Until Darkness Comes (33 page)

Olivia stood in front of the floor-length mirror. A beautiful woman she hardly recognized stared back at her, dressed in a white silk floor-length gown adorned with thousands of sequins and pearls. The beaded tooling ran down the length of her six-foot train in an intricate design worthy of a queen. A jeweled tiara sat nestled in her jet black hair, just like the one she’d worn so often as a little girl. The veil lay draped across her jewelry box sitting on top of the desk.

Piano music wafted up through the vents of the old church, carrying a hauntingly beautiful melody. Olivia sighed, reaching up to the back of her neck, and unfastened the clasp of her necklace. The multi-colored heart-shaped stone fell away from her throat and she placed the necklace in the palm of her hand. She closed her fist tightly over the stone as she turned away from her reflection and walked over to her jewelry box.

She pulled the drawer open, placed her necklace inside, and took out a quarter-inch pearl necklace. She fastened the clasp around her neck, fingers gliding over the row of cold hard pearls that had been a wedding gift from her fiancé Mitch. She turned around to look at the stranger in the mirror, one last time. Her hair was piled high in an up-do. A few errant strands hung down loosely, brushing the base of her neck. She turned around, glancing over her shoulder to get a better view of her backside. The back of her dress was cut in a deep V that stopped just above her waistline, and a row of small silk-covered buttons ran down past her bottom.

“You look beautiful.”

A startled gasp tore from her throat as she spun around. “Liam!” The sound of his voice released a tidal wave of emotions: joy, love, anger, pain…sorrow. It took every ounce of her strength not to run over and throw herself into his arms. She watched him as he stood in the corner of the small room, arms crossed, statue-still.

Her heart raced so fast, she began to feel light-headed. It had been so long. Honestly, after three years, she’d given up hope of ever seeing him again. He seemed…different somehow, but still just as magnificent as she remembered. His eyes, the change was in his eyes. They held a depth she’d never known before—a depth born of pain, sorrow and regret.

The prelude to the wedding march carried up through the vents. The soft serenade filled the room, pulling Olivia from her trance. Pain and anger surged anew, tearing open a fresh wound of heartache that had never completely healed. “Why are you here?” she demanded.

Liam didn’t speak. For the longest time, he just stood there looking as if he might just vanish. “I had to see you.” His words came out in an aching rasp.

“Why now, Liam? Why today? This is my wedding day!” Her voice escalated with every word until she sounded hysterical. “It’s been three years! Do you know how many nights I’ve cried myself to sleep over you? Oh, that’s right, of course you do! And yet,
you
still didn’t come. All those time I begged and pleaded, just to let me see you.”

The depth of pain and suffering in his amber-colored eyes took her breath away. “Don’t you think I wanted to, Olivia. God knows I wanted to! But I knew if I did, you’d never move on. It’s killed me to sit by and watch you

Shades of Darkness

mourn over what could never be. Night after night, I begged the Father to give me the strength to stay away from you.”

Liam’s eyes locked on the pearl necklace clinging to her throat. Suddenly it felt tight, like the pearls were slowly choking the life out of her. “This is the first time you’ve taken that off in three years,” he whispered. His voice was raw with so much pain it made her cringe.

She subconsciously reached up and touched her throat, resisting the sudden urge to tear them off. “I had to,” she whispered. “How can I get married to the man I’m trying to love while wearing the necklace from the angel that holds my heart?” Tears spilled down her cheeks, she stopped even trying to contain them.

“Do you love him, Olivia?”

Liam’s questioning eyes raked over her. She ached to reach out and touch his beautiful face, just one more time, to feel whole in his embrace once again and let his touch wash away the years of pain and suffering she’d endured in his absence. And to taste that delicious spicy kiss she longed for…

“Look at me!” she cried, halting her thoughts. She grabbed fists full of her wedding dress, holding them out in exasperation. “I’m getting married!” A fresh wave of tears rolled down her cheeks. By now her make-up would be completely ruined, not that she really cared. It was fitting, symbolic of the last three years of her life.

“I am well aware of this, and that’s not what I asked you.”
“I love him as much as I’m capable of loving someone. I’ve been broken for so long. I just want to feel normal again.”
The wedding march echoed through the tiny room, and she looked nervously over her shoulder. “That’s my cue,” she whispered, unwilling to walk away from him.
“I wish it was me waiting down there for you.”
Oh God, don’t say that to me!
“I do too,” she breathed the barely audible confession.
A soft knock sounded at the door. “Olivia? We’re ready for you, honey.”
“I’ll be right there, Mom.” She tore her eyes away from him long enough to cast an anxious glance at the door. When she turned back, Liam was gone.
About the Author
Melynda Price:
An avid lover of paranormal romance, Melynda was inspired to write her own series after reading the Book of Enoch. She’s always had a fascination with stories about angels, and the role they’ve played in the history of our multi-dimensional world.

She attended Bethel University in Minnesota and graduated in 2003, holding AA, ASN and BSN degrees.
She lives in Northern Minnesota where she has plenty of snow-filled days to curl up in front of the fireplace with her Chihuahua, and a hot cup of coffee, to write. She’s blessed with two amazing children, and a wonderful husband of seventeen years.

Until Darkness Comes:
“Writing Until Darkness Comes has been a fantastic adventure, culminating a world of mystery, suspense, love and deception. Have you ever wondered what it might be like if we could see beyond our dimension? Step into Olivia Norton’s world, where nothing is quite as it seems, and evil lurks where she least expects it.”
Visit Melynda at
www.MelyndaPrice.com