He reaches for my hand, “Alena, I?—”
“Leave.” But I pull it away, gently tugging at his ring. “Please leave and take this with you.”
“No.” He pulls back, refusing. “My ring is yours. My life. My heart. You can’t give them back; they belong to you.”
I lift my chin. It’s so wet with tears, they itch my skin, seeping into the cracks of my being. Like glue, they strengthen something inside me. Something that’s been broken for too long.
“No,” I vow, “you don’t belongwithanyone until you belong to yourself. And I don’t know who that woman is, but I’ll find her. Alone.”
What gives me hope? Is that I watch it dawn across Loch’s aqua eyes. All his love and the tender moments we’ve shared. Telling him…
If you want someone to come back to you.
Let them go.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
LOCH
Irony.
I think she’s Fate’s twin.
That day on the beach, when I beat the shit out of that boy who bullied Alena, she ran away crying.
If she hadn’t, I would’ve broken the rules then. I would’ve spoken to her. Held her. Told her how beautiful she was. But I never got the chance, so I wrote her a letter that night. I had so many feelings for her, I had to get them out.
And I kept it. That’s Fate.
The irony?
I need the letter now, to prove to Alena our love isn’t a lie. It was written on the page years ago. I just didn’t call it that. I was too young to know better.
I do now.
It’s crumpled in my hand, along with a bouquet of coneflowers for her.
For three days, I’ve sat on the front porch of the resort condo. The resort where we’re supposed to be married tomorrow. The condo where Alena’s in bed, crying, but she won’t see me.
She spoke to my mom. I know, in time, Alena will forgive her.
Vale hasn’t left Alena’s side; I’m sure her forgiveness came swiftly for her best friend, as it should.
She’ll even forgive Nash. He’s flawed, but he’s her father, and he loves her. He won’t leave the condo next door, trying to win Vale back at the same time.
But me?
I meant it when I told Alena I’d always come home to her. Even if it’s to sit in the doghouse outside her front door.
It swings open. The entourage of my brothers, minus Nash, ambles out. They’ve been inside, pleading my case to Vale.
And to Alena, I hope.
“Remember.” Sire slaps my shoulder. “Love is patient. Love is kind.”
“No,” I grit out. “Love is making my ass numb, sitting on her front porch, and it’s fine. Just tell me how she is.”
“Like shit, I imagine,” Jace answers. “But Vale won’t let us talk to her. She’s a fucking lioness guarding Alena’s bedroom door.”
