Page 79 of Bastian

So, I find myself at a crossroads trying to figure out how to let go of this hate and stop unloving this man, so I can move on with my life without blowing up both our worlds. Before, I wanted to make him rue the day he made a fool of me, but that was when I didn’t know he didn’t go through with his threat of erasing me from Ella’s memory.

Ugh, and there’s the fact, that little by little, day by day, the cold has lessened inside of me. All because of them and it terrifies me because I didn’t lie when I told Sebastian that love shouldn’t hurt but the love he claims to feel for me does. What I thought was love hurt me to the point I don’t trust it.

Trust him.

Perhaps, I never will.

Taking a sip of the complimentary resort drink, here at the Paradisus, an Ouzo martini, I lean back in the beach chair, enjoying the view.

This place truly is heaven or earth.

The resort is in Akrotiri with the beach right in front of it. In my opinion, a sea view is always appreciated.

Grabbing my phone, I snap a photo of the water and send it to Ellaiza.

Has Sebastian taken her to the beach? I wonder. She would love it, I know it. No more so that she is obsessed with mermaids and the sea.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” A soft voice whispers from my left. Close, too close. And that voice. The husky, flirty tone I know oh so well.

No.

This can’t be happening.

Please don’t tell me the devil followed me here. Of all the things that could happen, but my gut did tell me something awful was nearby.

And something awful is here.

Keeping my black frame Gucci shades on, I turn my head and find Lucifer himself lounging in the beach chair next to me. Dressed in all white, with his cotton shirt slightly opened at the collar, revealing slightly tanned skin.

Oh, this bastard.

This gorgeous, imposing, slightly obsessed bastard.

“Where did you come from? No one said your name three times.” I huff while he just smiles, irritating me further. “I am not even going to ask how you know I was here because we both know you would be so low as to use an innocent six-year-old child to get what you want.”

“I wouldn’t call our kid innocent since she got a pretty good deal out of snitching on you.” He chuckles, and I am so momentarily struck by the view of him that I almost miss how he called Ella our kid. Shit. I always claimed her as mine in my heart but hearing it from his mouth is a whole other thing. Oh, he’s for sure using her against me.

Sighing, I ask. “What are you doing here, Sebastian?”

He shrugs and keeps staring at me as if he can’t look at anything else. As if he doesn’t want to. It makes my skin prickles and goosebumps rise at the same time. The nerve of my traitorous body. “I thought it was time for a vacation.”

“A vacation, huh?” Bullshit. “Don’t you have a circus to run and clowns to serve?”

Smiling at my insult, he replies. “The country can survive a couple of days without me.”

“Huh.”

His blue-gray eyes spark with mirth, taunting me. “What?”

“The fact that your gigantic ego admitted that.” The Sebastian I knew would’ve never admitted that the world, in fact, doesn’t revolve around him and that the country can manage a few days without him there. I agree. There is no doubt about it. Sebastian is one man, and yes, he decides a lot, but the house and congress do too. Somehow, he managed to have both in his pocket.

That’s a first in US history.

Having both the democrats and the republicans backing you up.

And, of course, he would be the one to do it.

“You look beautiful,” The jerk says sincerely.

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