He stared into my eyes, and I saw he was at war with himself.
“Yes. I trust you,” he replied.
My heart raced. If I could get him to admit he trusted me, would I get him to change his mind about sending me away? What did all of this mean?
“I just want you to be safe,” he continued.
“I know that. I know you will keep me safe. But if you make me disappear, I will lose my identity. I’ll lose my life.”
“And I’ll lose you,” he added.
I was pretty sure I hadn’t breathed at all. I couldn’t do anything other than wait for him to say something more. But Tristian was still thinking, still working it out in his head.
“I don’t want to lose you,” I whispered.
Tristian pulled me closer, planting a kiss on my forehead.
“You’re never going to lose me, Elsie. I’ve made some pretty bad mistakes in my life, but trusting you isn’t one of them. I’m sorry for everything I’ve put you through.”
“You’ve saved me from everything going wrong in my life. You’ve just been…it’s been difficult for both of us. I understand why you said and did the things you said and did.”
“No you don’t, and I want to explain everything to you.”
“Then I’m all ears,” I said.
Tristian looked over his shoulder at his family. Most of them had gathered at the front door of the house, watching us.
“Not here. We need some time to ourselves,” he replied.
We went to his apartment and I was happy to be back in that familiar space. I was also happy to be completely alone with him because we had a lot of talking to do.
Tristian brought beers over from the fridge and we sat on the couch together, drinking them. He told me everything he had to say, and I was in shock when I heard what had happened with Christie eleven years ago.
I was always aware that he had something holding him back from me—but I never expected it to be this complicated.
All I could do was listen to him and let him have his say. I saw how deeply it had all affected him. As a child, it’d left a scarring impact on him. I had barely made it through my own imprisonment in one piece as an adult. I couldn’t even imagine what he had felt, especially given everything that happened with Christie.
“I just couldn’t get past it. I couldn’t let myself fall for you because I was constantly reminded of what happened the last time I trusted a beautiful girl,” Tristian explained.
“I’m glad you went and spoke to her again. It must’ve been very eye opening for you.”
“It made me realize it was all an illusion. None of that was real. But what I feel for you, and what we’ve experienced together…this is real,” he said, reaching for my hand.
He pulled me closer and kissed me. It was a soft slow kiss, lasting a decade. Neither of us wanted to let go…I just hoped we wouldn’t have to.
“So what happens now? Have you changed your mind about what you’re going to do with me?”
“I’m not going to make the decision for you, Elsie. It’s your life. I don’t want to control your life the way Aldo had tried to control it. You’re right, everyone’s right. It has to be your choice.”
“I don’t want to go anywhere you’re not going to be,” I said quickly. I wanted to make it clear to him. I hoped it was clear enough.
“Then you’ll stay here. With me. I’m going to work extra hard to end Aldo. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe from him.”
I leaned in for a kiss again. I couldn’t stop smiling. I couldn’t stop blushing as he held me.
“I’m in love with you, Elsie,” he said.
All I could do was stare at him in surprise. How was it possible? That a man like him loved a girl like me?
“I love you,” I gushed as we kissed again. I reached for his cock, wanting him inside me. I wanted him to claim me. For real this time.
Epilogue
Tristian
After I took Elsie back to my place, we went underground for an entire week. I sent one text to Nolan to let him know we’d be MIA, and after that, I turned my phone off.
We kept all the windows and doors locked for the entirety of that week because the only thing either of us wanted to do was to be alone with each other.
We only ate pizza that we ordered twice a day. With milkshakes and fries. We drank loads of beer and had sex on every inch of my apartment. There wasn’t one part of Elsie that I didn’t know by now.
But more than anything else, I loved when she sat in my kitchen at the table. With her legs folded under her, smiling as she sucked in mouthfuls of strawberry milkshake from a paper cup. When we first met, we said very little to each other—but now, we spent every waking minute talking.
We had an entire lifetime’s worth of information to share, personalities to dissect and uncover. She wanted me to know everything about her, and I wanted her to know me completely too.
If we were going to do this thing together—life—then we had to do it right.
I wasn’t going to make the same mistakes I made the last time I thought I was in love with someone. This time, I’d jump in with my eyes wide open. And I liked everything I saw about this girl.
I knew it would still take her a while before she moved on from the deaths of her parents and her friend, Libby, but I’d help her get there. I’d help her stop blaming herself for what happened.
And most importantly, I’d make sure Aldo was dead. If not today, he’d be dead soon.
I wouldn’t let my woman spend the rest of her life
