Chapter Twenty-Five
When I finally walked back toward the suite I’d been sharing with Angel, I felt alive for the first time in forever. Wonder zinged through my veins, making me smile a secret smile I couldn’t quite hide.
I’d had to dispose of my ripped and ruined dress, and instead wore Adam’s bathrobe. His rich, spiced scent surrounded me, wrapping around my skin like a memory, reminding me of him, of the love we’d shared, of what it had meant.
My wings were soft like butter against my back as I pushed open the door, my gaze falling on Angel as she sat on the edge of her bed, clearly waiting for me.
A small smile tugged at her lips as she assessed me.
“About time,” she said, voice teasing but warm.
“I was beginning to think you’d never come back.
” She leaned back, stretching her wings through the gaps in her dress.
They gleamed in the lamplight, her expression filled with quiet purpose. “It’s my turn now,” she said softly.
I blinked. “What do you mean?”
She rose gracefully to her feet. “I mean, it’s my turn to find my future, my own love story.”
I sucked in a breath. “You want to leave?”
Her smile faltered just a fraction. “I think—I know—I do,” she said firmly. “Besides, I’ve overstayed my welcome here. You and Adam...you’re meant to be together. And three’s a crowd.”
“What about the doctor?’
She giggled. “He’s comfortable and warm, but I need more than that. I want the dangerous lover, the man who’d light up the world for me. I want what you’ve found,” she confessed.
I nodded. “I understand.” I stepped closer, then reached for her hands. “But where will you go? How will you get there?”
She waggled her eyebrows, her wings fluttering up and down. “Likely to some distant, isolated beach. Wherever the wind carries me, really.”
I gaped. “You can glide now too?’
She winked. “I can fly, Bella. I’ve been strengthening my wings, building muscle and stamina. I don’t need Adam’s helicopter anymore. These wings will give me the freedom I—“
“If you’re seen you’ll be hunted down.”
She nodded. “Which is why I’ll fly only at night.” Her hands tightened around mine. “I’m going to be fine, Bella. I’m a survivor, just like you. But I have to forge my own life and I can’t do that by staying here, shadowing yours.”
I pressed my wings tighter against me, trying to ignore the ache in my chest. “We’ve been through so much together. I can’t imagine my life without you now.”
Her hands released mine. “You’ll be fine,” she said quietly. “You’ve got Adam—and you’ve got you. That’s always been more than enough.”
I swallowed hard. She was right. But knowing she’d go still hit like a blow, and for a heartbeat, I wanted to beg her to stay. To promise me we’d face the world together. But freedom wasn’t something that could be restrained, not even by a powerful friendship like ours.
She folded her wings gracefully behind her. “I’m so proud of what you’ve achieved,” she said, her eyes bright. “You’ve lived your life, Bella. Faced hardships and conquered them. But most importantly, I can tell you’ve finally admitted how you really feel about Adam.”
I nodded, then said softly, “Yes, I have.”
She smiled brightly, and I could only watch as she turned toward the door, her head high, ready to step into the unknown.
And somewhere deep in my chest, something stirred.
Hope.
I’d found mine. Against all odds, against every instinct that had screamed at me to run, Adam hadn’t quit and I’d finally chosen him. Not because I was trapped, not because I had nowhere else to go, but because I wanted him.
Because he saw me—truly saw me—and loved me anyway.
My freedom wasn’t about running away anymore. It was about choosing to stay.
If Angel could spread her wings and fly toward her future, then maybe, just maybe, there was hope for every experiment still trapped. For every GM still waiting for their chance at freedom. At choice. At love.
I pressed my hand to my chest, my heart beating steady and sure.
GM’s just like me.