Page 98 of Captive Bride

Tristan

The sky is a cloudless blue.

A faint breeze stirs the grass outside.

It’s the kind of day meant for picnics. The kind meant for laughter and happiness.

Our limousine cuts through the country road, a dark beacon that contrasts harshly with the world outside.

There isn’t any laughter in this car. No happiness, either.

The air in the back on the limo is heavy with the severity of our situation, weighed down by the task that’s been handed to me.

The day of the duel. Kill or die.

More of the same.

Merc and Benny sit ahead, speaking in hushed tones.

Isobel sits beside me, her hand squeezing mine to the point of pain. There’s a tremble in her touch that breaks my heart. Her fear radiates through me.

“You don’t have to do this,” she says now, turning to me.

Her eyes implore me to change my mind. I meet them steadily, my own eyes betraying nothing of the conflict I feel.

“Yes, I do.”

She groans. “No, Tristan. Let’s just leave. We can go anywhere. Just please don’t go through with this.”

I feel a headache forming behind my eyes. My hand reaches up, rubbing my forehead to keep it at bay.

“We can’t run. There’s nowhere they wouldn’t find us, Isobel. Theo will tear this world apart if that’s what it takes to get you back. You know this.”

Tears spring to her eyes, and I do my best to harden my heart against them.

Her pain is real, but so are my words.

There’s no other way. If there were, I would have thought of it by now.

“I love you,” I say. “If I could avoid this, I would, but it’s just not possible. You have to make a choice. I’m sorry.”

Her hand tightens even harder around mine, and I hear her breathing quicken.

Her tears spill freely from her eyes.

“I—I can’t,” she says.

I try to maintain our space, wanting to give her room to decide as she will. At the first sight of her tears, however, my resolve begins to crack.

I move closer to her on the seat, my arm draping across her shoulders to pull her against me.

She doesn’t resist, instead lowering her head to my chest, her tears wetting my shirt where they fall.

“I’m sorry,” I say again, meaning it.

“I love you both,” she sobs. “I can’t stand this!”

My heart aches to see her pain. I kiss her head, breathing her in as I do.

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