“That was a stupid question,” he murmurs.“Of course you’re not okay.”He lets out a hard sigh, and I feel the tears begin to well up in my eyes.
Spilling over, I let them fall, not realizing that I haven’t really cried or mourned the loss of what was supposed to be.I’m trying to see beyond the wrecked building, beyond the damage and the thoughts of Isaac.
I’m trying to remember how much energy and love I put into this and how Miles was with me every step of the way, and I smile through the tears.A reminder that despite all of this, there’s still a building standing there, waiting for me to fix it.
This is a place I grew to love long before it ever became mine, and I will not give up on it.It’s what brought Miles and me back together, healing all of our broken pieces with a dream we shared.
“It’s not a stupid question.It shows you love me, and you’re scared and worried about all of this.”I flick a hand in the direction of the mess in front of us.“But I’m going to be okay.The bakery will be okay, and us, Miles, we’re going to be the greatest love story this little village has ever seen.”
“Fuck, Daisy,” Miles whispers into my hair.“You are the strongest person I’ve ever met, and I am so damn proud of you.”
“Thank you for being here for me.For taking me home after all this and for—I don’t even know anymore.For just being everything I need you to be,” I say, holding him tighter.
“Always, Daisy.Always.”
We head around back to our little cottage that was luckily spared by Isaac’s wrath, but I’m sure that was intentional.Had I been in the house, he would have tried to burn that down instead.With him, it was always about trying to hurt me.
But just as we’re walking into the house, my phone starts to ring.It’s late, and I’m guessing it’s Alana or Sage checking in, but when I fish my phone from my pocket, I see a number I don’t recognize.
“Don’t answer it,” Miles barks, taking the phone from me.He answers it instead.
He doesn’t say anything for a few seconds, my heart racing, the adrenaline spike from earlier is back, and I can feel my palms start to grow sweaty as heat creeps up my face.
“Hello?”he rasps out in a harsh question, and I can hear a voice on the other end, a muffled tone.“Oh, yeah, hi.Sorry, here, let me get Daisy.”
Handing the phone back to me, he whispers, “It’s the police officer.”
“Hello?”
“Hi, Miss Carmichael, it’s Officer Benson.I’ve been assigned to your case.I have some good news for you,” he says, and as if my heart wasn’t beating fast enough already, it kicks it up a few notches.
“Okay.”Trying not to get my hopes up, but all I really want for tonight is for Isaac to be caught.
He left the bakery as soon as the sirens started, fleeing just like I knew he would and avoiding being caught.Not only did he violate the restraining order, but he tried to kill Sloane and me.
“We were able to locate the suspect,” the officer pauses, and I can hear papers rustling in the background, “Isaac Meyers, and we have arrested him for violating the restraining order.He will be held until tomorrow when he sees the judge, but we hope to have more evidence against him.The investigators will be out early tomorrow to look over the building, and I currently have a team going over the security footage.”
My words are caught in my throat, an overwhelming sense of relief washing over me, but I’m still so angry.
How could someone who claimed to love me do something so evil, so destructive and so vindictive?All I want is for it to come back on him, for Isaac to face the consequences of his actions, because in the end, breaking up with someone isn’t a crime, but what he did is.
“Thank you,” I mutter, not sure what else to say.This day, this night has taken everything I have left to give.
“We’re sending an officer out tonight too.We’d like to have someone on the scene to make sure there aren’t any break-ins.We’ve found that after an event like this, people are curious.”He says that last part with a hint of sarcasm, letting out a soft chuckle.
“Thank you,” I reply again.“I really appreciate it.”
My emotions are a mess as I end the call with the officer.I want to drive over to the station and beat the fuck out of Isaac, but I also want to crawl into my bed and cry.I want to be grateful that no one was hurt, but I also want to wallow in the very real fear that we could have been.
More than any of this, I want to forget it ever happened.I want to wake up tomorrow and have this all be a terrible dream.
“They found Isaac,” I tell Miles, leaning into him as we walk into the quiet stillness of our house.Nothing has felt better than being here, the solace and comfort it brings.
Miles tenses against me, and he blows out a slow breath.He feels the same sense of relief, and if I had to guess, he’s cycling through the same thoughts I am.
If given the opportunity, Miles would threaten Isaac within inches of his life, possibly beating him bloody.But that isn’t the way to solve this.It never has been, and we both know that.
“Thank fuck, because I wasn’t going to sleep tonight,” Miles admits, closing the door and locking it.“I think we both need a shower and to sleep for the next twelve hours.”
