Caspian runs to me and throws his arms around me, both of us shaking.
“Did he hurt you?” Caspian’s voice trembles as he speaks and looks me over.
I close the shirt he ripped around my body. “He barely touched me before I snatched his gun.”
Caspian exhales. “You promise?”
I nod.
“Thank you for coming back and saving me.”
“I didn’t save you; you saved yourself.”
I smile weakly.
“Is Adela okay?”
He nods. “Yes, she’s shaken up, but she’s fine. She will be popping a baby out in six months without a problem.”
I smile. “You knew.”
He nods. “I knew, but it still killed me to leave you here not knowing if you were going to live or die.”
“You made the right decision. I wouldn’t have forgiven you if you had saved me and anything had happened to Adela.”
“I know. It still killed me.”
Tears fill my eyes. I won’t let him see me cry over him again.
“I’m going to go call my brothers. I’m sure they are worried sick. They will send a plane to get me.”
Caspian steps in front of me, stopping me from leaving.
“Your brothers know where you are. They’ve known the entire time I’ve had you.”
“What?”
“They trusted I would keep you safe. If you were with them, you would have jeopardized their lives, and it would have been one of the first places Dante would have looked.”
“I should still talk to them, now that he’s gone.”
“Stop. Stop running.”
I freeze.
“I’m sorry. For everything, but most importantly for breaking your heart. And for not telling you I love you too.”
“What?”
Caspian grabs me and kisses me with everything he has. He dips me, holding me in his arms as he deepens the kiss, his tongue tasting every drop inside my mouth.
When he pulls back, I see the love in his eyes. He loves me, and I love him. This should be our happily ever after. Our perfect ending, but it isn’t. I can’t start our lives together on a lie. He has to know my darkest secret. Only then, can he decide if he loves me.
“There is a reason Dante didn’t admit to killing Clara.”
Caspian steps back, he can sense what I’m going to say.
“Dante may have stolen her, but he sold her to my family. To my father.”