“But Iamresponsible for his death. How could they ever forgive me for that?” I pause, holding back tears, shallow breaths escaping rapidly. “How could Ieverforgive myself?”
“You’re not responsible for the choice your dad made. There's nothing to forgive.”He pauses, then a warm sensation begins to flood my senses. It almost feels as if the sun itself is holding me in its arms.“Be kinder to yourself.”
“How can I do that when all I want is to hurt myself for what I’ve done?” My chest tightens “I’ve hurt the people who mean the most to me. Don’t I deserve to be alone?”
“It’s okay to hurt, but it’s not okay to hurt yourself. Especially not forever.”His voice is smooth.“You deserve love.”
As the warmth spreads throughout my body, this world begins to fade away. Again, I take my last breath.
But instead of immediately returning to the club, I’m in a dark environment I don’t recognize. The warmth continues to envelop me. As I’m being embraced, a sense of peace gently streams through my body.
Finally, I have the strength to open my eyes, and instead of my dad’s chest, I’m face-to-face with the glowing outline of a different being. To my surprise, he's funneling warmth into me.
“Now, are you ready to accept it?”
Thirty
Kai
“Accept what?” She gapes at me, brows furrowing.
“You know what.”
She hesitates, biting her lip. I continue holding on to her like she’s my lifeline.
While briefly visiting her mind, I caught memories of dragonflies and laughter. I’d be lying if I said my heart didn’t shatter while watching this unfold.
Dying may have been horrific for me, but at least it was swift. Cleo’s death was painstakingly slow.
And even in her final, brutally painful moments, all she could think about was her family. Not only did she lose her life—she lost her will tolive.
I can’t even begin to comprehend how they did it, but the Archangels quite literally slipped me into her mind to experience this trial with her, like a fly on the wall. In doing so, her painbecame my pain. I felt every ounce of agony that stirred within her, both physically and emotionally.
It all makes sense now. She believes everyone who loves her will get hurt. It’s tearing me apart knowing sheentirelyblames herself for her dad’s death and has been punishing herself ever since. Hell, I hardly know the guy, and even I know there’s no way he blames her for that.
He chose to fall with his daughter. He knew what lay ahead and sealed his fate anyway with zero hesitation. That’s how much she meant to him.
My girl’s always been a logical person, and logically speaking, she is not actually responsible for her dad’s death.
But it’s up to her to accept that.
“I just… don’t understand why he fell with me.” Her eyes fill with water. She squeezes them shut as a single tear escapes, running down her cheek. “Why would he give up everything for me?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” I whisper and stroke her tears away.
She shudders and takes a deep breath. Long seconds tick by before she finally breaks the silence.
“He loved me.”
I nod my head.
“He loved me so much, hechoseto do that,” she says, a hint of realization crossing her delicate features as more tears cascade down her cheeks. “I shouldn’t take his love—hissacrifice—for granted.” She blinks back tears and nods her head repeatedly. “Maybe… Maybe they would want me to find happiness after all.”
“Maybe?” I quirk a brow, not that she can see it at the moment. “No. You undeniably deserve happiness, and they would want that more than anything. You deserve to beloved, Cleo. Without reservation.”
She closes her eyes and nods slowly in acceptance as the world around us begins to fade into shadows and an array of colors.
My heart does a flip in my chest. I grin, then cradle her head and bring it to my chest. She lets out a sob as I hold her in my arms. “Time to wake up, angel.”
