Chapter 50
Elowen
Everyone in this house thinks my man is the villain, and that too without any proof.
I take a long shower to wash away some of the exhaustion, then crawl into bed. But sleep won’t come.
I know Salvario isn’t behind the crash—I trust him. Still, I’m anxious. Something pricks at the back of my mind, and I can’t name it.
My window slides open with a soft rasp.
I jerk my head toward it. Salvario climbs in, his eyes scanning me.
A smile touches my lips. His mirrors it. I sit up, pressing my back against the headboard. He comes to me and sits close.
He cups my face and kisses me tenderly. I melt into him.
“You look better today.” His voice is soft. He smiles.
I pout. “Of course I’m better. Everyone was—”
A loud knock cuts me off. I nearly jump out of my skin.
I look at Salvario, eyes wide. “Did someone see you come in?”
He shakes his head, frowning. I check the clock. It’s nearly midnight. Who could it be?
Another knock.
I get out of bed, grab his hand, and pull him toward the bathroom. But before we reach it, the door explodes inward, slamming to the floor.
I react on instinct and step in front of Salvario.
Security floods the room. Leo stands at their center, a humorless smirk on his face.
“Salvario De Falco.” He steps over the threshold.
I press my back against Salvario’s chest.
“Don’t you dare touch him, Leo.”
“Just wait a few minutes, little sister. You won’t be so eager to defend him.”
Leo looks over my head. “The man no nation could find—caught so easily. Not fair.”
I glance up at Salvario. He’s staring Leo down, his face tight with tension.
“Let’s go.” Leo’s eyes flick to me. “I hope you’ll cooperate.”
Guns cock. I spin around, every weapon in the room is trained on Salvario.
I grab Salvario’s arm.
“Leo, I swear, you’ll have to go through me first.”
“Don’t be so dramatic, Wen. I’m not going to hurt him.” He drawls, then turns and leaves.
We follow. The men follow us.
“Nothing will happen,” I whisper to Salvario.
Salvario
We’re led into a large living room. Alessio sits on the couch. Zloban stands beside him.
“Dad!”
She leaves my side and runs to him, perching on the edge of the couch, gripping his hand.
“Salvario means no harm. There’s no reason to hold him at gunpoint.”
Alessio’s gaze shifts from his daughter to me.
“Will you tell her, or should I?”
My jaw tightens.
He looks at her again.
“He killed Alex.”
She shakes her head. “He didn’t.”
Her trust twists in my gut. It makes me sick.
“He did, Princess.” Alessio’s voice hardens.
She looks at me, then back at her father.
“He didn’t. He told me himself.”
“He planted a virus in your phone. Hacked the system through it. Manipulated the flight data and caused the crash.”
Her lips part. Nausea rises in my throat.
She turns to me slowly. The hurt in her eyes stops my heart cold.
But then it fades.
She licks her lips. Shakes her head.
“That’s not true.”
She rises and hurries to me.
“This isn’t true, right?”
I don’t respond.
She reaches for my clenched fists.
“Tell me, Salvario. I’ll believe you. Tell me my father misunderstood. Tell me you didn’t crash the plane. You didn’t kill him. You promised me, Salvario.”
Tears roll down her cheeks.
“Say something. Please.”
“I lied.” The words leave me hollow.
“I lied to you.”
Her wide eyes go silent. All the light in them drowns.
She releases my hands and stumbles back. Her father moves to her side, wrapping an arm around her. She keeps staring at me, her eyes asking a thousand questions, all with the same answer.
I betrayed her. Because I’m weak. I can’t fight my own demons. I’m a loser. A fucking loser who broke the most precious, most fragile thing he ever had. Who snuffed out the light in the girl who lit up his world drowned in dark.
“As much as I want to kill you myself, I won’t do that to my daughter.” Alessio’s voice is cold.
“Tell me, Princess. What punishment do you want for him?”
She’s silent for a long moment, just staring at me with those empty eyes.
Then she whispers, “Let him go.”
She looks away, blinks, and wipes her eyes.
“I never want to see him again.”
She turns to her father.
“Don’t hurt him.”
He nods.
“You can’t agree to that, Dad. He killed Uncle, that’s unforgivable.” Her brother’s voice thunders, but I don’t look at him.
My eyes stay fixed on her. Hoping to meet those warm honey eyes again. Hoping they’ll tell me she didn’t mean it. That she didn’t mean what she said. That she doesn’t hate me.
It never happens. Not once does she look at me again. Her face stays rigid, like she’s holding herself back from breaking down. She doesn’t want me to see her crumble. I’m not worthy of it.
I don’t hear a word of the conversation between Matleon, Zloban, and Alessio.
“I never want to see him again.”
That’s the only thing echoing in my ears.
Men pull me backward. I don’t even have the strength to fight. But when we reach the door and she still doesn’t look at me—I struggle.
I need to go back to her. Back to my world. My life. My Elowen.
“But she doesn’t want you now.” The boy smiles. “You never deserved her anyway. Forget her.”
They drag me out and shove me into a car. I stare at the mansion, hoping she’ll come out.
She doesn’t.
The car pulls away. The mansion disappears from sight.
“She hates you now.” He’s smiling.
“Why are you talking to me?” The men glance back when I mutter, then look away again.
“We’ll be free now.” He sounds happy.
Minutes later, the car stops. Gunfire erupts around it. The men exit. One drags me out, twists my arm behind my back, and shouts at someone.
“We’ll kill him! Stop shooting!”
The gunfire stops, but the next moment, the man holding me is shot in the head, and chaos erupts again, gunfire breaking out from both sides.
I remain in the middle, unmoving, indifferent to who wins, who loses, whether I live or die.
Living while knowing she hates me is death anyway.
A man approaches and grips my shoulder.
“Boss, let’s go.”
I turn. Robin.
I follow him to another car and sit inside.
I regret that death didn’t find me.
But it’s only a matter of time.
Elowen
The moment they drag him out, I collapse to the floor. All the strength leaves my body. I press my forehead to the cold floor and wail.
It hurts so bad.
How could he do this to me? How could he lie to my face? How could he use me this way? Was I ever anything more than a tool for his revenge? Did he ever really love me, or was that a lie, too?
Dad pulls me up. I cling to his chest, sobbing.
He strokes my hair. “I’ll kill him.”
“Leo—tell Travis to bring him back,” he orders.
I shake my head, lifting it from his shoulder.
“Please, Dad. No.”
Dad ordered his men to take him somewhere. I don’t know where, but I have to make sure he doesn’t hurt him.
He wipes my face. His own is set in hard lines of anger.
“I’ll make him regret this.”
I hold his palm against my cheek.
“Don’t hurt him, Dad. I love him.” The tears start again.
I love him, even if he never loved me.
I can’t stop loving him, no matter how much it kills me. No matter how painful it is.
I gave my heart to a monster, and it will always stay with him.
Even after he shattered it.