Sweet Temptation by Cora Reilly

home had been my safe haven, a place where I could relax after grueling
workdays, and my children were the light of my life. Now everything was
draped in bitter darkness.
Daniele didn’t understand why he couldn’t visit his mother, but I was scared
for him and scared of what she’d tell him. Gaia had always been vindictive, and
now she had a reason to hate me.
When I held Simona the day after her birth, because Gaia didn’t want me
there during labor, I fell in love with that little girl. Blood meant little in this
moment, and I’d never allow it to.
Gaia didn’t get over Andrea’s death. I was foolish to think she could for the
sake of Daniele and Simona. For a while, she made me believe she did. She took
pills that calmed her, and eventually she almost seemed like her old self. Sybil
and Mia still had to take over most of the care for Daniele and Simona. But
things seemed to be looking up. We managed to play our roles in public,
managed to avoid each other behind closed doors. Sometimes we settled for
politeness, but the hatred in Gaia’s eyes always reminded me of the reality of our
situation. I’d killed the man she loved. She would never forgive me, and I didn’t
need her forgiveness. I only needed her to find it in her to take care of our
children.
But Gaia focused most of her love and attention on the last gift from Andrea:
Loulou. She treated the dog as if it was a human, lavished it with tenderness and
loving words she should have given only Daniele and Simona.
I didn’t allow her to be alone with our children. Sybil or Mia had to be
around because I still wasn’t sure if Gaia wouldn’t kill our children just to hurt
me as much as Andrea’s death hurt her. I never considered her capable of
infanticide, but now I wasn’t so sure. Images of my children’s lifeless bodies
haunted my nightmares.
We lived a lie, which became more and more unbearable every day, but at the
same time, I got used to it.
Four months after Simona’s birth, on the day of our eighth anniversary, Gaia
ended it all. I’d made dinner reservations in our favorite restaurant for
appearance’s sake, but the moment I came home I knew something was wrong.
It was awfully quiet in the house. Too silent. I was a man who enjoyed the
quiet, but this kind of silence rang too loudly, bounced off the walls in ominous
echoes.
I found Sybil asleep on the sofa. Shaking her, she came to but her eyes
remained unfocused. “I’m sorry, master. I must have fallen asleep.”
“That’s not just sleep. I told you to be wary around Gaia!” I snarled,
releasing her. “Where are Daniele and Simona?”
Sybil blinked, then her eyes widened with fear. I began running up the stairs
then froze on the second-floor landing. Small bloody paw prints covered the
beige carpet.
My heart clenched so tightly, for a moment I was sure I had a heart attack. It
ran in our family, after all. I stormed toward Simona’s bedroom, ripping the door