Forever with Him [Dark Temptation Book Three]

Chapter 1

Venus

I used to fear this dream.

Me, stuck in the darkness. In the void. The feeling of nothingness was too powerful I couldn’t bear it. The strength of the negativity. The sense of my demon. Only this time, it was not her I was looking at.

Because she was dead.

I would never see her again.

And I never did.

Something in front of me caught my eyes. It was too far I couldn’t tell what it was. A bundle. White? Or grey? As I continued to walk, I realized the bundle was slightly moving. What was it? I stopped closer to it and knelt unhurried. There was something inside as I reached out, grabbing the soft material. I opened it only to be surprised by a little monster with two horns on its head and eyes of blood.

“It’s just a matter of time,” someone stated as I turned around. 

“Who’s there?” I asked as I faced a man. A very tall man, dressing in a dark suit. Hair with the color of the sun slightly dark. Eyes with the color of the deepest part of the ocean. His voice was deep and cold. He tilted a smile, looking so wicked and uncivilized. He looked behind me, looking at the bundle. “W-What is that?” I asked, flicking his sharp eyes back to me. 

He smirked. “You will find out soon enough.”

“What—”

“Venus.” My words were cut short when his voice appeared behind me. Spinning myself slowly, looking at the man who abandoned me. 

And he said the exact words in every dream, “Goodbye, my love.”

“Micah!” I yelped while pushing my body up from the mattress. Sweats on my forehead and my back. That was not a nightmare but it felt like one. 

Who is that man?

And what’s that little monster?

I swallowed. Closing my eyes, took a deep breath, and pushed it out slowly.

I opened my eyes, feeling the tears. Again. 

This happened every day. Every morning I woke up with tears. It was not like I was seeing that dream every night. Even though I had a nice dream before, I’d wake up with tears in my eyes. Because no matter what the dreams were, the ending would always be the same.

Goodbye, my love.

Like I was being reminded that Micah had left me. I would never see him again. I knew that and I’d accepted that. Or maybe I hadn’t and that’s why the end was always the same. I hadn’t accepted the reality. 

Closing my eyes, I wiped the tears and pushed my body from the bed. Looking outside the window, seeing the sun almost set, ready to wipe the darkness and welcome the morning. 

It’d been six months. 

Six months without Micah.

Six months without any odd incidents.

It was like finally I could breathe normally. Live normally, just like what I wanted to.

I’d been adjusting myself to this new normal life of mine. Although sometimes I was still unable to forget what happened seven months ago. The death of my aunt. The revelation that Nathan was my half-brother. And Grant was the real enemy. Too many had happened. Facing grief and sorrow. But the worst thing was Micah leaving me. Because he made a vow to Lucifer. He chose him for me. Or was he choosing Lucifer for himself? Because with Lucifer, he could be himself. To be the demon. The incubus. To be something that he was born for. To do his destiny. He didn’t really need me. I was a distraction to him. No matter how much he loved me, I could never be like him. To be his equal. And I didn’t want to. We were different. I might be a part of him. Half-demon. But I was also human. I lived in the human world. I was raised as a human. And I had no special power anymore. The day Micah killed my dark side; I was not a demon anymore. Or that’s what at least I thought.

I went to the bathroom. Lightning up the lamp and looked at my reflection. The first thing that caught my eyes was my hair. They were long now. They had reached my hips. I let it be because short hair only reminded me of Micah. And I liked this style. Judith loved it too because she loved hairstyling. She was working in a salon now. Nathan, well… I smiled. He got a job too. As a salesman – car salesman. Nathan was great at communication. Even though sometimes his boss scolded him for unable to hold back his golden tongue, he was managed to pass through the monthly target and always got a bonus every month. Customers liked him, especially women. And it was so easy for him to sell the car to a rich lady. While me, I got a job too. A job that I loved. A bookstore clerk. It was not much but it was better than staying in the house like a good girl and unable to do anything. And the payment was pretty nice.

I took a shower and wore a light purple long sleeve t-shirt and a light grey skirt. I brushed my hair and applied light make-up. Just some powder and pink lip gloss. Ready to go. While looking at the mirror, “Today is going to be a great day,” I told myself my favorite mantra. It's kind of work so I always did it every day. I smiled and grabbed my backpack purse. 

Heading to the kitchen, I saw Judith was already there. Ever since we started living together, Judith made it a habit to wake up earlier than me. Saying she had to get ready. Yeah, I knew what she meant. Her silver orbs were on me. “Morning, Venus.”

“Good morning, Judith.” I sat down and she presented two pancakes for me. “Thanks. Where’s Nathan?”

“Shower.”

“Oh. Oh, has he taken his marriage leave yet?”

“He has but he will start tomorrow.”

“I see.”

That’s right.

It was finally happening.

Judith and Nathan would tie the knot this Sunday.

I was Judith’s maid of honor. The wedding would not be much. Taking the vow in the St. Patrick’s Cathedral. And the reception would be in the Ritz-Carlton. They only invited some of their colleagues. Steven would be there as well. After the incident regarding his mother, he moved out to New Orleans. He promised he would be at Nathan’s big day.

“Morning, morning star.” And the would-be groom showed up. Kissing my forehead first before he went to his bride. Kissing her. Seeing him had perfectly wrapped himself with dark blue shirts and dark grey tie. Something that he refused to wear before. So not Nathan but he looked so good with them. 

This was my everyday meal now. Watching how loving they were. It was kind of funny. Seven months ago, these two were like Tom and Jerry. Well, Nathan started it because he was disappointed with Judith. She was controlled by Rowan and her darkness. Not anymore. Now Nathan would do anything to protect Judith and he was going to marry her on Sunday. I had told them that I could stay by myself after they got married and have this apartment for themselves. Nathan said no. Judith said no. I couldn’t win. And they didn’t even go on a honeymoon which made me feel even more terrible. They deserved one. I saw Judith before was browsing about Greece. Greece was nice. I loved the view and it was a perfect place for their honeymoon. But they didn’t want to. Said they couldn’t leave me alone. 

Honestly, with everything that had been going on for the past six months, I should be fine. I knew I couldn’t let my guard down just because nothing happened. No demon trying to capture me. No cult trying to kill me. Just…nothing. Nathan was still traumatized by the incident that happened to me a year ago. And there was something else that made them didn’t want to go. 

“What time should I pick you up, sister?” Nathan asked. I really liked it when he called me sister. I’d always looked up to Nathan as my brother. And he really was. 

But, “For what?” I asked him back.

“Well, today is your schedule to go to the hospital, right?”

“Is it today?”

“Yes.”

“She forgot, babe,” Judith said.

“Oh, right. Eight, as usual.”

“Okay. You know, I still don’t agree with you working there. Your working hour ends too late.” Here he goes again.

“I’m working until nine. Does that mean that my office hour ends too late too?” Judith asked and winked her eye to me, making me smile.

“Will you two stop doing that? You girls just love to give me a heart attack,” Nathan stated and Judith laughed. 

“You will never get a heart attack,” she said while kissing him before sitting down beside Nathan. 

I started to dig in my pancake when I said, “I’ll be fine. I like this job, to surround myself with books.”

“Even the bookstore has a café. The place is great,” Judith added. “You already saw it.” Yeah, Nathan went there when he was meeting his buyer. Judith stopped by too to try the apple pie because I told her it was the best seller there. 

Apple pie.

Micah.

Stop, Venus. 

I closed my eyes. Taking a small breath and blew them away.

“Venus?” Nathan called, flicking my eyes to meet his gold gems. 

I smiled. “I’m fine, Nathan.”

It’d been six months. None of them ever mentioned Micah’s name. They knew it would trigger something inside of me. I never asked them. They just did it intentionally just because they didn’t want me to get hurt even more. To not remember the painful memory again. I knew Nathan was still communicating with Micah or with Asher or Tyler. I didn’t want to know what they were talking about. I’d decided to forget about him. To move on. To accept the reality. 

“Hey,” Judith grabbed my hand and beamed a smile. “We are here for you,” she said.

Nathan grabbed my free hand too and wore his beautiful smile. I nodded. I couldn’t push out any words, afraid I would cry if I did. 

Yeah, I had them. My family. My brother. And my would-be sister-in-law. As long I had them, nothing else mattered. And I would not lose any of them anymore. 

Because if it happened, I would be done for.