"There's a three-courtyard estate on the outskirts of the city. I've already purchased it. If you like the country life, I'll have someone plant fruits and vegetables in the yard for you. Whatever you want, I'll make it happen. Trust me."
I stepped back, shaking my head over and over.
"I won't be locked away as your dirty secret. I won't let myself and our child live in the shadows for the rest of our lives."
But Lola simply walked up to me, her expression unchanged, her voice calm.
"I've never thought of you as a kept man. As long as you don't make trouble in front of my husband, you'll still be mine. Isn't that enough?"
I kept shaking my head. "No. It's not. I'm not leaving this place."
This was where Lola and I had spent three years of love. I wanted to be here when our child was born.
"Alaric, you know my wedding cannot have a single flaw. I have to erase every trace of our past. It's the only way to keep you safe."
Before the shock had even settled, she raised her hand. The guards behind her stepped forward with torches and set the entire homestead ablaze.
In an instant the fire roared to life, swallowing the bamboo cabin, the fence, the courtyard whole.