PROLOGUE
He had been with Elsa the night before, and felt worn out. She gave him what he needed, but she expected a lot in return. She had actually begged him to spend the night with her. He had to remind her every time they were together that it wasn't a relationship. They were just two people getting what they wanted from each other. Maybe it was time to rotate her out of the lineup. He figured he'd check his options when he got back to Boston.
On his way to the car, something caught his eye. The square was still packed with people, but one person stood out: a woman with dark red hair, walking diagonally across the green. There was something about her; a magnetism he couldn't resist. The feeling was so alien that there was a dull ache in his chest which only intensified as she walked further away. He wasn't sure what to do, so he decided to take a picture to preserve the surreal experience. Pretending to read a text, he held his phone up and focused the camera. He would have been satisfied even if he only got a picture of her back, but a second before the shutter clicked, a breeze blew a few strands of her hair loose. She reached to push them from her face, turned and looked in his direction.
Fearing that she'd seen him staring, he ducked behind a newsstand. From there he watched her go into the new restaurant on the corner. The sign on the door said that dinner would be served at eight o'clock. He checked his watch: seven o'clock. Damn. Why was she going in so early? He figured that she must work at the restaurant or that she knew someone inside. In either case, he was going to have to wait an hour before going in after her. He saw a bookshop to his left. If he sat in the front window, he could watch the door and make sure she didn't leave.
On his way to the car, something caught his eye. The square was still packed with people, but one person stood out: a woman with dark red hair, walking diagonally across the green. There was something about her; a magnetism he couldn't resist. The feeling was so alien that there was a dull ache in his chest which only intensified as she walked further away. He wasn't sure what to do, so he decided to take a picture to preserve the surreal experience. Pretending to read a text, he held his phone up and focused the camera. He would have been satisfied even if he only got a picture of her back, but a second before the shutter clicked, a breeze blew a few strands of her hair loose. She reached to push them from her face, turned and looked in his direction.
Fearing that she'd seen him staring, he ducked behind a newsstand. From there he watched her go into the new restaurant on the corner. The sign on the door said that dinner would be served at eight o'clock. He checked his watch: seven o'clock. Damn. Why was she going in so early? He figured that she must work at the restaurant or that she knew someone inside. In either case, he was going to have to wait an hour before going in after her. He saw a bookshop to his left. If he sat in the front window, he could watch the door and make sure she didn't leave.
CHAPTER ONE
Some sacrifices are easy: we give a dollar to the homeless man on the corner; we save the last cookie for our little brother; we give a few hours of our time at an animal shelter. We do this almost unconsciously. We aren’t forced to give, but we do, because we want to help people. We want to be good. We make sacrifices by giving up something we have now for something we want later.
But what happens when we must make a sacrifice that threatens our morality? If we knew in our soul that what we were doing was wrong, would we still do it in order to make something else right?
Would we take the life of one person, if it meant saving countless others?
Would we take the life of someone we love, so we could be together forever?
Would we forgive physical infidelity, if no emotional infidelity was involved?
One year ago, if you had asked me those questions, I would have answered without a second thought.
“No.”
“No.”
“No.”
But things have changed and I have changed. If you were to ask me those questions right now, I know what my answers would be.
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
And you would be horrified, scandalized…until I told you my story.
Let me tell you my story.
But what happens when we must make a sacrifice that threatens our morality? If we knew in our soul that what we were doing was wrong, would we still do it in order to make something else right?
Would we take the life of one person, if it meant saving countless others?
Would we take the life of someone we love, so we could be together forever?
Would we forgive physical infidelity, if no emotional infidelity was involved?
One year ago, if you had asked me those questions, I would have answered without a second thought.
“No.”
“No.”
“No.”
But things have changed and I have changed. If you were to ask me those questions right now, I know what my answers would be.
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
And you would be horrified, scandalized…until I told you my story.
Let me tell you my story.
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