“You don’t have a bad bone in your body. You couldn’t hurt a fly, let alone stab someone with a knife.”
I start crying, relief and guilt crashing together. I apologize through sobs, "I'm so sorry, Blake. I’m so sorry for duping you. I lied to all of you. Frances almost died tonight because of me. I swear I didn’t know her plan. I was so naïve and stupid, I actually believed her when she said she just wanted a vacation away from her family to get her act together.”
The words tumble out, my body shaking in his arms. The farmhouse floor is hard under us, the metallic tang of blood mixes with the acrid smell of gunpowder and hangs in the air like a cloud as he holds me tight.
“My mother told me, but a part of me always knew,” he murmurs. “Right from the start, from the moment you walked into my study that first day. Everything about you was different. Your smell, the way you moved, the warmth in your eyes, your laughter, the softness in your voice, the way you were with Freya, the way you reacted to me, the way you kissed, the way you made love. Everything about you was different. It was like night and day. I just didn’t want to believe it. You are nothing like her. Nothing at all.”
I am still in shock, but his words wrap around me like warmth in the cold night.
Chapter Fifty-Five
BLAKE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0pdQU87dc8
-Everything I do, I do it for you-
My mother's words had hit me like a freight train back at the hospital. Her voice was weak but steady from the bed, with monitors beeping softly in the background.
"Carolyn tried to murder me. That girl that was in here with you is not Carolyn. She's an imposter, but... I want her, Blake, and I think you do too. Go find her and bring her back," she said, squeezing my hand, her eyes pleading.
The fluorescent lights overhead made everything feel surreal. Of course, I knew. I always knew. How could I have not? The changes, the warmth. I knew, but I didn’t want to acknowledge the truth. I wanted to carry on living in the dream. But the dream has been shattered and now she is definitely in danger. Feat boiled up instantly, hot and raw. I needed to find her, whoever she was, and save her.
She has disappeared as though she never even existed.
“I’ll find her,” I swore and bolted out, my phone in hand. I pulled up the Find My app. Our phones were linked for safety, a habit from when Freya was a baby. And there she was, a dot moving toward Riverhead in the suburbs.
I run out of the hospital doors, and jump into the Bentley. The tires screech as I race out of the parking lot. The drive is a blur of dark roads and vineyards. My hands grip the wheel so tight my knuckles are white. My thoughts race. Why did she run away without even trying to talk to me? To explain? She isn’t Carolyn, but … what was the deal she cut with Carolyn? I needed to find her fast, to get some answers, but more importantly, to make sure Carolyn didn’t get her hands on her first.
Because her life is now in danger. If Carolyn was willing to kill Frances, she wouldn’t hesitate to kill her body-double especially, now the imposter had the goods on her.
The farmhouse appears out of the dark, old and weathered. Gravel crunches under the tires as I pull up. I switch my headlamps on. I need the element of surprise. I get out of the car and start running towards the house when I hear the shriek of pure fury. Carolyn.
My blood runs cold as I rush to the door, pushing it open. I take in the fight between the two women and the gun on the floor. I have seconds to act. I pick up the gun and pull the trigger.
And now, Carolyn is dead. And I’m holding her imposter tight in my arms. Wet tears soak my shirt.
Her words tumble out, distraught, emotion cracking her voice. Her body shakes, and I hold her tighter, my hand slowly rubbing her back. "How... how did you know where to find me?" she asks, her voice breaking. Her hand grips my arm tightly as she faces me.
"Mom told me. She suspected that you were meeting the real Carolyn or running away from our lives forever, so I checked my Find My app, and it showed me you were headed here.”
She nods slowly, then looks up at me with wet eyes. “You haven’t asked what my name is.”
"I know your name, Juliet," I tell her. My voice is soft, the confession spilling out like it has been waiting.
She starts crying even harder. “I’m sorry, Blake. I’m so sorry. Look at the mess I’ve created in your life.”
I pause and understand now why I chased her here. Why I am never ever going to let go of her. “There is nothing for you to be sorry for, Juliet. My life was a barren desert until you came along. Life was so intolerable that I buried myself in work. I’m in love with you, Juliet. I can’t imagine life without you,” I say. “So no matter who you are, you’re going to come back with me, and we’re going to figure this out together, okay?”
A smile breaks through. Her hand rests on my face, her fingers trembling.
"I’m in love with you too," she whispers.
I kiss her then, soft and lingering. There is a dead body next to us, I’m now a murderer, and there is a whole world of problems ahead, bad publicity, I can kiss the Tokyo deal goodbye, but none of it matters.
All that matters is I’ve got her. And she’s mine.
Chapter Fifty-Six
