“Without hesitation.”
“Me too.” I answer his question before he asks it.
“Good, because I’m not losing you. They can’t keep me from you forever.” He hugs me tight, and I cling to him and his words. “No one is taking you away from me. I’ll kill anyone who tries.”
ChapterFour
Sydney
“You have a visitor,” Jade says the instant she closes the door to her home behind me.
“I do?” I frown at my private art teacher, wondering what’s up. This is most unusual. Whipping my head around at the sound of approaching footsteps, I gasp when Jared steps into the hallway. Dumping my book bag on the floor, I run toward him with happy tears in my eyes. My boyfriend hauls me into his arms when I crash into him, half laughing, half sobbing. Our lips instantly meet, and everything feels right in the world again. Tears cling to my lashes as I hold him close.
“Don’t cry, babe,” he says when we break our lip-lock. “It’s killing me seeing you so upset all the time.”
“I hate this. I hate being apart from you.”
Pain races across his face. I wait for the accompanying reassuring words, but they aren’t forthcoming today. “What’s happened?” My heart thuds painfully against my rib cage, and my pulse is going haywire. I have a bad, bad feeling about this.
“You have two hours,” Jade says, reminding me we’re not alone. “Not a second more.”
Jared crushes me against his body as he turns us around to face my teacher. “Thank you, Ms. Elliott.”
Jade nods as she walks toward us. “I’ll slip out the back entrance and through my neighbor’s house so your bodyguards don’t spot me,” she says, eyeballing me.
I have no clue how Jared is here or what my teacher knows, but I’m grateful she’s given us this opportunity. “Thanks, Jade.”
“You don’t need to thank me, sweetie.” She brushes her fingers against my cheeks. “Your mama would want me to look out for you.”
I cling to my boyfriend as we watch Jade exit her house via the rear door. Then Jared pulls me into the art room that is conveniently located at the back of the house, overlooking the small, well-maintained yard.
“How are you here?” I ask as he sits on the velvet couch jutted against the wall, pulling me onto his lap. My arms snake around his neck, and I toy with the ends of his hair.
“My mum took art classes with Jade too though she wasn’t as dedicated as your mom.” His hands tighten around my lower back. “She arranged this for me. I needed to talk to you, and this was the only safe way I could think to do it.”
“Has something else happened?” Butterflies swoop into my belly as anxiety presses down on my chest.
Tears well in Jared’s eyes, and I brace myself for whatever is coming.
“We’re moving,” he says in a choked tone.
“What?” I splutter, hoping I’ve misheard him.
“We’re moving to England. To London.”
Tears leak from my eyes as I stare at him in shock. “No,” I whisper, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt. “No, Jared! No! You can’t leave me.”
“I don’t want to.” He swipes at the tears spilling from his eyes. “I screamed at my parents. Told them they couldn’t force me, but the truth is, they can.” He clasps my face in his hands, connecting our gazes. “My hands are tied until I’m eighteen, but I swear to you, Syd, I will come back for you the second I am able to.”
“Why are you moving, and why does it have to be so far away?”
“You know Mum is from London, and she still has family there. Dad has lost control of his business.” A muscle clenches in his jaw. “Your dad has ruined him. The board forced his hand, and Dad had no choice but to step down as CEO. He’s sold all his shares, and he plans to start a new business overseas. They want a fresh start.”
“And to put as much distance between them and my father,” I surmise. “This is all my dad’s fault. I’ll never forgive him.” A strangled sob travels up my throat as I bury my head in Jared’s neck, clutching him with a desperation I feel in every nook and cranny of my body.
“It is his fault, and he’s going to pay,” he says in a clipped tone. “Someday, I’m going to repay him for what he’s done to my family and to us.”
“I won’t survive without you.” I cry against his neck. “How am I supposed to get through each day when you’re on the other side of the ocean? At least if it was someplace in the US, we could find a way to see one another, but this is…this is…” I hiccup in between sobs.
