A Touch of Sapphire

A TOUCH OF SAPPHIRE A TOUCH OF FORBIDDEN LOVE KIRA ROMAN Copyright © 2023 by Kira Roman All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Created with Vellum For my Mom I’m so proud of you CONTENTS Fair Warning 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 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Epilogue About the Author Also by Kira Roman BLURB I really shouldn't be doing this...but how do I say no? When I turn twenty-five, everything starts falling apart, so I do what I’ve always done, and run. For the first time in my life, my eyes are open to the truth, and I am never looking back. I make a new home for myself, and the men determined to help me pick up the pieces are pulling me in four different directions. My stepbrother, Antonio. My stepbrother’s best friend, Isaiah. Isaiah’s younger twin brothers, Zachariah and Jeremiah. And my new boss, who is very much off limits. Just when I feel like I’m getting my life together, my abusive ex storms back in, demanding I return home with him…or else. Will the men who helped me pick up the pieces my ex left behind, be able to put me back together a second time? Everything changes when I see those two pink lines, and I realize I’m strong enough to save myself. To save us both. FAIR WARNING This book is fast paced. I get to the point, and I get there quickly. Most, if not all, of my books are short and fast reads. TRIGGER WARNING!! Sapphire comes from an abusive home, and an abusive relationship. Domestic Violence is referenced. THERE IS PREGNANCY! PROLOGUE February 7th Dear Diary, I wish I'd listened to them. I wish Isaiah had made me listen the night of my engagement. Or the night Zach and Jer brought me back to their hotel…but no, I thought he’d change. I was too scared to leave then. Now I’m more scared of what he’ll do to me if I stay. Now here I am, twenty-five years old, sitting on the bed in a home that’s only mine because someone else's grandmother died. A woman who clearly loved me more than my own blood ever did. I had to leave behind my entire life, because the family I thought I wanted, the one I thought cared for me, was just using me. I was nothing to them. Maybe I should have seen this coming. It’s not as if the signs weren’t there. They were. Bright red flags that kept screaming run. The abuse was…awful, but knowing I made everything harder for myself, somehow makes me feel worse. After all these years, I finally found the courage to leave. Now, I’m alone, in an empty house, and I’m the happiest I’ve been in the last six years. -Sapphire CHAPTER ONE Sapphire Six years ago, age nineteen I’m barely able to contain my nervous energy as I dig my nails into my thigh to keep my knee from bouncing. My fiancé smiles at his mother, as she glares at me from across the table, before he turns his attention to me. Thad leans over in his chair, his warm, wet breath fans across my cheek as he whispers in my ear, making me stiffen. He smells like too much whiskey and not enough deodorant. “Sit up straight, Sapphire, and fix your dress.” Thad reaches over, pinching my side painfully in warning. “If your smile falls one more time, my mother might think you’re less than excited to be my future bride. What would your father say?” His cold tone sends a shiver down my spine, and I plaster the fake smile I always wear on my lips. “Of course, my love, I’m sorry,” I apologize, not feeling the words, even though they slip out like it’s second nature to say them. “You’re so lucky I tolerate you, despite how bland you are. You barely even fill out this dress. I wasted my money on you,” Thad adds sharply, spitting the words like the weapons they are, making me swallow hard. Holding my smile, even as tears sting my eyes, is hard. I nod in acknowledgment. It’s easier to appease him than try to fight him. I learned that quickly. Did I ever bother fighting, though? I can’t remember. My stepfather beat that out of me long ago. “I’ll do better,” I whisper, knowing that’s what he wants to hear, even if nothing I do will ever be enough. “You fucking better, or your father will hear about your behavior.” His threat is clear, and even though my skin shivers with fear, I barely resist reminding him that Charles is my stepfather. The rest of dinner passes in a blur of fake smiles and useless small talk. By the time the party moves to the backyard, Thad is wasted just like everyone else. When I spot him in the corner, with his arm over one of the servers, I take that as my opportunity to escape. Even if it’s just for a moment. I can’t breathe when I’m surrounded by these people. Every last one of them is anxiously waiting to watch me fail. None of them believes I’ll be a fit wife for their precious Thad. Why we’re having an engagement party now is beyond me. They don’t even want us to get married until Thad finishes business school.