Possession(91)

It finally dawns on him what I mean, and with renewed hope in his eyes, he picks the box up and gets down on one knee in front of me.

When he looks up at me, I smile, and it encourages him enough to return the gesture. “Evelyn,” he starts, taking my hand, “I know I’m not the man of your dreams, but dreams are called such for a reason. I am your reality, however, and I can guarantee that I will love you more than any man could ever love you. I’m not perfect, and, realistically, I never will be. I just ask that you take me as I am—flaws and all. I promise to love and take care of you till the end of my days.” As my eyes water, Drake clears his throat. “Evelyn, will you marry me?”

“Yes,” I croak.

Drake beams a wonderful smile, but everything becomes blurry as the tears start to fall. In no time, Drake has the ring on my finger and me in his arms. The feel of him against me does nothing to aid my hormones.

“Erm, Drake …”

And without hesitation this time, he answers, “Yes?”

“About that dessert.” I give him a mischievous grin, and in no time at all, he has me in his arms and is making me squeal.

Once snugly there, he kisses me hungrily and smiles. “I thought you’d never ask.”





Three Years Later – Drake


How much has changed since almost three years ago. I look back on those times with quiet frustration. I always knew from the moment I met Evelyn that she was meant to be mine. I was right in what I said. No one was going to stand in my way. Not even Evelyn herself.

See, I may have changed just enough to give her the idea that I am a changed man. I guess, for Evelyn, I did change somewhat. But, old habits die hard. I knew Evelyn was going to fight me at every turn, so I came up with a plan. A plan which—I am glad to say—worked. I never intended to let Evelyn go for a single moment. If she had resisted in the end, I would have gone against my word and kept her. I very nearly lost it when she brought the divorce papers around. In fact, I was seconds away from revealing my true self when she asked me to get the ring. It was pure intrigue that made me go along with it and play her game. If she had tried to leave with that ring, then I would have acted. I can only be grateful that I played my part so well and for every occasion that I was able to hold my tongue.

I did what I did simply to make life easier and to give off the illusion that she had all the control. Evelyn has never had control. I’ve just simply allowed her the time to eventually bend to my will. It took every ounce of willpower inside of me not to take her whenever we were together. I knew she wanted me. I could tell by the way her breathing hitched whenever I touched her or by the way her pupils dilated whenever I kissed her skin. That’s why I added the immense frustration of not giving her what she wanted unless she agreed to be mine. Again, it worked, and again, it all added to her list of reasons why she was being stupid by being apart from me. I could tell the wheels in her brain were working overtime to figure out what she wanted. I was quietly convinced that she would choose to be with me. I just had to let her come to that conclusion on her own. That day when she had her first scan, I could see it in her eyes that she knew what her choice was. The final nail in the coffin was when her dad came round and she found out what I’d done. Again, this was all carefully orchestrated so that I would seem like her hero rather than her monster.

Of course I am a monster… But only when it comes to her.

“Daddy, look!” little James cries from the table. He holds out a drawing to me of the three of us holding hands in a garden. We’re all stick men, and our hair looks like a collection of bushes rather than hair.

“Wow, that looks awesome, little buddy. Wait till Mummy gets home, and you can show her.” I smile, thinking of where she is. She’s at the doctor because she’s been feeling sick. She says she can’t be pregnant because she’s been taking her pills regularly. She doesn’t want another baby for a while as she’s taking time out to concentrate on James and her career. She’s a psychologist now, and with help from me, she has an office in one of the buildings I own. I don’t like it, but it’s one of the things I allow her. Knowing that it’s my building and that there are cameras everywhere helps me feel that bit better. At least then I feel like I’m in control. I can watch how her patients interact with her, and if anyone tries to get a little friendly, I have a little word in their shell-like.

The sound of a car pulling up outside alerts us that Evelyn is back. “Mummy’s back!” James cries as he runs out of the room into the hallway.