Divine: A Novel (29 page)

Div
Hallowell

I’m in love.

32 people like this.

Violet
Cuddlecock

I’m in love with Hayden Night!

1268 people like this.

Kimmy
Firestorm
XOXXO. I love
everyone! Buy my new book, sweeties!

Amy
Jones
It’s an awesome
story. Love Zyn!

Becca
Webb
I LOVE Hayden’s
Trilogy! My favorite of all time!

Fathima
Read it people. Hayden kicks ass!

Michelle
McGinty
Brilliant
series, 5 stars from me.

Pat
Fairchild
I’m thinking
about buying a new Kindle. What’s the best one?

Karen
Bliss
Who’s Hayden
Night?

Hayden
Night (Author)
Love you
too, Violet CUDDLECOCK!

EPILOGUE

D
ivine Hallowell-Keller.

I wouldn’t say Daniel and I had a case of
insta-love like my parents. After all, we waited an entire year before we got
married, but we knew... we just knew during that first month of dating we were
perfect for one another.

And he proposed to me in the way I’d
expect Daniel Keller to propose.

After eight months of dating, I was
finally
allowed
to go into his
basement. I was halfway down the stairs when he locked the door, scaring me at
first, then pissing me off, but later making my heart melt when I found a small
cage sitting on his cum sofa. Inside the cage was a doll with auburn hair and a
ring placed in her hand. Sweet. Creepy, yet sweet.

It makes me wonder sometimes about
his
inner voice.

Anyway, when I was granted freedom for
finding the ring, I told him he was a dickhead, but that I loved him and would
happily marry Hayden Night. Dan Keller on the other hand might have to wait.

I can honestly say I’ve never heard of a
guy locking the love of his life in a basement with a doll that looks like her,
just to propose.

I should Google
that
to see what comes up.

He gave me his usual line about wanting
everything he does, all of our first times to be memorable, including the
proposal. And then our wedding... it was in his parents’ backyard. The wooden
cutouts of him and Bridgette surrounded us and the walnut tree that was struck
by lightning was close by. It was a small ceremony with a long honeymoon,
that’s the way all weddings should be.

And then we did something I wouldn’t have
expected in a million years. We bought his parents’ house.

No shit.

Kristen and Greg felt they could no
longer care for the property of three acres, apple trees, a pond, and a small
barn. They bought a nice condo and gave us an incredible deal on their home.

I would never buy the house I grew up in,
for obvious reasons. But Dan loves it. Of course he does. My husband’s a
fucking whack job.

It is a nice place. Perfect for our
growing family.

Yes, growing... we have a son! Casey
James Keller. Little C.J., he’s amazing! I never thought I could love anything
in this world as much as this little boy. He’s sweet, like his father, and at
three years old, he eats like him too, burgers and Fritos.

We’re such unhealthy eaters, but who
cares as long as we’re happy.

Dan said in a few years he’d like to add
a second, and much larger, family room to the back of the house; one with
fourteen-foot ceilings so we can display the kites up above. I’d like that. For
now, my collections are displayed in the rec room of our basement, and although
it’s cluttered down there, it’s dry and mildew free.

The money we do save goes into our son’s
college tuition fund, but the kites soaring above our heads in a big open room
is a nice dream to have. We’ve flown a few of the vinyl ones, but I usually get
anxious when they’re up in the sky, thinking they’re going to fly away or get
damaged, so most of the time I keep them safe downstairs, along with my boxes
of unsold paperbacks. Who the hell reads paperbacks anymore anyway? I mean,
besides Dan, who’s still adding to his collection of erotic novels.

With the wedding, moving into a new home,
going through a pregnancy, and now raising a child, we’ve both been too busy to
write.

My trilogy brought in a little money,
enough to hold me over until I was able to gain a decent client base for the
graphic design company I started, but not enough to allow me to just be a mom
and retire in my twenties. Maybe in a few years I’ll write again, but I’ll try
a different genre, like paranormal romance or Amish Centaurs. I was also
thinking I could collaborate with C.J on a children’s book series, like
Frolics and Follies of Frieda the Foot
.
For now, creating brochures and ads for companies, and designing product labels
seems to be the best way to use my college degree since I’m no longer teaching.

I still have no regrets about resigning.
I don’t know why I ever took that job in the first place. There are some great
colleges around, my alma mater for one, but there are others that shouldn’t
exist, like Podunk U.

And as for Bridgette and Hannah...

Bridgette was damn lucky she wasn’t
driving Dan’s car that night. Thank God she can’t hold her liquor and was
barely able to stand. And thank God Hannah was her usual controlling self and
wanted to drive. Otherwise, it’d be Bridgette who received three years in
prison, and not the bitch. Not nearly enough time for all the charges she
faced, including DUI and vehicular manslaughter. I was hoping for the max of
ten years, or at least seven.

Then again, I’m surprised her father
wasn’t able to get her off completely.

She’s served her time and I suppose it’s
possible I might run into her someday. I heard she moved to Philadelphia, but
her parents are still in town. Now that my inner voice has calmed down, I can’t
imagine what would come out of my mouth if I ever ran into her again. Perhaps
nothing.

For two years I saw many of my former
students around town, at the mall, grocery shopping, and at restaurants, but
never said a word to any of them. It seemed pointless to say hello. I never had
a big fan base and the few who did like me never bothered to write to ask what
happened, if I was coming back, or
anything,
like, ‘sorry you left, thanks for everything!’ And the faces I once knew
have faded away. I’ve been gone for a few years and my former students have all
graduated and moved on. I’m officially an unknown.

But I did run into Richard recently. He
was at Starbucks, sitting with an older guy who I recognized immediately - the
donor from the alumni party. The one who supposedly gifted our department
twenty grand? I said hello and Richard introduced the guy as his uncle.

His uncle.

Can you say awkward?

So, blonde Jesus scammed me! That bastard!

Richard, my former Chair, the good saint
of our department must’ve known what was in Margaret’s office. And he did
exactly what one would expect him to; he stayed out of the situation. He backed
off and let someone else muddle through the shit. He made up a bogus story and
handed his keys over, hoping I would come across what I needed, and then he
stepped back and waited. He didn’t want to deal with the cops and complicate
his life. I should knee him in the nuts (if he has any), but if I ever do see
him again, I might do an uncharacteristic thing and give him a hug.

If I hadn’t aligned with my inner voice,
I’m sure I would’ve had a head full of nasty thoughts on the day I saw Richard.
Bad memories and all, but I was able to walk away and go on with life without
too much of a roadblock.

You
think we’ve aligned?

Let me rephrase that.

I now
ignore
my inner voice. I try to focus on normal things, like bills and what to make
for dinner, nothing nasty or annoying in my head.

Besides, I’m happy. I’m sitting in bed
sipping coffee, updating my diary, and waiting for Dan, the sound sleeper, to
open his eyes. Even when I leave to use the bathroom, he doesn’t move a muscle.

It’s our fifth wedding anniversary and
that means after a night of making love, I get morning sex as well. It’s our
tradition that we’ve kept since the night of our wedding. God, I hate to wake
him, but if we don’t get a move on... we’ve got a kid in the house that’ll be
up soon.

Maybe
he’s dead.

No. He’s not dead. He didn’t die from any
wild and crazy sex moves during our night of passionate lovemaking.

Yeah,
but if you ever write another book, maybe about all the shit that went down
when you guys met, killing him off right now would be the perfect ending. You
know? You’re lying here and he’s not moving. So you reach over and all of a
sudden there’s blood on your hands. Then you freak out and can’t figure out if
YOU killed him and your inner voice jumps in and says, ‘no, you didn’t, I did.’
Bahahaha. And then BAM, it’s over.

So, do other people think this way or am
I the only insane person in this world?

About the Author

Aven
enjoys life in a small college town with her husband and a very spoiled Persian
cat. She lives for reading, chocolate, coffee, and traveling to the Rocky
Mountains. She is also a professional artist with an advanced degree in fine
art. Her photography and paintings have been included in magazines, catalogs,
and national exhibitions.

www.facebook.com/AvenJayceAuthor

www.avenjayce.wordpress.com

Books by
Aven Jayce:

Fallen
Snow (NOVA #1)

Desert
Star (NOVA #2)

Sunset
Rush (NOVA #3)

The Dark
Scarlett - A continuation of The NOVA Trilogy

Divine

The NOVA
Trilogy

NOVA
is a dark trilogy for mature audiences. It contains explicit sex, strong
language, and abusive situations. Please be warned - dark novels may be
disturbing for some readers.

Sophia
Jameson
is the daughter
of one of the most notorious entrepreneurs in the world of adult entertainment,
Paul Jameson. She's young, immature, and suffers from an abusive past, but sees
nothing wrong with sleeping around; after all, sex is the cure for her
depression. A long-term relationship with any man is not on the agenda - until
she meets Cove Everton. A man as emotionally damaged as she is. The two fall
fast and hard; delving into a relationship they know will be forbidden by
Sophia's father. Virgins to any sense of real and lasting love, they hope to
pacify their mutual anxieties and sufferings, not to mention those of their
family and friends, all of whom have become trapped within Jameson Industries.

Cove
Everton
was once the
biggest star of Jameson Industries. Forced into the company at a young age, he
still suffers mental and physical scars from the business owned by Paul
Jameson. Angst-ridden and tormented that his family's been blackmailed, and his
father framed for crimes that were committed by Paul, he continues to work for
the adult industry in hope of discovering proof that will bring Paul to his
knees and set his father free.