodreads.com/MEClayton
Other Books
Please visit your favorite ebook retailer to discover other books by M.E. Clayton:
The Seven Deadly Sins Series (In Order)
Catching Avery (Avery & Nicholas)
Chasing Quinn (Quinn & Chase)
Claiming Isabella (Isabella & Julian)
Conquering Kam (Kamala & Kane)
Capturing Happiness
The Buchanan Brothers Series (In Order)
If You Could Only See (Mason & Shane)
If You Could Only Imagine (Aiden & Denise)
If You Could Only Feel (Gabriel & Justice)
If You Could Only Believe (Michael & Sophia)
If You Could Only Dream
The How To: Modern Day Woman’s Guide Series (In Order)
How to Stay Out of Prison; A Modern-Day Woman’s Guide (Lyrical & Nixon)
How to Keep Your Job; A Modern-Day Woman’s Guide (Alice & Lincoln)
How to Maintain Your Sanity; A Modern-Day Woman’s Guide (Rena & Jackson)
The Enemy Series (In Order)
Facing the Enemy (Ramsey & Emerson)
Engaging the Enemy (Roselyn & Liam)
Battling the Enemy (Deke & Delaney)
Provoking the Enemy (Ava & Ace)
Loving the Enemy
The Enemy Duet (In Order)
In Enemy Territory (Fiona & Damien)
On Enemy Ground (Victoria & William)
The Holy Trinity Series (In Order)
The Holy Ghost (Phoenix & Francesca)
The Son (Ciro & Roberta)
The Father (Luca & Remy)
The Redemption (Nico & Mia)
The Vatican (Francisco Phoenix Benetti & Luca Saveria Fiore)
The Eastwood Series (In Order)
Samson (Samson & Mackenzie)
Ford (Ford & Amelia)
Raiden (Raiden & Charlie)
Duke (Duke & Willow)
Alistair (Alistair & Rory)
The Pieces Series (In Order)
Our Broken Pieces (Mystic & Gage)
Our Cracked Pieces (Rowan & Lorcan)
Our Shattered Pieces (Molly & Grayson)
Standalone
Unintentional
Purgatory, Inc.
My Big, Huge Mistake
An Unexpected Life
The Heavier The Chains…
Real Shadows
You Again
Contact Me
I really appreciate you reading my book and I woul
d love to hear from you! Now, unfortunately, because I do have a full-time job, and a family I love spending time with, at this time, I’m afraid it would be very hard for me to maintain a multitude of social media sites. However, for the sites I do participate in, here are my social media coordinates:
Favorite my Smashwords Author Page:
https://www.smashwords.com/interview/MonClayton
Like my Facebook Author Page:
https://facebook.com/claytonbooks
Follow my Bookbub Author Page:
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/m-e-clayton
Follow my Goodreads Author Page:
https://www.goodreads.com/MEClayton
Visit my Website at:
https://meclayton2016.wixsite.com/mysite
Provoking the Enemy Page 14
