Perfect Truth (4 page)
Authors: Ava Harrison
WHEN WE ARRIVE
back at the apartment after our lunch, I’m so emotionally exhausted from the conversation I can barely stand. I stop in the foyer and place my hands on the wall to steady myself. Alex’s gaze softens when he sees me.
“Sit down, baby. I’m going to run you a bath.” He takes my hand and leads me to the couch in the living room, then bends down placing a kiss on my lips. “I’ll come get you when it’s ready.”
My eyelids begin
to sag.
When I re-open them…
I’m shocked to see I’m in a field of daffodils. I can see Alex looking down at me, his gaze touching my soul. It’s soft with a gentle expression. Filled with so much love, I don’t know how this dream can get any better and then I hear it. A giggle rings through the air and I see her. A beautiful child with chestnut brown hair and bright blues eyes running toward me. Her arms stretch wide. “Mommy!"
My lids flutter open when I feel a gentle caress against my cheek.
“Here, let me help you,” he says as he helps me stand and then guides me into the bathroom. Once undressed and submerged in the deliciously warm water, my body relaxes, but my brain has a harder time. The conversation plays through my head again. Ryder’s face when he saw my belly causes a shiver to run up my spine despite the bath’s heat. I wonder what he was thinking? What he was feeling? I expected to myself to feel something, but I don’t. That is a part of my life I will no longer entertain. He no longer holds any part of me.
As my body relaxes in the soothing waters, my mind runs through the events of the past year, all that I had been through. I think of what I plan to do now. What else is in store for me? What will the next year bring? What other adventures will I have? Will we have?
Well, tomorrow I have lunch with Jules. That’s a start.
A smile creeps on my face and I close my eyes. Content. My smile soon falters as I think more of Jules and her relationship with Gabe. The love she has for her best friend that she won’t allow to flourish because of her need to succeed. My eyes jolt open and I pop out of the bath and almost lose my footing. My hand wraps around my rounded belly, protectively. Once my balance is stable, I quickly grab my robe and dash down the hall, the idea taking shape and starting to grow roots in my mind. I sit down in front of my computer and place my hands on the keyboard. The name Aria hangs in the air like an ethereal creature tormenting me with her story. A story of loss and love and finding the path to a journey of a lifetime. A story of saving yourself before drowning.
A strange feeling weaves its way through me. This is my path. This is what I am meant to do. These stories that live inside me will never end. Each one holds a different key to a piece of me that needs healing. Each story a cathartic release that needs to be put down on paper.
This is the moment I realize what my life is destined to be.
This is my perfect truth.
Through Her Eyes: A Novel
Acknowledgments
I want to thank my family and my husband. I love you guys!
I want to give a big thank you to all my readers. Thank you for believing in me and for the endless encouragement. I wrote this one for you guys <3
Thank you to all the amazing indie companies that helped mold my words.
Indie After Hours
Behind the Writer
Pink Ink Designs
Alchemy and Words
Thank you to Hang Le and to DOC ART for my beautiful cover
A special thank you to Lisa from TRSOR. You are the BEST and I adore you.
Thank you to all my friends. You put up with me even when I don’t know how you do it! Thank you for the endless advice, the hours of plotting and just being my shoulder to cry on.
Thank you to all the bloggers! Thank you for spreading your love of books and helping others fall in love too.
Bio Ava Harrison
Ava Harrison is a New Yorker, born and bred.
When she’s not journaling her life, you can find her window shopping, cooking dinner for her family, or curled up on her couch reading a book.
I hope you will please consider joining my Perfectly Flawed Support Group on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/778471848896125/
Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ava-Harrison/984568204896418?fref=ts
Twitter: @avaharrison333
