BooksBarbecue
Back Kingdom
Chapters (58)
  1. Full Page Image
  2. Contents
  3. Copyright
  4. Important Note:
  5. ~ Ground Zero ~
  6. Chapter One
  7. Chapter Two
  8. Chapter Three
  9. Chapter Four
  10. Chapter Five
  11. ~ Absolutely ~
  12. Chapter Six
  13. Chapter Seven
  14. Chapter Eight
  15. Chapter Nine
  16. ~ Someone To Feed It ~
  17. Chapter Ten
  18. Chapter Eleven
  19. Chapter Twelve
  20. Chapter Thirteen
  21. Chapter Fourteen
  22. Chapter Fifteen
  23. ~ I’ve Got You Now ~
  24. Chapter Sixteen
  25. Chapter Seventeen
  26. Chapter Eighteen
  27. Chapter Nineteen
  28. Chapter Twenty
  29. Chapter Twenty-One
  30. Chapter Twenty-Two
  31. ~ Him ~
  32. Chapter Twenty-Three
  33. Chapter Twenty-Four
  34. Chapter Twenty-Five
  35. Chapter Twenty-Six
  36. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  37. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  38. ~ As I Fall ~
  39. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  40. Chapter Thirty
  41. Chapter Thirty-One
  42. Chapter Thirty-Two
  43. Chapter Thirty-Three
  44. Chapter Thirty-Four
  45. Chapter Thirty-Five
  46. Chapter Thirty-Six
  47. ~ The Luckiest Girl In The World ~
  48. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  49. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  50. Two Months Later
  51. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  52. Chapter Forty
  53. Chapter Forty-One
  54. Chapter Forty-Two
  55. Six Months Later
  56. Chapter Forty-Three
  57. Acknowledgments
  58. Also by WS Greer

I step past him and into the hallway, pausing briefly to look down the stairs and into the Kingdom. I can’t see much from this angle, but I know what’s down there. That’s where I gave myself over to a man who never gave a shit about me. That’s where I convinced myself that I had upgraded from Vance, and told myself it was okay to slip into the background of my friends’ group as long as I had my Sir to look after me. It’s where I fully embraced being a submissive, found pride in being a masochist, and fell in love with both. My life came full circle down there, and I’d only be lying to myself if I said I wasn’t going to miss it. I don’t know how I’ll ever recover from departing the Kingdom for good, but Nas has left me no choice.

“I’m sorry, Alina,” he says from behind me, but I don’t bother turning around, because if I do, I’ll do something stupid. So, I do my best to stifle the gut-wrenching sob threatening to wreck my body, and walk away. Ruined.

Chapter Thirty-Six

“Hey … oh, what’s wrong?”

Instead of answering, my head drops until my chin hits my chest, and I walk into Juliana’s open arms as tears begin to stream down my face. It has been too long since we’ve communicated the way we used to, and I can’t stand another minute of us not being close.

Juliana and I stand in her doorway for what seems like forever. I cry into her chest, bawling my eyes out like a baby, and she wraps her arms around me like a mother consoling her heartbroken child. We don’t have to say anything. We both know what this is about, and an explanation isn’t necessary. I don’t apologize, and neither does she, because true friendships just have a way of welding themselves back together after being peeled apart for a while.

We stay in the doorway long enough for me to pull myself together before Juliana takes a step back and guides me in with her. With my hand firmly in her grasp, she leads me into her living room. We walk through her beautifully decorated hall, past multiple plants with giant green leaves, and into her living room where we sit on her loveseat side-by-side.

“Talk to me,” Juliana begins, placing one knee on the cushion. “Are you okay? What happened?”