Page 66 of Castle

Fear splintered inside my heart. “How are we going to do that?”

“Leave that to me. Make sure you bring him to the lake. We recreate this without the others. Devin and Dayana shouldn’t know. The same goes for the little runt. Do not underestimate Chandler for his age; he knows more than he should.”

I had a bad feeling about this.

“Is this going to be safe? I don’t know what you have planned.”

“And it’s best you don’t. Just do what I’ve told you. We don’t have any other choice. Castle needs his wits about him. His memories will only get triggered if he’s exactly in the same situation.”

“I’m worried about him.”

“Me too, but if we don’t want to end up buried in the family cemetery, we have to take this risk.”

“Millie, where are we going?” Castle asked me innocently as I buttoned up his shirt.

“For a little picnic with Theo by the lake. It would be nice to get a breather. You’re spending too much time in your room.” I tried to be as vague as possible and felt extremely guilty for doing this.

He didn’t look too happy.

Another fear entered my mind.

In a hypothetical scenario where Theo’s plan works, what if Castle wakes up, but he’s not the man I thought he would be?

What if he’s actually amonster?

“I don’t…I don’t like being near the lake too much.”

I ran my fingers over his cheek. “I know, baby. This will remove that fear from your head, I promise.”

He stared at me. A pause later, he said, “I…I trust you.”

I felt a stab of guilt in my chest. I was going to betray his trust in me.

“And guess what? I made your favorite food. There’s deviled eggs, lasagna, and mini pizzas. All of them are my recipes. I also made lemonade and lemon tarts for dessert. I told Susan not to worry about the cooking today.”

“I’m so lucky to have you in my life… I wish I’d known you sooner…”

“Now you have me.”

He pulled me close, wrapping his arms around me and covering his mouth with mine in a long sizzling fervent kiss that made me weak in the knees. His lips moved eagerly against mine, his tongue sucking mine as his strong hands tilted my face to get better access. I moaned.

“I love you,” I whispered between kisses.

As usual, he didn’t answer me.

When he didn’t say it back, the disappointment settled in, but I didn’t let it show.

“Let’s go,” I said, turning around to leave.

I walked to the door when I heard it.

“I love you too, Millie.”

I turned around, tears blurring my vision, as I saw a genuine smile on his face.

I walked back into the room. “Thank you…” the fat tears rolled down my cheeks.

Do you even say thank you to someone who said they loved you back? I guess not, but no one had ever loved me, let alone said it.

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