?


    ''Let''s not sleep in separate rooms tonight. Sleep with me," Amber said, her voiceced with forced flirtation. She suppressed a wave of disgust, pain, and self-loathing as she invited Carl into her bed.


    Her gaze, supposedly amorous, held a chilling undercurrent. Her eyes darted toward Carl''s chest, where his cross ne hung. She yearned to rip open his shirt with her eyes.


    "Amber, what''s wrong? Are you sick? Did you drink?" Carl asked, his voice hoarse and strained. He swallowed hard, his hand touching her forehead with practiced restraint.


    "No, I''m sober. I know what I''m doing." Amber replied. Leaning in, she adopted a tender expression. "Marriage doesn''t change us. We''re already like husband and wife, aren''t we? Sharing a bed seems natural."


    She was desperate to find the evidence Carl had hidden. She didn''t care about the cost, even if it meant sacrificing her battered body.


    A sense of impending doom loomed over her, she feared neither she nor Carl would leave Kontina alive. She urgently needed evidence that could destroy Jameson in one fell swoop.


    "You''re my woman, Amber. We have all the time in the world, Carl said, his eyes filled with desire. Yet, he took deep breaths, restraining himself.


    Carlton, you think I''m filthy, don''t you? Amber''s heart sank as tears welled up in her eyes. You''re with me not because you love me but because you pity me after all these years..."


    ''No, that''s not it!" Carl gripped her shoulders, panic in his eyes. "I love you, Amber. I''m so in love with you that I can''t bear to touch you. No one knows your hardships in getting here like I do. I will never force you to be intimate with me. And I''m only marrying you to protect you."


    Amber was stunned, staring at him as if he were a stranger.


    She knew if Carl hadn''t pleaded with Jameson to marry her, she might have ended up in a mass grave long ago.


    A small part of her was touched, but it wasn''t enough to absolve him of the crimes he''dmitted over the years. It couldn''t make up for Wesley''s brutal death.


    ''Since we arrived in Kontina, I haven''t felt a moment of peace. I haven''t been able to sleep well." Amber rested her head lightly on Carl''s shoulder. "Stay with me tonight, please?"


    They shared a bed but nothing more. Perhaps exhaustion from the night''s killing spree imed Carl quickly. Within 15 minutes, he was asleep.ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org .


    Amber''s eyes snapped open. Her gaze was fixed on him, devoid of emotion. With trembling hands, she began to unbutton his shirt. Her grip tightened around the cross as her eyes reddened.


    Kontina was a country that was filled with dense, multiyered forests. It was a picturesque country with a tropical monsoon climate.