I’d never shied away from the truth, and I wasn’t about to start.
“Yes.” The word rushed out of her on an exhale. “I do.”
She panted as though she couldn’t get enough breath.
Michael stopped pacing. “You do... what?”
Monique glanced up at me and her pain was there in her eyes, clear as day. But she said the words because the spell compelled her.
“Yes... I still want you, Michael. Even though you’re an asshole! And you drive me insane... I can see myself married to you.”
I didn’t look at the warlock but could imagine the triumph on his face, because he turned around and walked away from us.
I smiled at Monique and cupped her chin.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
I ducked my head and kissed her lips. “Don’t be.”
How could I be angry at her for admitting to still having feelings for this guy? They’d obviously grown up together, known each other forever. A childhood crush never really went away. Not entirely.
“Question number three,” Michael piped up, still facing away from us.
I glared at his back. “What else do you want to know?”
He about-faced and stared straight at me as he asked her, “Monique. If you had to choose, who would you pick to marry?”
Monique sobbed a little. My heart broke for her.
“That isn’t a fair question,” I said.
Michael glared at me. “Don’t you want to know?”
No, I didn’t. I trusted fate. Monique was made for Kyle and myself. But we’d only known her for two days. Michael had known her for years. Decades, even. How could we compete against that many years of closeness?
“You don’t understand.” Monique sobbed, her shoulders jerking as though she were fighting restraints. “I can’t choose. I won’t.”
Michael walked closer, staring down at her. “You have to. It’s my third question.”
She lifted her chin and glared at him. “I don’t have to choose, because IknowI don’t have to!”
“I don’t understand.” Michael’s eyebrows knit together.
She turned to me and Kyle. “I didn’t tell you guys the whole story about my future vision.”
“You mean about us, and the babies?” Kyle asked.
She nodded. “All that was true... but I left something out.”
My heart began to thud in my chest, slow and loud.Goddammit. I knew what she was about to say, and it was the last thing I wanted to hear.
“Go on,” I whispered, tightening my fingers into fists and trying to keep my voice level.
She glanced over at the warlock, then back at us. “Michael was there. In our big white house. With the baby. He was there... too.”
I took a step back and inhaled sharply. Sharp needles jabbed at my lungs. “Fuck.”
She nodded, tears slipping down her cheeks. “Yes, I know. I didn’t want to tell you. I was trying to ignore it, hoping it wasn’t true. But I can’t ignore it now. I’m so sorry.”