Chapter 5
The guy in charge looked at me, wide–eyed.
“Nicole, things are tight out there right now. What if someone spots. you and tails you?
“Alaric specifically told us not to let you leave the island alone. Plus, with you gone, no one’s really running the show. What if something goes sideways?”
Alaric once promised me. “As soon as we lock down Seattle, I’ll marry you. You’ll be Mrs. Wynn.”
So to speed things up, I ran turf wars at night, handled all the island’s mess during the day, and basically lived as two people simultaneously.
But if he really loved me, would he have let me wear myself thin? Would he have acted like none of it mattered?
He doesn’t love me. That’s why everything I did was pointless.
“Does Alaric know you’re heading out?”
This guy was among the few who knew what we were to each other. He knew how much Alaric used to value me.
Even though Alaric never showed it to others, he never crossed the line, not once.
Actually, he once beat me half to death in public just to prove he
wasn’t soft.
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Chapter 5
Still, the guy in charge kept hesitating. I was leaving on Alaric’s wedding day, something about that clearly freaked him out.
“He knows. He signed the papers himself.”
The man still looked uneasy, but he finally gave me the speedboat when I pushed.
As I sped off, a cold, salty wind blasted against my face; it finally hit me. I was really leaving.
This was it. The moment I completely betrayed Alaric. I was headed straight for Damian, his number–one enemy. And I was bringing
secrets with me.
I couldn’t help but wonder, “What kind of look would he have on hist face when he found out?”
The thought gave me a sick kind of satisfaction.
As I passed through one section of open water, a massive cruise ship anchored just offshore came into view. A wedding was taking place on
the deck.
A helicopter hovered overhead, raining down thousands of rose petals. The sea surface looked like it was carpeted in red and pink.
The sound system was so loud I could hear it even from far away. Alaric gave Amara an over–the–top love speech.
“Amara,” he said, “you once told me that people like us don’t get to have love in this life. So I kept all my feelings for you locked away. I was scared–scared you’d become my weakness, scared you’d get hurt.
“But now, I just want to tell you. You are my weakness and my armor.
oton are to
“I waited marry you. I’ve been planning this for so long. And now my dream’s finally come true.”
Right. He loved her. He lied to everyone, me most of all, just so he could make this day happen.
Every sweet promise he ever made to me was just a joke.
I turned my head and looked toward the deck. I saw them, standing face to face, picture–perfect, like something from a romance movie.
Alaric’s gaze drifted, and for a second, it looked like he saw me. He froze. “Nicole?”
A sharp stab hit his chest. It was like something deep inside him. panicked, like he was about to lose the one thing he couldn’t afford to
lose.
Amara grabbed his hand with a soft laugh. “Alaric, you’re seeing things. Nicole is probably still fast asleep after drinking that milk you. gave her.”
The doubt in his eyes eased, but deep down, he made a silent promise, “I’ll comfort her properly when we’re alone.
“Even if it takes the rest of my life to make it up to her.”
But he didn’t know. I was already speeding farther and farther away
from him.
“Mr. Wynn,” the priest intoned, “do you take Ms, Wren to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to…” His words were suddenly cut
off.
“Boss! Boss, something’s wrong!”
A panicked guy from the crew came sprinting across the deck,
shouting. “Boss, Nicole is gone!”
