Page 81 of Make Me Yours

TWENTY-SEVEN

KAI

Kai,

I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have given in to my uncle’s demands. I should have fought for us. I should have told you the truth about my engagement to Elijah, and confessed it was all part of Stephan’s ultimatum. But I didn’t.

I was angry at you for refusing to see what we could have been. I was hurt that you didn’t think giving us a real shot was worth it. Most of all, I was scared I’d made it all up in my head and you really didn’t feel the same.

Regardless, I’m sorry.

I opened the box. It's a beautiful Kai. It’s everything I wanted to hear from you, everything I’d hoped you felt.

Why couldn’t you tell me this when I begged you? Why couldn’t you accept you felt this way when I needed you to? It’s too late now.

He’s coming after me. I know he is, and there is only one thing I can do to make sure you are safe. I’m leaving, and I’m begging you to let me.

Elijah is helping me escape. We’re leaving Hillcrest, and I’m not sure it’ll ever be safe to come back. Don’t come looking for me, you won’t find me.

I want you to know I’ll always love you. I’m holding out on hope that what you told me that day in my room at the beach house is true.

One day, we won’t have to pretend anymore. I promise it will come true, but for now, all that’s left to do is continue to play pretend.

I’m not afraid to make that promise to you because it is one I can keep.

It’s you Kai, it’s always been you, it will always be you.

Love Always,

Stella

My vision suddenly becomes blurry, and I can’t seem to stop blinking my eyes. It’s a rare sensation, one I can’t remember feeling in years. I almost second guess myself, looking up into the dark autumn sky to see if the clouds are the ones to blame for the wetness falling along my cheek.

Yet there isn’t a cloud in sight.

Tears. Unlikely and unwelcome, tears slip out of my eyes, dripping along the piece of parchment I hold tightly in my hands as I read it over and over again. For two weeks I’ve held this letter in my hands, going over every word etched in black ink, bleeding into the fibers of the paper, second guessing their meaning, and staring at the damn ring in the box, wondering if I’ve misinterpreted what her feelings for me are.

For two weeks, I’ve been unable to come to a conclusion. Pathetic. That’s what I am. Losing damn sleep over a girl who may or may not be gone forever.

It was her goodbye, farewell, good riddance.

“We’re heading out now, son.” Zeke’s voice snaps me out of my distressed state, and I quickly wipe my face with the back of my palm, hoping Zeke doesn’t catch what I’m trying to hide. I can’t remember the last time I cried, let alone let someone witness it.

In a flash, I’m back in character, ready to end this whole damn mess once and for all. For too long I’ve had to sit back and do nothing while the grownups handled business. Yeah, those were Zeke’s exact words.

Zeke, Kane, Elijah, and I, along with Detective Morrison, Judge Pearce, and a handful of Federal Agents, have been putting together the perfect ambush. Something they’ve apparently been working on for almost two years, which cannot be ruined by my impulsivity and lack of self-control.

I’d like to see how they'd react if it were the woman they loved who was in danger.

Yeah, love. I love Stella Silver. I love the shy, naive girl I met just over a year ago, who snuck under my skin and embedded herself into my heart. A lifeless organ that was sitting in my chest serving its purpose, pumping, and beating with no other intention than to keep me alive.

And she did it without even trying. Because I’ve realized I’ve loved her since the first day I laid eyes on her and saw the same broken, tragic look I saw every day when I looked in the mirror. Alone, damaged, helpless.

Stephan was still on the run, which meant Stella was still in grave danger. It was obvious to everyone he’d go after her next. He had nothing to lose, and she was his only ticket out.

Elijah was with Stella, keeping her hidden and safe at some cabin a few towns over, and all else was set for the Feds to not only arrest Stephan for kidnapping Jade and the twins, but for the manufacturing, and trafficking of Tran-Q and KISS, along with a long list of other crimes I won’t get into.

Zeke, along with Kane who suddenly grew a conscience and decided to turn his life around and work for the “good” guys, made a deal with the Feds and Judge Pearce, granting The Order and The Cobras full immunity as long as they stayed out of the drug business. I guess catching Stephan for all the crimes he’s been committing for over a decade, including embezzlement, money laundering, and fraud, is enough to appease them, and make Elijah’s dad a real contender for a seat on the Supreme Court.

---