Angelica
Angelica (The Family) By Angelique Jones This book is a work of fiction.
Table of Contents 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35.
Cover Title Table of Contents Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Epilogue
Prologue At the age of ten I was my daddy’s little princess and my mommy’s little angel. I was kept in my tower like any other princess. My mommy was the most beautiful woman in the world. She was so beautiful that many people called her Helen of Troy, and though our coloring was different, everyone said I was just as beautiful. When Mommy chose Daddy, the other men she hadn’t chosen were very angry, though they hid it and waited. My parents were worried that someone would steal me, so I lived in my tower, only allowed to be seen by my family. When I was ten my mommy became pregnant with my brother, and we were sent away to be safe. When I was ten my daddy and my mommy died and I was forced to run and hide. When I was eleven he found me. When I was twelve he found me. When I was thirteen he found me. When I was fourteen he found me. When I was fifteen he found me. When I was sixteen he found me and told me that I would be his princess. When I was seventeen he found me and told me that I was to remain a virgin. When I was eighteen he found me and told me that I was to be his virgin princess bride. When I was nineteen he found me. As I escaped again he yelled to me that if I ever allowed any to touch me, he would kill them, and the pain I suffered now would be nothing compared to what I would suffer for the rest of my life. His threats scared me then no more than they had when I was eleven. The hurt he did to me I refused to show. The numbness of my existence let me block it out. The problem was, when I turned twenty I did something I had never done before. I allowed someone to become my friend. I didn’t want to be her friend, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer. She was a happy whirlwind who hugged me as I cringed at the contact, ignoring it and my nastiness, refusing to leave. Maria was what I had once been; maybe it was why I caved and did the unthinkable, allowing someone in.
Chapter 1 “Maria, I swear you’re not going to be happy until every girl hates us,” I groaned, looking up, wondering how I got myself into this situation. Laughing as her bodyguard, Sal, growled at a couple of boys who thought to get close to us, she said, “You know, Angie, I wouldn’t have to go to these lengths if you weren’t so beautiful. I need to flirt just to compete.” “Yeah,” I said dryly as I looked at her get-up, all the way down to her Louis Vuitton pumps. The girl was beautiful and rich. She competed with no one. I knew why she did this. Separately, we were something every girl hated and every guy wanted; together we were lethal. Accident causing lethal sight and she loved it. Her with her dark hair and blue eyes; she was the perfect Italian beauty, while everyone, even she, thought I was the perfect Irish beauty with my red hair and green eyes. Running up, she grabbed me in a big hug. I was so used to her easy emotion that I didn’t even flinch anymore at the contact. Though I hated to encourage her, I couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped when a group of boys fell over themselves, landing in a mass on the ground at the sight of us. Moving faster, wanting to get off campus, I pulled her along, half listening as she continued to talk. “Oh, come on. Come out with me tonight; it will be fun. You never go out with me. I even figured out a way to get by Sal,” she whispered, glancing back at the mass following us. Shaking my head, “I can’t; there are things I have to do,” I replied, keeping my voice just as low. “You don’t know what you’re missing,” she said, finally giving up. I should have known that wouldn’t be the end. “So, I don’t suppose you’re going to tell me where you’re going?” not waiting for a response. “Come on, you’ve got to tell me. I know it’s a guy; you do this all the time: disappear, then come back tired and sore,” giving a little humorous laugh. If she only knew. “Uh, I can’t believe you won’t give me something to fantasize about. You know I have no social life. This big lout”—gesturing a hand back at Sal—“follows my father’s every order. I don’t think a guy
has ever been within ten feet of me without being in fear for his life. I’m going to go to marriage without ever having been kissed!” Thank God for the parking lot. “It’s not all it’s cracked up to be,” I said sharply as the dark thought of the only man to ever have kissed me rose in my mind before I could push it away. Realizing I had hurt her feelings with my tone, I tried to fix it. “Besides, you’re probably going to get kissed tonight, and it will be you telling me how great it was, leading to my epic jealousy of you,” I teased, knowing she was spending the night at home. “You’re right. I’ll be kissed by the hottest guy there and you will be so jealous of his supremely juicy lips. It will be a kiss to end all kisses.” She laughed, ignoring my bad humor like she always did. Reaching my car, I opened the door, throwing in my bags and books, allowing her to hug me. I whispered in her ear, “You’re not really going out, right?” needing to be sure she was just all talk. “As if I could get away from my father’s goons.” She snorted, landing a big kiss on my cheek just to be an ass. Shaking my head as she bounced away with Sal, I gave him a little wave, laughing when he bowed his head in defeat as she started talking to him. That poor guy should ask for a raise. Climbing into my car, I started the engine and sat there for a moment as I let the happiness she brought into my life fade away and allowed the darkness that lived inside me to rush to the front. Already I was leaving this place, her, the college, and my life there behind. Everything I would need for my trip was already bought and packed in the trunk. I lived two lives, one for my mother and one for my father. Right now I was leaving the one my father would have wished for me and continuing on with the one my mother demanded of me.
Table of Contents 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35.
Cover Title Table of Contents Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Epilogue
Prologue At the age of ten I was my daddy’s little princess and my mommy’s little angel. I was kept in my tower like any other princess. My mommy was the most beautiful woman in the world. She was so beautiful that many people called her Helen of Troy, and though our coloring was different, everyone said I was just as beautiful. When Mommy chose Daddy, the other men she hadn’t chosen were very angry, though they hid it and waited. My parents were worried that someone would steal me, so I lived in my tower, only allowed to be seen by my family. When I was ten my mommy became pregnant with my brother, and we were sent away to be safe. When I was ten my daddy and my mommy died and I was forced to run and hide. When I was eleven he found me. When I was twelve he found me. When I was thirteen he found me. When I was fourteen he found me. When I was fifteen he found me. When I was sixteen he found me and told me that I would be his princess. When I was seventeen he found me and told me that I was to remain a virgin. When I was eighteen he found me and told me that I was to be his virgin princess bride. When I was nineteen he found me. As I escaped again he yelled to me that if I ever allowed any to touch me, he would kill them, and the pain I suffered now would be nothing compared to what I would suffer for the rest of my life. His threats scared me then no more than they had when I was eleven. The hurt he did to me I refused to show. The numbness of my existence let me block it out. The problem was, when I turned twenty I did something I had never done before. I allowed someone to become my friend. I didn’t want to be her friend, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer. She was a happy whirlwind who hugged me as I cringed at the contact, ignoring it and my nastiness, refusing to leave. Maria was what I had once been; maybe it was why I caved and did the unthinkable, allowing someone in.
Chapter 1 “Maria, I swear you’re not going to be happy until every girl hates us,” I groaned, looking up, wondering how I got myself into this situation. Laughing as her bodyguard, Sal, growled at a couple of boys who thought to get close to us, she said, “You know, Angie, I wouldn’t have to go to these lengths if you weren’t so beautiful. I need to flirt just to compete.” “Yeah,” I said dryly as I looked at her get-up, all the way down to her Louis Vuitton pumps. The girl was beautiful and rich. She competed with no one. I knew why she did this. Separately, we were something every girl hated and every guy wanted; together we were lethal. Accident causing lethal sight and she loved it. Her with her dark hair and blue eyes; she was the perfect Italian beauty, while everyone, even she, thought I was the perfect Irish beauty with my red hair and green eyes. Running up, she grabbed me in a big hug. I was so used to her easy emotion that I didn’t even flinch anymore at the contact. Though I hated to encourage her, I couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped when a group of boys fell over themselves, landing in a mass on the ground at the sight of us. Moving faster, wanting to get off campus, I pulled her along, half listening as she continued to talk. “Oh, come on. Come out with me tonight; it will be fun. You never go out with me. I even figured out a way to get by Sal,” she whispered, glancing back at the mass following us. Shaking my head, “I can’t; there are things I have to do,” I replied, keeping my voice just as low. “You don’t know what you’re missing,” she said, finally giving up. I should have known that wouldn’t be the end. “So, I don’t suppose you’re going to tell me where you’re going?” not waiting for a response. “Come on, you’ve got to tell me. I know it’s a guy; you do this all the time: disappear, then come back tired and sore,” giving a little humorous laugh. If she only knew. “Uh, I can’t believe you won’t give me something to fantasize about. You know I have no social life. This big lout”—gesturing a hand back at Sal—“follows my father’s every order. I don’t think a guy
has ever been within ten feet of me without being in fear for his life. I’m going to go to marriage without ever having been kissed!” Thank God for the parking lot. “It’s not all it’s cracked up to be,” I said sharply as the dark thought of the only man to ever have kissed me rose in my mind before I could push it away. Realizing I had hurt her feelings with my tone, I tried to fix it. “Besides, you’re probably going to get kissed tonight, and it will be you telling me how great it was, leading to my epic jealousy of you,” I teased, knowing she was spending the night at home. “You’re right. I’ll be kissed by the hottest guy there and you will be so jealous of his supremely juicy lips. It will be a kiss to end all kisses.” She laughed, ignoring my bad humor like she always did. Reaching my car, I opened the door, throwing in my bags and books, allowing her to hug me. I whispered in her ear, “You’re not really going out, right?” needing to be sure she was just all talk. “As if I could get away from my father’s goons.” She snorted, landing a big kiss on my cheek just to be an ass. Shaking my head as she bounced away with Sal, I gave him a little wave, laughing when he bowed his head in defeat as she started talking to him. That poor guy should ask for a raise. Climbing into my car, I started the engine and sat there for a moment as I let the happiness she brought into my life fade away and allowed the darkness that lived inside me to rush to the front. Already I was leaving this place, her, the college, and my life there behind. Everything I would need for my trip was already bought and packed in the trunk. I lived two lives, one for my mother and one for my father. Right now I was leaving the one my father would have wished for me and continuing on with the one my mother demanded of me.
