Happily Ever After (The Drug Lord's Wife #5)

Badge of Honor

Chapter 3

Jennifer

"Lara, don't listen to Michael, I'm sure he was dropped on his head a lot as a child", I said yelling outside the bathroom door. I could hear her sobbing.

"More than once", Adam said coming up the stairs to lean against the wall.

"That was cruel, even for Michael", I said to Adam. I started to bang on the door,"Lara? You are beautiful, and your face with heal. Just give it time".

She didn't answer me all I heard was more sobbing. "You're so much more than your looks". More sobbing. I looked to Adam for help. He shrugged his shoulders and whispered,"I don't know what to do".

"Help me comforter her, please?"

He pushed his self off of the wall and shouted into the bathroom he cleared his throat,"Did Noah hit you?" He shouted.

"What!" I whispered,"Why would you bring that up. Now, really---" Adam held up his hand wanting me to be quiet.

"You're not ugly or lesser. You're a warrior. Because no matter what Noah did to you, you survived. And you're still alive. What he did to you does not define who you are. Your face will heal, but Noah is dead. He will never have the opportunity to hurt you or anyone else again. He beat you to make himself feel important and strong. Well who's the strong one now? You get the last laugh, the last word and the final say. Your battle is over you won. Now wear your battle wounds as a badge of honor. And never let anyone make you feel shame for being a strong enough to live".

Damn, I was not expecting that. I wonder how much of that was for Lara and how much was for him?

I looked to Adam with awe. The door slightly opened I could barely see her good eye through the slit,"I'm not a warrior, I'm nothing", she said softly.

"No, no, no", my heart hurt for her,"You are someone. And now you can be anyone you want, no one is going to stand in your way", I wanted to stay optimistic for her.

"You're at rock bottom, you decide where you go from there. You can dig yourself deeper down into your pit of despair, or you can start to climb and get stronger", Adam said harshly.

"I don't have anywhere to go", she said opening the door.

"You can take here, we have plenty of room, food for days--"

"Do you want to stay here? Jennifer is fond of you. And you need help, no one's going to hurt you as long as you stay here", Adam said.

"You'll be safe, Lara", I added.

"Why are you being nice to me", she asked Adam.

"Because I have two daughters, and I've been in your situation. Except the son of a bitch who made me his punching bag is still walking around to this day".

Adam would never forgive Rodger for what he did. And I couldn't blame him. Rodger was a terrible person back then, he made all of their lives miserable. But he was trying now to be a good person. Anytime I needed him, he always came running no questions asked.

"Let us help you, Lara", I pleated. She rushed into my arm crying heavy tear. I warped my arms around her gently rubbing her back. "It's okay, you're safe here".

I won't let anyone hurt you, again.

Over Lara's I saw Adam staring at us. I mouthed,"Thank you".

He nodded with a smile.

"Lara, let's get you a room. Once, you've gotten sleep and rest. We can get you some clothes, really anything you need", I said ushering her towards the bedrooms up stairs. I put her in one of the bedroom suites with a double-height ceilings, 60in TV, a sitting area, crystal chandeliers, a terrace and lavish furniture. I tugged her into the king size bed. I sat at the edge of her bed until she fell asleep.