Page 119 of Peasants and Kings
Your past didn’t have to define your future.
“Sterling,” she murmured.
“Hmm?”
“It suits you. Your name. You’re definitely not an Eden.”
“It doesn’t alter your perception of me, does it?” I asked boldly.
“No.”
I studied her for a moment and when I detected sincerity, I nodded.
“You don’t seem shaken,” she mused. “If it were me, I’d be hiding in the broom closet.”
“I was terrified last night,” I admitted. “But I’ve had some time to process.”
Not to mention I was a bit distracted by Hadrian’s honesty about his past.
Ingrid stared at me. “This has never happened before. No one has ever come to the island and attempted…You should leave.”
I arched a brow. “Is this coming from you? Or from him?”
“Me.”
“I can’t leave him,” I said softly. “I won’t abandon him.”
My heart felt like it was breaking inside my chest, cracking open to reveal all the feelings I’d tried to shove down inside of myself since my mother had died.
“You told me he needs me,” I said to her. “Well, as it turns out, I need him. I just didn’t know it.”
“So, you’re staying?” she asked with unconcealed hope.
Her tone gave me pause, and that’s when I realized I wouldn’t just be choosing to stay with Hadrian. I was choosing Ingrid, too. And her family, the island, and this secluded life.
My throat was suddenly tight with emotion I hadn’t expected.
Just when I thought I’d have to flee and find some privacy to let out my feelings, Ingrid changed the subject. “Do you want breakfast?”
I shook my head. “No, thanks. I’m not really hungry. I think I’ll walk on the beach and clear my head.”
I went back to the bedroom and dressed quickly in warm clothes and comfortable walking boots. I grabbed my phone from the living room and then waved to Ingrid before heading out.
The air was cool but calm. Leaves and small twigs littered the sand from the previous night’s storm. My hands quickly chilled and I stuck them in the pockets of my fleece-lined windbreaker as I walked, my thoughts swirling.
Hadrian is a criminal.
But somehow, that didn’t matter to me. I was pondering a future with him. He was all I could think about. He was everything I had never even risked dreaming of, and more magnetic than any man I had ever known. My emotions were running rampant, and I knew I couldn’t risk losing a chance to make a life with him.
As I went over the events of the last few weeks and previous night’s attack, I realized that I couldn’t knowingly keep him in the dark about why I’d needed a new identity. Lying by omission made me feel worse than becoming a Rex girl. He was determined to know everything about me. To keep it from him would sour the purity of our attraction. Every moment I spent in his arms made me feel cherished…loved. He’d shared his gruesome past, and if we had any chance at a real future together, then I had to share mine.
None of my logic or reasoning mattered.
I trusted him, and it was time.
I found a spot in the sand and sat on the beach. A short while passed and I was considering getting up and going inside when I saw Hadrian stalking toward me. He took a seat next to me, moving close enough to touch me, but he didn’t. He brought his legs up to his chest and rested his hands on his knees. His knuckles were raw and enflamed. I wasn’t sure if that had been from the night before, or if it was the result of his interrogation techniques.
How could someone with such a capacity for violence be so incredibly gentle with me?
