Page 12 of Fatal Fantasy

“It’s a long story, and I don’t have much time.” I break our embrace, taking a step back to admire the beautiful woman I’ve missed, but I immediately sense something is off.

She looks exhausted, like she hasn’t been sleeping, the sparkle long gone from those baby blue eyes I used to call home.

Her skin even looks sad, the usual glow missing from her olive complexion.

“What are you doing here?” She asks, taking my hands in hers, the subtle movement sending shivers down my spine – even her touch makes me weak.

“I needed to see you, Carter. I’ve wondered if you were okay everyday for the last few months, and I just … couldn’t stand it any longer, being away from you.”

“I’m okay, Tyson.” She stares at the ground, not making eye-contact, but I can feel her bones tremble as she speaks.

Something about her isn’t right, this isn’t the fearless, made-of-stone girl I once knew, instead, she’s hollow, like there isn’t an ounce of humanity left in her body.

“You lied to us, and I need to understand why. You left us, and I can’t go another day without knowing why.” I assert, tilting her chin until our eyes meet again, and she flinches, like she’s afraid I’m going to hit her.

I’d never do such a thing, and she knows that, but the fear that lives behind her irises is new, something I’m worried is eating her alive.

“Where’s Jasper?” She changes the subject, frantically searching around the room as if he’s going to pop out from behind a fake plant.

“Back in Jersey, plotting all the ways he’s going to kill you. I couldn’t let him do that yet, not before we had the chance to talk,” I say, and she lets out a deep sigh, the tension only slightly easing up on her muscles.

Again, she averts my gaze, keeping her eyes low and her words barely above a whisper, but I lift her delicate frame, placing her on the table so she can relax without me towering over her.

“Since you’re here, you obviously know my real name, and all about my father?” She muses, and she’s hit the nail on the head, as I’ve spent all my time learning each and every detail of her family history.

“Yes,” I answer, drawing a short breath while I wait for the explanation I trekked across the country for.

“He sent me to Jersey to wipe you guys off the map. If I did, I’d come home and run the Cassini Family, but I swear to you, Tyson, I fucking fell in love with you two. Everything I ever said was true, you don’t have to doubt that my feelings were real. I was absolutely going to run away with you both, and when we were clear, I was going to confess everything. I’ve never loved anything until you, and Jasper.” She twists her fingers along her other wrist, like she’s nursing an injury but I keep my protective side stuffed down, focused only on the answers I need.

“But why did you leave?” I ask, relentlessly questioning her to keep this line of communication open before we run out of time.

“My father orchestrated everything that night, and when his men came for me, I had no choice. I’m just as much a prisoner to him as you are to your fathers.” She hits me right in the gut, a harsh reminder of what else was lost that night, and even though I hated my father, he didn’t deserve to die the way he did.

“Our fathers died that night, too,” I say somberly, and her body flinches, a sadness cloaking over us as I deliver so much information to her at a rapid speed.

“What? How?” She raises her voice higher than I’ve heard thus far, a look of shock on her face that I determine as genuine.

Unfortunately, I have no way of knowing what kind of life she’s been living here in California, but she seems sheltered, like any information she has is just a bread crumb, unaware of the full story, especially considering she thought I was dead.

“Masseria's home was hit at the same time. My dad died, but Mr. Masseria is in a coma,” I inform, and she drops her head in her hands, our silence deafening in this room.

It takes a few minutes, but rather than pushing her to talk, I let her process all of this bomb I’ve dropped on her, waiting until she’s ready.

“I’m so sorry, Tyson. I had no clue any of that was going to happen, I promise you I was trying to save our lives that night. Before my father’s men took me, I made sure you got medical attention, that was my condition.” She looks up at me, tears welling in her beautiful blue eyes, but I can’t stand to see her so sad.

“I know, babygirl. It’s what saved my life,” I whisper, pulling her close until her head rests on my chest, and I gently stroke her hair, just how I know she likes to be comforted.

“Are you here to kill me?” She mutters, a certain perkiness in her voice that I haven’t heard yet, and I cock my head to the side, wondering why she’d even think I was capable of something like that.

Even if I came here, and she confirmed everything Massi believes to be fact, I’d still walk away without laying a finger on her.

My heart lives inside of her soul, carrying it with her as she walks this Earth, and I’d rather go through another round of near-death surgeries than even think about her dying.

“No, Carter. I could never harm a hair on your head.” I pull her in close, but my eye catches something sparkly, and I realize she’s wearing a ring on her finger. “What is that?”

“Oh, um, I’m engaged. My wedding is in twenty-two days,” she confesses, and my breathing stops, the air being stolen from my lungs as I recover from arguably the worst thing I’ve ever heard.

Tilting her chin once again, I force her to look into my eyes, to give it to me straight as she explains the one thing that could have me wishing I died that night, rather than surviving just to see her married off to someone else.