CHAPTER 27 #2
I stare at him, eyebrows lifting in disbelief. “They’re all... They’re all here? For me?”
I point to my chest, utterly baffled that I could’ve caused such a stir, that all these people have turned up just to see me.
“Yes, for you, Seb,” he says, exasperated but smiling. “Who else? Will you please accept, just once, that people care about you? If only you knew how easy it is to love you…”
I fall silent, unsure I’ve heard him right.
But then he says it again, this time without hesitation.
“Yes. Love. I nearly lost you, sweetheart, and I can’t keep it in anymore.
I love you. My beautiful, brilliant pianist. I love everything about you, with all that I am.
I love you so much that the thought of losing you…
” His voice breaks. “I don’t think I could’ve survived it. You’ve become part of me.”
He pauses, searching my face. “And if you’re not there yet, that’s okay. I’m not saying this because I expect anything back. I just had to say it. Before it tore me apart.”
I don’t think, I just move.
IV be damned, I reach up, grab his face with both hands, and kiss him with everything I have. It’s messy, desperate, breathless, but it feels like oxygen after nearly drowning.
When we finally pull apart, our foreheads still touching, I whisper against his lips, “What did you think I was going to say, you idiot?”
I smile, tears in my eyes.
“I love you, too.”
We both burst out laughing, a giddy, cathartic release after everything we’ve been through. I rest my forehead against his, and for a few quiet moments, we just breathe each other in, trying to absorb the weight of the past few days.
“If you’re… if you’re up for it,” I begin, the words tumbling out before I can second-guess them, “I’d like to look for a place with you.”
It feels like letting go of a weight I’ve carried for too long.
“I’m not trying to rush anything or put pressure on you,” I add quickly. “But I’ve realized something, I don’t want to go back to Paris. I want to stay. Here. In England. With you. With all of you… if you’ll have me.”
His eyes widen, stunned, but only for a second. Then he covers my face with kisses, laughing through the tears.
“Yes, love. A thousand times, yes! I wanted to ask you myself, but I didn’t want to make you feel like you had to choose something so big just for me.”
“This isn’t just about you,” I say gently, though I smile as I add, “Even if you are the biggest reason.”
He laughs again, and my chest feels lighter than it has in years.
“Our friends matter to me too,” I continue, voice soft but steady.
“And more than anything, I feel like this is where I want to rebuild my life. France gave me shelter. It helped me grow and become who I am, but I’m ready now.
I feel stronger. I know what I want. I’m no longer ashamed of who I am, and I want to live my life, all of it, with the people I love. ”
Remi cups my face in his hands, his eyes shining.
“Then let’s do it,” he says. “Let’s build that life, together.”
We kiss sweetly, losing ourselves in each other, in the perfection of this moment.
“I’m so proud of you, Seb… I still can’t believe you’re mine,” Remi whispers, lifting my free hand to his lips.
He kisses my palm, then presses it gently to his cheek.
There’s a flicker of something uncertain in his eyes, something almost shy, as he adds, “There’s one thing we still need to talk about… if you feel up to it.”
I stroke his face and nod. “Okay. If you’re talking about the police report, Dr Warren already mentioned it. I haven’t made up my mind yet. I think… I just need a bit of time to process everything.”
“I understand, baby. I’ll stand by whatever decision you make. I just… I want to be honest about how I feel.”
“Of course. You know your opinion matters to me.”
He exhales slowly, his hand tightening slightly around mine.
“As hard as it is to admit, I don’t think I ever really knew Maddie.
That day… I saw something in her I’d never seen before.
The way she looked at you, it wasn’t just anger, it was something darker.
I never imagined she could carry that kind of hate. ”
He pauses, his expression tight. “When she pushed you down the stairs… Seb, I swear, if I hadn’t been so focused on keeping you alive, on getting help, I’m sure I would’ve strangled her for even laying a finger on you. I’ve never felt anything like that before.”
His voice drops to a whisper. “What I’m trying to say is… I think you should report her. She’s not the person I thought she was. And she needs help. Real help. But she also needs to be held accountable for what she did to you.”
“Remi, love… I understand how you feel, and I’m grateful for your honesty.
I promise I’ll think carefully before I make any decision.
But right now, let me thank you for saving my life.
Dr Warren said that if you hadn’t acted so fast…
if you’d tried to move me before the paramedics arrived… things could’ve been so much worse.”
Remi leans in, resting his forehead against mine, and I feel the weight he’s still carrying. The grief, the fear, it hasn’t left him yet.
“Don’t even say that, Seb,” he murmurs, voice cracking. “You don’t need to thank me. If I’d been more alert… if I’d seen what Maddie was capable of, none of this would’ve happened.”
“No.” The word bursts out louder than I meant. “Remi, don’t do that. I went after her. I saw she was furious. But the truth is, no one could’ve predicted what she did. Not you. Not me. And honestly… I don’t even know if she meant to hurt me. It might have been a terrible accident.”
“Do you know what happened to her?”
He shakes his head, sorrow clouding his eyes.
“No. After you fell… she just ran. No one’s seen her since.
Anne and Noah tried calling, but her phone is disconnected.
If she’d at least checked in to ask how you were, or shown even the slightest bit of remorse, I might believe it wasn’t deliberate. But right now…”
He trails off, and I don’t have the strength to press him. A wave of exhaustion crashes over me, sudden and all-consuming.
“Please, Remi,” I whisper, “let’s not talk about Maddie. Not now. Tell me about the others… Are they really all here? At the hospital? I still can’t believe they came… for me.”
Remi lets out a soft chuckle, though his face is still etched with exhaustion. “Oh, believe it. Ask my mum, she’s had half the village camped out in our house for three days. Now that you’re finally awake, I’m sure she’s itching to reclaim her living room.”
I smile faintly, but the worry still lingers. “How did they take it?” I ask quietly, already bracing for the worst.
Remi catches my meaning instantly. He strokes my cheek, his touch warm and steady, and offers me a reassuring smile.
“Well, Ian and Francis already knew,” he says. “And Noah and Jamie admitted they’d figured it out on their own. Apparently, we weren’t nearly as discreet as we thought…”
That makes me snort, barely, but then my voice drops again. “And Anne?”
His expression softens further. “She was surprised, I think. But Seb, when I rang Francis that night, I wasn’t thinking straight. I was just trying to get help; I didn’t stop to wonder how anyone might react. Honestly, I didn’t expect them all to drop everything and rush down here… but they did.”
He pauses, eyes searching mine.
“Because they’re our friends. And they love you. When they arrived, we all hugged, even Anne. No one was angry or confused about us. Not after what happened. Not after what Maddie did.”
I nod, a sense of peace slowly settling in now that I know our friends are aware of us and still care.
“There’s one thing I don’t understand,” I murmur. “Why did Maddie show up at your house?”
Remi sighs, his brow tightening. “They all knew I’d gone down to Cornwall, officially to visit my family.
Everyone except Ian still thought you were in Stratford.
Anne told me Maddie called her a few days ago, and said she wanted to surprise me.
She thought that if she showed up in person, she could talk me into getting back together.
Anne, meaning well, told her I was in Sennen Cove and…
” He trails off, jaw clenched. “You know the rest. That morning, Maude forgot to lock the front door, and Maddie just… walked in.”
The tension around his mouth deepens, and I can see him fighting the memory.
“Remi…” I lean in and press a soft kiss to his lips, light, steady, reassuring. And in that quiet touch, I feel him finally begin to relax, some of the weight he’s been carrying since I woke up melting away in the warmth between us.
“Let’s let them in,” I whisper, brushing my fingers along his jaw. “Before I fall asleep again or the doctors drag me off for tests. I want to see our friends. And your family.”
Remi suddenly shifts, his expression turning uncertain as he avoids my gaze.
“There’s something I haven’t told you yet…”
The moment I see how nervous he looks, I reach out instinctively, my voice gentle. “Whatever it is, we’ll face it together. I trust you, Remi. You know that.”
He nods slowly, still clearly struggling with the memory.
“When the paramedics took you to the hospital… You were in critical condition. The first people I called were your parents. It felt like the right thing to do, and honestly, I still believe it was.”
My breath catches. I can feel my pulse in my throat as I wait for the rest.
“I found their home number in your phone. Your mum answered. And despite everything that had happened... she refused to come. She called it a ‘silly domestic accident’. Those were her exact words. She even said she could understand Maddie’s reaction.”
He clenches his jaw, fury flickering behind his eyes. “I don’t need to tell you what I think of that woman. I was about to hang up, but then your dad got on the line.”
That part makes me freeze. Mum’s reaction doesn’t shock me anymore. But Dad’s… that I wasn’t expecting.
Remi watches me closely, then continues, more softly now.
“He asked me to explain everything again, calmly. Then he asked which hospital you’d been taken to. Five hours later… he was here.”
I raise a hand to my mouth, stunned. Dad’s never stood up to Isabel, not once.
I’ve spent my entire life watching him follow her lead, spineless, silent, never questioning a word she said.
If this really is the first time he’s gone against her…
I don’t know what to make of it. I don’t know if I can trust him.
Remi seems to read my thoughts before I can even voice them. He strokes my hand gently, his eyes steady on mine.
“I know he hurt you, baby,” he says softly.
“He didn’t protect you when you needed him most. But…
when he got here, he rented a room near the hospital and waited.
Every single day. He hasn’t left since. I don’t know him well, we’ve barely spoken, but what I saw was a man drowning in guilt. Completely broken.”
I swallow hard, my head spinning.
“I… I can’t face him. Not yet,” I whisper.
Remi nods, his grip never faltering. “I understand, baby. You don’t have to do anything until you’re ready. But maybe… just think about it. Maybe give him the chance to explain. When you feel safe enough.”
“I will,” I promise quietly. “Only because you asked me.”
Then, after a moment, I glance at the door and add, “But now… can you let the others in?”
He hesitates, visibly torn. “Seb… you’re exhausted. They’ve waited three days. They’ll understand if you need more rest.”
“Please…” I say, giving him the full puppy-dog eyes, I know he can’t resist.
He sighs, already surrendering, and leans in to kiss my forehead. “All right… But only for a few minutes! And not all at once, I don’t want to give the nurses a heart attack.”
Remi’s voice carries that familiar mix of exasperation and affection as he disappears toward the door. I watch him go, my heart full, so full it almost hurts.
Despite the nausea, the pain, the bone-deep exhaustion, I feel something else, something stronger.
Gratitude.
Fierce, overwhelming gratitude for this life I almost lost… and for the people waiting just outside that door. People who care about me, truly care. Friends who showed up without being asked. Emma, Maude, Ben. And Remi. Always Remi.
I still don’t know if I’ll ever be able to give Maddie the benefit of the doubt, or whether I’ll find the strength to offer my father a second chance. But one thing, at least, is clear to me now: I finally have a family.
Emma, Maude, Ben, and our friends, they’ve walked into my life and made a home there. I know they’re here to stay. I feel it as surely as I feel my own heartbeat.
But above all, there’s a quiet, unshakable truth resting deep in my chest, solid and warm, like a lighthouse in the dark: the family Remi and I are building isn’t fleeting. It’s real. It’s enduring.
What ties us together defies logic. It’s as strange and beautiful as the quantum theory Remi holds so close to his heart.
From the very first moment our eyes met, we were no longer separate. We became two bodies bound by a force invisible and infinite, one that no distance, no circumstance, no universe could break. Just like the particles in Entanglement, what’s between us has no neat explanation.
We’ve only begun to trace the edges of the theory. But I believe, with everything I am, that we’ll find the proof.
And we’ll get there the only way we know how, hand in hand, eyes on the stars.
Entangled.