Chapter 22. Truth

Proserpina

Being with Lucien was an intense experience. He would come to me at night, carrying the strong odors of drink and expensive cologne, of maleness and musk. Sweeping me into his arms, sometimes kicking the front door shut in his impatience to take me, we would indulge in a frenzy of passionate coupling as though we had not seen each other for years. It would continue till the wee hours of the morning, when he would leave, dropping a kiss on my exhausted face. Sore and tender, I would wake up the next morning, deluding myself into believing that this was love. I would head to college unless he left a message asking me to stay home and wait for him.

Yes, he ran my life for me, but I never felt the need to protest. I loved him devotedly and wholeheartedly.

I never imagined for a minute that it would not be reciprocated.

***

It was almost a year of our being together and I wanted to do something special to celebrate. Lucien had bee