Page 74 of The Pakhan's Kidnapped Bride
Give up. Let go. Accept.
I lay in the warmth of his arms for as long as I could, pretending one last time that we had a future together and that everything would be okay.
Then I forced myself to get up, finish packing, and sneak out.
As the driver pulls away, I can’t bring myself to look at his mansion again. I look the other way, towards the ocean, dark and brooding, the surface of the water glittering with misty morning light.
“Castle Street?” the driver confirms, giving me Georgie’s address.
“Yes, thank you,” I mutter.
She’s on a semi-break just before her exams; her classes are halved over the next month or so, so she’s staying in her apartment near the beach instead of on campus. It’s not too far from here.
My brother wants me to go home with him. I know he’ll be annoyed that I’m avoiding him, but I can’t face his questions yet.I can’t face myself yet.Georgie is the only person I can be completely broken around without feeling like I’m a burden in any way. I don’t even know how to explain everything to Kristopher. I’ve kept so much about Emmanuil hidden—my whole life, our whole story together. I need to tell Kristopher everything from the beginning to the end for him to truly understand my choices.
I will, when I’m ready.
When the Uber arrives outside Georgie’s apartment building, she’s downstairs in the lobby waiting for me. I see her through the window, and her eyes light up immediately.
She runs out when she sees me climbing from the car and immediately wraps her arms around me.
She’s wearing an oversized hoodie that saysSan Diego Beach Co.and her cutoff shorts, along with tan Ugg boots. Her long curly hair is pulled up into a messy bun on top of her head. She looks like home. Like safety for my heart.
“I’m so happy to see you.” She squeezes me tight, and I lean into her, unable to hold my tears back anymore now that I have someone to hold me.
She pulls me away to look at my face. “Oh, honey. You’re going to have to explain everything. Come on. I’ll make the coffee and order us some of those chocolate breakfast croissants you love so much.”
I let her lead me inside and upstairs into the warmth and familiarity of her apartment.
This apartment is the best place for me to hide from Emmanuil until I can sort my head out. I hated leaving like athief in the night, but after hearing how he really felt about me, I couldn’t stand to face him and hear again. I know now, I can’t un-hear it.
If I go home with my brother, it might trigger the past on a deeper level for Emmanuil, and he might follow me and go after my brother. I don’t want to put him at risk like that. I let Kristopher take the fall last time, shielding me from Emmanuil’s pain, but I can’t do the same again.
Georgie listens all morning while I pour my heart out, telling her every detail of this crazy situation. She’s shocked when she finds out I was staying with the man from my past this whole time. She’s hurt for me when she hears I fell in love all over again and that it was a ploy of revenge from his side.
She’s patient and understanding, and not once do I feel judged. She never shows any anger that I hid this from her while it was happening.
It’s incredible to let go of everything I’ve been holding onto. The kidnapping, the marriage, the tension, the love, and the heartbreak.
Georgie sets her coffee cup down on the table. My legs are stretched out over her lap, my shoes discarded on the floor near the front door. Her legs are curled beneath her. There is a level of comfort between us that I’ve never had with anyone else.
She truly is the sister I always wanted.
“But, what happens now?” she asks, tilting her head to the side as her eyes study my face.
I shrug and bite my lower lip. “Now I have to move on.”
She presses her lips together and nods thoughtfully. “Is your brother angry?”
“Yes. I haven’t spoken to him yet. I’ll have to face him at some point.”
“Well, not until you’re ready. I’ll try to keep him calm in the meantime.”
“You do have a way with him,” I grin. “When are you two going to admit you’re perfect for each other?”
She huffs. “It’s not like that, and you know it.”
I roll my eyes. “Denial,” I tease her.
