Page 89 of Heartless Sinner

My own emotions betray me like they always do when we’re together. But this time feels different. The walls I’ve built around my heart crumble and I fall for him. I fall so hard I know I’ll never be able to pick myself up off the ground.

I know I did everything I said I wouldn’t do, but I’d rather love him and feel like this for however long we last than not.

Even if he’s the death of me. It would have been worth it.

Chapter Twenty-One

Scarlett

The next few days roll by so quickly I hardly notice them passing. Time slips through my fingers like the fine grains of sand in an hourglass.

People say time flies by when you're having fun. It's true. Each moment sparkles with a vibrancy I'd forgotten could exist.

For the first time in forever, I feel alive and like I can actually live my life in a way where I have fun. My skin tingles with newfound energy, and my heart feels lighter than it has in years.

I enjoyed planning the wedding with the wedding planner and Maria; each decision felt like another step toward something magical.

Fitting my exclusively designed Vera Wang dress added to the fairytale, and I even enjoyed the paperwork Micah and I had to sign.

But most of all, I enjoyed Micah and every second we spend together.

Before I know it, it's our wedding day and I’m at Oheka Castle admiring the grounds.

The ancient stones seem to breathe with centuries of romance with the morning mist curling around the turrets like silver ribbons.

I get there early with Lucy and my entourage of assistants, and I enjoy the scenery until it's time to walk down the aisle. The gardens are alive with the scent of roses and fresh-cut grass, dew sparkling on the perfectly manicured hedges. Then it's like time speeds up.

One moment, my father is walking me down the aisle with Lucy as my maid of honor following in tow. Then the next, Micah and I are taking our vows and exchanging rings.

When the priest announces us as husband and wife and Micah kisses me, the world stills with my heart, everything narrowing to the soft press of his lips and the way his hands cup my face like I'm something precious to him. I don't even care that Eloise is still looking at me like I’m shit.

When Micah and I pull apart, I hardly have time to notice her. My body hums with electricity, every nerve ending alive and singing.

Eloise doesn't exist when Micah pulls me back in for another kiss that has our guests clapping and cheering for us. The sound washes over us like a wave, but all I can focus on is the way his fingers press into my waist, possessive and tender all at once.

Our guests’ excitement is understandable. I've never been at a wedding, either, where the groom kissed the bride twice. The air itself seems to crackle with joy and possibility.

I feel like a princess who's gotten all her wishes fulfilled. Cinderella has nothing on me now. I'm a whole other breed of princess who didn't just get the wishes and the prince.

It feels like my heart is healing, each beat stronger and more certain than the last.

My heart has been so broken and fractured, sometimes I could barely feel it, like trying to hold water in cracked glass. Micah Delarosa put the pieces back together and fixed me.

Things only get better throughout the day. When the wedding is over, Micah and I get on a jet and fly to the Bahamas, the place that's been at the top of my list of dream vacation destinations. The anticipation fizzes through my veins like champagne bubbles.

I could hardly believe it when he told me where we're going. In fact, I still can't believe it.

When I was little, I used to collect postcards and cut out magazine pictures to put it in a scrapbook I reserved just for the Bahamas. The pages were worn soft from countless hours of dreaming. I'd pretend I was there, imagining the warmth of the sun and the whisper of waves.

Even when I got older, I kept doing it. If I saw a postcard or even a TV show with sights that you could see in the Bahamas, I'd always watch it or add it to my collection, each image a promise to my younger self.

Now we're here, and we're going to stay here for the next sixteen days. And the reality is more vibrant than any picture could capture. Micah said he wanted us to have the perfect getaway where we could enjoy each other, and that's what we do.

We spend every day doingeverythingfrom sightseeing the island to sightseeing each other.

We own the sea and the sand and the breeze, spending every chance we get immersing ourselves in the scenery, landscape, and setting as if we're a part of it.

The air itself tastes like freedom and possibility.

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