Our dreams have adjusted as we’ve grown, but the one thing that’s remained the same is it’s Kane I want in my life. Not need.Want. I could live without him. The years without him were hard, but I survived. Now I get to have the privilege of saying I choose to have him instead of clinging to him because I’m not strong enough to stand on my own.
We both agree we can’t raise a child in an unhealthy environment. Between the days we struggle to get out of the maze made of our minds, the ones where we feel the injustice of Rowan still existing, it wouldn’t be fair to raise a child. Our life works for both of us.
I’ve never been religious, but I hope there is something after this life. Some magical place free of evil where our babies are safe with Kane’s parents. I hope they know how loved they are.
Kane lifts me with his right arm under my thighs, wrapping his left around my waist. He’s tried multiple prosthetics, and he hates the way the liners feel. Laying my head on his shoulder, I ask, “Did you go back to be refitted?”
“Fuck it. They’re annoying.” He kisses my hairline as he carries me inside. “I don’t need to change myself to make everyone else comfortable.”
The Kane I first fell in love with constantly did that to his own detriment. It’s taken pain, more heartache than we could’ve imagined, but we’ve grown. Scarlet and Daigon have given him the details of every prosthetist they could find, even gottenhim appointments to be fitted for a mechanical one. He’s more comfortable like this, which is the thing that matters.
Setting me down on the sofa, he cups my jaw, tilting my face up. “Relax while I get your cereal ready, pretty girl.”
I’ve already seen the steaks in the fridge, so I know what’s on the menu like every single time he decides to have an impromptu at-home date. I flick through the channels while pots and pans clatter in the kitchen. The news never interests me when they don’t report on the truly evil things in this world. Especially after Helene’s island was found, but as I try to skip them, the reporters voice blares, “Two months after a fire on an uninhabited island in the Channel Isles, emergency services have found 184 dead bodies in different states of decay.”
I drop the remote as the rest of the world falls away at the sight of the half-charred island.
“Some of the remains have been identified. The most notable is Monica Edric. The heiress was presumed dead with the rest of her family after their yacht capsized off the coast of Cannes. However, after further testing, her remains show she died at the age of twenty-nine, fifteen years after the Edric yacht tragedy.”
“Who is she?” Kane asks from behind me, making me jump.
“I don’t know. Some heiress Helene kidnapped, I think,” I say, my voice sounding like it’s underwater as the other anchor provides more details.
“From a journal found near her remains, it’s believed during her time on the island, Monica had five pregnancies. While emergency services bravely battled the raging fire, they came across a cemetery filled with warnings and dolls, where Miss Edric had hidden more journals detailing the events she’d witnessed. We’ll go to our correspondent on the scene for more information after the break.”
DELILAH
THREE MONTHS LATER
“Inow pronounce you husband and wife,” the officiant says as we stand in the middle of our private beach under a blanket of stars.
Kane’s smile stretches from ear to ear, but he cups my cheek, waiting for permission to obey his vows to do everything right this time.
“Hurry up,” he whispers to the officiant.
Who promptly announces, “You may kiss the bride.”
Scarlet’s whistle screeches through the air, making me laugh into my husband’s mouth as he wraps his arm around my waist to tug me closer. He winds his arm tighter around me, mumbling, “I love you,” like a prayer.
I lightly press against his chest when my niece’s gagging breaks through Scarlet’s cheering. Seraphim is probably going to make me pay her for witnessing something as horrific as a kiss, but she has a warm smile on her face as she hugs her mom under the glowing candles surrounding the few guests.
Sasha sits further back in an elegantly fitted suit and an equally elegant mask resembling a lace balaclava as she shyly waves at us. I wrap my arm around Kane then place my hand on his chest, but he’s still looking at me so he doesn’t notice her until I whisper, “She’s here, baby.”
He snaps his head to the side, like a meerkat, searching the three rows of seats. The joy is multiplied when he sees the woman who became his sister. I keep myself tucked to his side when he attempts to move his left arm to grab my hand. It helps hide how tense I am at the feeling of the plug moving with each step. Yet his don’t falter when he realizes he can’t do it. The therapy with Daigon and Ruby has helped his phantom limb syndrome, so the instances where he forgets are mostly when he’s overwhelmed.
He simply kisses the top of my head, whispering, “Thank you, pretty girl.”
There’s no veil to dim the feeling of his lips. Not after the first time I was forced to wear one. There’s also no white wedding dress. Instead, I chose a grey one because that’s where we found each other. Black and white thinking filled our lives with hate, understanding that the grey line where they meet holds the truth gave us everything.
Sasha sighs as she lifts out of her seat, shoving her hands in her pockets. I’ve become accustomed to her mannerisms during our video calls, so I don’t take offense.
Kane is like a kid on Christmas as we stop in front of her. “Are you ready to meet my girl properly, crazy pants?”
She blinks up at him, a gentle smile hiding behind the thin lace over her face as she whispers, “There’s no salt this time.”
I don’t know what it means but he laughs, agreeing with her. “Yeah, there’s no salt.”
The lace doesn’t hide her eye color like the other masks, so now with Kane standing between us, I could think they weretruly siblings. His pale green eyes and her vibrant emeralds complement each other, bringing out the light in their eyes.
