Forbidden Allure

Chapter 3

Aleah wasn’t sure how she made it home. She had been in a daze from the moment the handsome man at the Poverly house had released her. Actually, she couldn’t believe he had simply told her to go home.

With every step she had taken away from the house, Aleah had expected him to suddenly run after her and drag her to the nearest police station. Certainly, get her arrested. But it hadn’t happened. The man told her to leave, and he hadn’t stopped her when she did just that. Minus her gun, of course.

And now a shudder raked her body suddenly as she saw her home in front of her and it had nothing to do with the chill in the air.

It was already past three in the morning. The night was darker than dark and this part of the city didn’t have functioning street lights. That was because every time the local council sourced funds and had them fixed, someone always vandalized them either for parts or just to ensure the darkness prevailed to better facilitate illicit activities.

But even in the dark, Aleah could still recognize the building that held the apartment she shared with her mother and grandfather. It was just a matter of walking toward the only two-story building that still had all its windows, and there wasn’t a pimp standing in front of the door. It was that kind of place, but there were still some other areas in the city that were worse, so Aleah considered it a small blessing to be living here.

Another blessing was the fact that she had grown up here. Therefore, she didn’t jump and scream when she saw the red glow of a cigarette on the side of the building when she approached. She knew it had to be Tibo.

The man was a living, breathing mountain and scary-looking with his unkempt beard and permanent scowl. Everyone was scared of him and no one really knew what he did for a living. But for some reason, he never harmed her. So, she gave a nod, saw the glowing end of the cigarette move up and down in response, and continued on her way into the century-old building that thankfully had a single bulb working in the lobby bathing everything in a yellow, dirty glow.

The place smelled like old socks and rust. That was okay. At least it didn’t smell like a dead rat like it had last week.

Aleah quickly made her way up the creaky stairs to the second floor. She made sure not to rub against the walls or the wrought iron framing the stairs because she never knew what nasty substance covered them.

Upstairs, she used the window in the long, dim hallway to climb out and then hugged the peeling, cold wall outside. Then she took the leap that landed her at the sitting room window of their little apartment.

It only took a little push to get the window open, and then Aleah was in the apartment. Everything was quiet except for the hum of their old freezer in the tiny kitchen. Light from the short hallway leading to the bedrooms made it easy for her to see where she was going.

Aleah removed her boots and carried them in her hands as she quietly made her way to her room. Hers was the last door, so she had to walk past her grandfather’s and mother’s rooms before she could call this disastrous night to a close.

Several seconds stretched, but eventually, Aleah made it to her bedroom door and thought she was safe. But just as the thought entered her mind, she heard a door creak open behind her.

Shit. Please let it be Mom. Please let it be Mom…

“Where the hell are you coming from, child?”

Damn it! It wasn’t her mother. Aleah squeezed her eyes shut for a second and cursed her luck before turning around to face Charles Nhkata. Really, could this night get any worse?

Charles stood in the doorway of his room with his arms folded over his portly, tall frame. He had on his usual gray vest and black shorts that he slept in for as long as Aleah could remember. His salt and pepper hair was shaved close to the scalp, and he kept his jaw clean of any strands of hair, but there was no hiding his age. At sixty-eight, he wore his age in every wrinkle on his dark-skinned face.

It was possible her grandfather had been considered handsome at one time in his life. Probably half a century ago. Aleah thought he had to have been to marry her beautiful, kind, and sweet grandmother and have a handsome son like her father. Or maybe it had just been the universe trying to balance things.

But then again, maybe the man had been kind and affectionate when his wife was still alive. He had certainly been more approachable while her father had been alive. But after his son’s death, Charles had morphed into an unfeeling monster.

“I asked you a question!” he bellowed.

Aleah flinched but managed to stay in place. She could have sworn she heard a sound from her mother’s room, but she knew Lauren wouldn’t be stepping out to help her. Nobody wanted to be on the receiving end of her grandfather’s wrath.

“I was just out for a walk,” Aleah lied, knowing perfectly well nobody was going to buy that story. Still, it was the only thing she was going to say. There was no way she could tell her grandfather that she had gone to the other side of town and tried to off her soon-to-be-husband to escape the arranged marriage.

Unsurprisingly, Charles growled his displeasure at being lied to and took a step into the hallway. It took everything for Aleah to stay still at her door. Her grandfather wasn’t known for holding back. Thankfully, he stopped before he was close enough to deliver his customary slaps.

“Now I’m even more certain that marriage is the right decision for you,” he spat with an ugly curl of his lips. “It’s best to wed you off before you bring the family name to ridicule by getting pregnant by some i***t junkie!”

“I wasn’t with a boy.” Her voice shook. But hell, Aleah still felt the need to defend herself, even though it never worked in her favor. Besides, technically, that wasn’t a lie unless she counted her interaction with the man who had dragged her out of Logan’s room and pressed her against the wall with such strength it made her dizzy.

Charles scoffed, snapping her out of her thoughts about the stranger.

“Lies! Nothing that comes out of your mouth is worth listening to. A child who sneaks back into the house in the middle of the night like a thief is doing nothing else but entertaining boys.” His scowl deepened. He pointed a finger at her.

“I’m warning you, Aleah. If you do anything to jeopardize this marriage to Logan Poverly… I will skin you alive and make you wish you were never born. You will not bring shame to my family's name!”