Shadow in Paradise

“You deserve a chance at revenge before you die.” Those softly spoken words made my heart sink. The hands holding my head felt cold, no longer warm. “…I thought you were dead.” A faint smile touched his icy expression—relief that vengeance was still possible, triumph that his prey hadn’t escaped. He traded innocence for arrogance, affection for cynicism. So much had changed for both of us. “As you fell, I rose.” I knew how to endure pain, but pleasure and desire were foreign. “I want to erase every memory of that night.” So I fled, carrying his child.