Read Online Beautifully Forgotten by L.A. Fiore - Free Book Online Page B

grave. It was something small she could do, but it comforted her, even though the walk down memory lane was always bittersweet. Memories were likely all she was ever going to have when it came to Lucien Black—and where better to reminiscence than with the one person who loved him as much as she did?

    Fourteen years earlier . . .
    The room smelled like death. Darcy had heard that expression before, but never appreciated the meaning until now. The staleness in the air and the subtle scent of decay lingered and clung to everything. Sister Anne had lost so much weight that she was almost unrecognizable. Lucien was retrieving her lunch tray from the kitchen, not that Sister Anne was going to eat it.
    Darcy walked to her dresser and placed the vase of freshly cut yellow and pink snapdragons where Sister Anne would see them.
    “They’re beautiful, thank you, Darcy.”
    “Oh, I thought you were asleep.”
    “Please join me. I like the company.”
    Darcy settled on the chair next to Sister Anne’s bed and tried not to show her discomfort, but it was hard to look at her; she was so different from the vital woman she had been. “Lucien’s getting your lunch.”
    Tenderness washed over her face. “He’s been so wonderful.” Sister Anne’s bony hand reached for Darcy’s and held it with surprising force.
    “He loves you.”
    Embarrassment turned Darcy’s cheeks pink before she replied, “I love him.”
    “He’ll need you when I’m gone.”
    “I’m not going anywhere.”
    An exhale that sounded more like a death rattle escaped Sister Anne’s throat. “Good. The road ahead isn’t going to be easy for either of you, but anything is possible when there’s love.” Sister Anne’s eyes moved from Darcy to the flowers.
    “So simple and yet so comforting. If He can create something so beautiful in this life, then how can I fear what He has in store for me in the next?” Her gaze turned back to Darcy. “Thank you for the reminder.”
    Lucien entered with Sister Anne’s tray and placed it on the table near her bed.
    “Thank you, Lucien. I’m tired, but I promise I will eat something when I wake.”
    “I’ll check on you later.” He leaned over and pressed a kiss on her forehead before he turned and reached for Darcy’s hand. She allowed him to pull her from the room and down the hall. When they reached a dark corner, he turned into her and wrapped her tightly into his arms. He buried his face in her neck and, though he said nothing, she could feel the tension in his body. They stood like that for quite some time before his head lifted to hers. She saw his pain reflected in his eyes.
    “When she’s gone, you will be all I have left.” His words were a harsh whisper.
    “You are all that I have.”
    His strong hands cradled her face as he stared at her intently. “Your mother is an asshole, but I will be forever grateful that she dropped an angel into my life. You and me, Darcy, always.”
    The emotion behind his words made her eyes sting. Someone who always seemed so strong and in control had a weakness, and to know that she was his weakness was humbling.
    “Always,” she vowed.

    “Can I help you find anything else?” the flower lady snapped Darcy back to the present. Living in the past was dangerous. She seriously needed to move on. Lucien had.

    Lucien sat across from his accountant, but he hadn’t heard a single word the man said. Ever since Darcy had come back into his life, he couldn’t seem to pull his thoughts from the past, which was infuriating, because he was a firm believer that what was done was done. He really shouldn’t be all that surprised that he was acting so out of character—Darcy had always had some kind of strange influence over him. When they were younger, he had thought it was love, but now he was leaning more toward dark magic. Regardless, seeing her again had him constantly looking back for answers he suspected he would never find.
    His mind drifted back even further to when