Epilogue Sebastian
Marfil slept the whole way to Newark Airport. This time I wouldn’t be with her on the flight to hold her hand during takeoff and landing. But it wasn’t only that I had to leave her—I had to let her go.
I spent over half an hour seated beside her in the car, waiting patiently for her to wake up. In front of us was Marcus Kozel’s private jet, where everyone was waiting for me to give the okay for her to get on the plane that would take her a thousand miles away.
Marfil began to stir beside me, and I prepared myself for whatever might happen.
She slowly opened her eyes, and they shone with love as she saw me beside her.
That gleam had driven me crazy for months and would torture me every second until I could see her again.
But then she seemed to remember the past hours, the recent events, and a dark shadow crossed her face, erasing any sign of happiness, hope, or relief at seeing me.
“Newark Airport,” I said, afraid to meet her gaze. I didn’t want to know what was going through her mind, how scared she must be. The fact that I couldn’t do anything to change it made me want to kill someone, to kill everyone and escape somewhere far away with her.
“Did you drug me?”
I locked the car doors before she could take off running. I needed to have a few minutes with her. I needed to make sure she understood what was going to happen.
“I just gave you a stronger sedative; I needed you to be rested…”
“And you needed to be able to bring me here by force.”
She turned to open the door, and finding it locked, she glared at me with her beautiful eyes. She was angry, but more than anything, I could tell that she was terrified over everything that had happened, how everything had gone to hell.
“Open the fucking door, Sebastian.”
“I will. I just need you to understand why I’ve brought you here.”
“I’m not going to get on that plane.”
I sighed and turned to fully face her. “It won’t be for long…”
“I’m not getting on that plane,” she repeated with enviable resolve.
“It’s waiting to take you to Miami. It’s the only place you’ll be safe, at least until we know how we’re going to proceed…”
“I’m not getting on that plane!” she screamed as she pulled at the door handle. She started crying, and I felt repulsed with myself.
“Marfil, listen to me!” I shouted, realizing she was starting to have a panic attack. I gripped both her hands in mine, forcing her to meet my gaze. “It’s only for a little while. I’ll get you out of there.”
“Why should I believe you? You’ve been lying to me since the day I met you.”
“You have to believe me because I’m in love with you.
I love you. Do you hear me?” I said, holding on to the back of her neck and pulling her toward me until my forehead rested against hers.
Her breathing hitched, and my heart sped up in response.
“If there were anyplace safer for you right now, I would take this car and drive away with you. But there isn’t, and I’m not going to let them kill you, do you understand? ”
Marfil blinked several times, trying to clear her eyes. Seeing the fat tears on her cheeks pained me deep in my soul.
“You’re lying again…” she whispered, shaking her head.
“Why would I lie to you when I could be killed for feeling the way I do about you?”
She looked up to meet my gaze, and I felt something deep in my stomach.
“Why didn’t you tell me before?”
“Because I hoped it would go away. Because I was trying my best not to fall in love with you, Marfil. But the more I resisted, the harder I fell.”
She closed her eyes, and I wished I could run away with her, hide her, and tell her the whole truth. But I didn’t do any of that. I simply waited.
She took a deep breath and looked up at me. “I’m not going to say it back to you, Sebastian. You won’t hear those words come out of my mouth… Never again.”
That sentence was like a dagger to the heart, but I expected nothing less. I knew Marfil Cortés well enough to understand that she would never forgive me for what I was about to do.
“You’re as beautiful and cold as ivory… but I will always be ebony.”
“It doesn’t matter what we are. You will always be the man who left me in the hands of a criminal.”
Without my realizing it, she’d reached behind me to push the button that unlocked the doors and opened hers. She jumped out and took off running. I managed to catch her several yards away. As fast as she might be, I would always have longer legs.
“Let me go!” she screamed, thrashing in my arms.
“Don’t make this even harder, Marfil!”
She tried to bite my arm, and I held her tighter so that she couldn’t reach me. “I’m not going!” she sobbed.
“You have no choice…” I said quietly in her ear. She gradually seemed to accept the inevitability of the situation and stopped moving. When I saw that she had stopped resisting, I released her and turned her around to face me. “I’ll figure out a way to fix everything. Just give me some time.”
Marfil was breathing hard, and it pained me to see her eyes filled with tears. I couldn’t help but pull her toward me and embrace her. She resisted at first, but then she slipped her arms under my jacket and hugged me back.
A second later, she had pushed me away and was aiming my gun directly at my head. I cursed aloud and carefully raised my hands in the air. Marfil was crying, and her hand was trembling as she tried to get used to the weight of the gun.
“Ma—”
“You’re going to take me home…”
“I can’t…”
“Find a way!”
We stared at each other for what felt like hours.
“You’re not going to shoot me,” I said quietly, calmly. I wasn’t afraid for me, but for her. Seeing Marfil wielding a gun was my worst nightmare turned reality. “Give me the gun, beautiful.”
She blinked back tears so she could see better. Then she gripped the gun in both hands. “I’m not going to Marcus Kozel’s.”
I took a step forward.
“Don’t move!” she shouted, but I ignored her and continued advancing. “Sebastian, if you keep…”
I stepped toward her until the gun pressed into my chest. I looked her directly in the eye. “You’re not going to shoot.”
It took Marfil only a few seconds to completely collapse. I took the gun from her and pulled her to me. This time she actually hugged me, and I had to muster up all my self-control to keep from breaking down then and there, just like her.
“Have faith in me, Marfil,” I said into her hair. “I’ll get you out of there, I promise.” I looked her in the eye, trying to communicate a thousand things and hoping that she’d be able to read everything I wanted to transmit with my gaze.
Seeing that she didn’t respond, I kissed her desperately. Who knew when I would see her again.
“One day you’ll understand everything, Elephant. I promise.”
“Stop making promises you can’t keep.” She stepped away, looked at me with so much pain, and then turned toward the plane that stood waiting for her. She took several deep breaths before she spoke again. “Goodbye, Sebastian.”
I watched her walk away, her long dark hair whipped up by the wind. She didn’t look back. She didn’t falter when she reached the plane. She was leaving, and there was nothing I could do about it.
I took out my phone and sent a quick, bitter message. It was done. There was no turning back. I had just let the woman I was in love with step into the jaws of my worst enemy.
When you sell your soul to the devil, falling in love with an angel can only lead you straight to hell.