“Sit with me,” he says when we find ourselves surrounded by bright yellow daffodils.
I settle myself between Declan’s legs and back against his chest as he sits behind me. We both look out among the flowers as I sink into his hold.
“Tell me you’re happy,” he says, and I answer honestly, “I’m happy.”
“You know, the first time I ever saw you, I knew I had to have you.” I rest my head against him as I listen to him speak. “I’d never felt that intensely about anyone before. I can still remember how beautiful you looked that night in your navy silk dress and long red hair. I was beyond fascinated by you.”
“And I remember you, not even wearing a bow tie to your own black tie affair,” I tease.
“I know our start was fucked up, but I wouldn’t change it. Because without it, we wouldn’t have this.”
“I’ll never forgive myself though.”
“I need you to know something.” The seriousness in his tone makes me sit up and turn to face him. “I need you to know that I’ve forgiven you, and that hate I used to feel towards you . . . it’s no longer there.”
His words soothe, and when he begins to kaleidoscope, I blink him into clarity. But these tears don’t hurt—they heal. He places his hands on my cheeks and kisses me again.
“You give yourself to me in a way no other woman could. And even if they could, I wouldn’t want them to. I’m not perfect—you’ve even called me out on my flaws a few times, but you’ve never thrown them in my face with ridicule,” he says with gratitude. “And when I tell you that I need you, I mean it. I can’t battle this world without you by my side. You’re the bravest woman I know.”
“I’m not.”
“You are. My God, the life you’ve been dealt, everything you’ve had to endure, and here you are, still fighting. Still trying.”
“Because of you,” I tell him. “Every breath is a choice, and I choose to keep taking them for you.”
“I’m going to give you a long life filled with breaths then,” he affirms before he takes my face in his hands and looks steadfastly into my eyes. “I once told you that the truest part of a person is the ugliest.”
“I remember that night.”
“The ugliest parts of you are your darkest. And trust me when I tell you that I want to love all of your darkest parts.” He reaches into his pocket, and my heart beats a beat I’ve never felt before as he pulls out a ring. “And I promise you that I will love all of your darkness if you promise to love mine too.”
“Declan . . .”
“Marry me.”
And that was the moment all my dreams came true. We sat there in the garden of daffodils as he held that ring, which embodied exactly what we were between his fingers—two people who harbored so much darkness. The cushion-cut diamond was brilliant and so very black with intricate facets, encircled with tiny, sparkling white diamonds that also adorned the delicately thin platinum band.
But it wasn’t the ring, it was him. It was always him. The only one who was strong enough to love me for me. He took all my rot and all my scars and somehow made me feel like a true princess.
My whole life, I was waiting for someone to save me, and he did. I knew in that moment that I would never be unloved, I would never be abandoned, and I would never be left to fight the monsters alone.
“Yes!”
My eyes never leave his beautiful face as he slips the ring on to my finger, and once in place, I throw myself into his arms, knocking him back to the ground. And we kiss like no two people have ever kissed. I pour my soul into his mouth as his hands grip me tightly—we’re so needy for closeness.
But that closeness is severed the moment I hear the snick.
I jump back and turn in an instant to find myself staring down the barrel of a pistol.
“You move, I shoot her,” the man snarls to Declan. But I know Declan isn’t armed right now.
We’re helpless.
I’m frozen in place. I can’t even feel my heart beating anymore.
“This is vengeance. Your father fucked with the wrong family the moment he handed my brother’s name over to the feds sixteen years ago. But because I’m sadistic, I’m going to give you the choice. Either you die or your father dies. You have five seconds.”
I turn to Declan, already knowing my choice as I mouth I love you through razor-sharp tears.
“Elizabeth, no!”
“Don’t hurt my dad. Kill me.”
“Eliz—”
BANG.
I LOOK UP into the brilliant, rich blue sky. There isn’t a cloud in sight as the sun shines down in rays of glittering warmth. I look around to find I’m surrounded by gigantic, lime-green canopies, but when I take a closer look, I realize they aren’t canopies, but instead, blades of grass.
Carnegie?
My eyes dart down to reveal my bright pink accordion body.
I’m back.
“Hello?” I call out, wondering why I’m all alone, and when I hear a rustling in the distance, I call out again, “Carnegie? Is that you?”
“Elizabeth!” he hollers back, but his accent isn’t right. “Elizabeth!”