“Then why would you trip?”
“Because…” Her eyes break away from mine and sweep across the ballroom. “Because there are a lot of people staring at us. If you haven’t noticed, we’re the only people dancing.”
I draw her a little closer to me. “Let them stare. They could probably learn a thing or two.” Emery gives in, nestling her head on my chest. “It’s just you and me right now, darling. No one else.”
“But there is someone else, isn’t there?” She lets out a labored breath as we sway together. “I love dancing with you, Quin,” she whispers. “I-I love doing everything with you.” She pulls away slightly, glancing up at me through nearly damp lashes, and I swallow. “What time will the jet be ready?”
“Don’t do this, Emery,” I plead as the music intensifies. “There’s a solution. There is always a solution.”
“You’re such an optimist, Quin,” she says. “It’s one of my favorite things about you. You have this ability to…to make me genuinely believe that everything will be okay. That everything will work out.”
“Optimism can be learned, Emery,” I say. “It’s not an inherent quality that you either have or you don’t. It’s not something unattainable.” I tilt my head. “Things can work out, darling, but you must believe that they will.”
“Damon once called me a nihilist,” she reveals, gaze distant. “Did I learn that, Quin? Did I do this to myself?”
My grip around her waist tightens. “No, I don’t believe so,” I say, scanning her skeptical features. “I…” My heart aches, but I keep a steady tone, pushing down the pain of loss. “I-I once knew a patient who received a very devastating terminal prognosis. They…they were going to die, Emery. They had less than eight months to live. But-but instead of waiting quietly for death, that patient made a deliberate choice to embrace life with a sense of joy, with a sense ofhope.”
Emery swallows searching my gaze, and I think she knows.
I continue, voice raw, almost cracking. “They ended up living two years longer than the prognosis. This patient extended their life through hope, Emery. They didn’t give up. They didn’t stop fighting.”
A pained look crosses her weary features. “Your mother?”
I bite back tears. “Yes, my mum.”
“I’m sorry, Quin,” she whispers, squeezing my hand a little bit tighter. “I’m so sorry.”
We pause in the middle of the dance floor as the music softens, the song ending. So many endings. “You can’t control your circumstances, Emery, but you can control the way you react to it.” I tuck a strand of stray hair behind her ears, cupping her warm cheek as I say, “If your eyes remain closed, darling, you will only ever see darkness.”
“What if I’m too scared to open them?” she whispers, and Ifeelhim approaching us. “What if the light blinds me?”
“It might.” I tense as his cologne permeates around us. “But you will adjust. Just like you’ve adjusted to the dark, you’ll adjust to the light. And eventually, it’ll become your new normal.”
Emery swallows, gaze snapping over my shoulder.
“Can I steal you for a moment?” Damon asks. I keep my back turned to him, refusing to let him faze me. “I’d like to show you something.”
Emery looks at me, and I nod. I’ll never chain her, never cage her.
“Fine,” she mutters to Damon, slipping out of my hold. “Just for a moment.”
And then she disappears into the darkness she’s called home for far too long.
THE GOLDEN ORB
EMERY
“Where are you taking me?”I ask.
Damon remains suspiciously quiet as we weave through the villa toward the suites.
I perk up a brow as he leads me down the hall in the direction of his room.
“Damon…”
He sighs. “I’m not planning on seducing you, Emery.” As we reach his room, he punches in the key code and motions for me to step inside. I hesitate. I’ve been doing a lot of that recently. “Please. I promise I won’t try anything. I want to show you something.”
With a resigned breath, I step through the threshold, arms crossed over my chest as he circles around me, slipping into the closet. I hover anxiously in the middle of the room as he retrieves whatever the hell it is that he wants to show me.
