Chapter Forty-Five
Indi
I pull back from Caleb’s kiss, completely breathless, and look into his eyes.
They are exactly as I remember them.
Filled with love.
Devotion.
As though, despite everything that’s happened between us, nothing has changed.
“Caleb, I…”
“Indi, I tried to let you go.” His voice is rough with emotion.
“I wanted you to be happy. I wanted you to have the normal life I couldn’t give you.
I had no idea you’d be here today, and I’m sorry I punched…
” He glances toward Mick. “… your boyfriend. But the thought of you with someone else drove me insane.” He cups my face again, his thumbs brushing gently across my cheeks.
“I tried to move on. I even tried dating, but every time I did, I ended up thinking about you. Crying over y-you.” His voice breaks.
“I love you so fucking much, Indi. I just wanted one normal thing today. Just a coffee. Then I walked in here and saw you.” His forehead rests against mine.
“I need you to let me explain everything. Just give me one chance.”
Only then do I realize the entire coffee shop has fallen silent.
Every customer is watching us.
Every staff member has stopped working.
I’m standing in Caleb’s arms while Mick is still on the floor, being held back by Staked’s security, and reality crashes over me.
I gently step away. “You can’t just walk in here and kiss me, Caleb.”
He nods immediately. “I know. I’m sorry.” Then he looks towards Mick. “And… I’m sorry I punched you. Jealousy’s a bitch.”
Mick slowly climbs to his feet, staring at Caleb as recognition dawns across his face. “Indica…” His eyes widen. “Your ex is the lead singer from Staked?”
I nod. “Yeah.”
“Shit.” His gaze shifts between Caleb and me, and I watch the realization slowly settle over him. “But…” His voice catches. “You told me you loved me.”
Caleb looks at me. “You love him?”
“No,” I answer quickly before looking back at Mick.
“Not the way you deserve.” His face falls.
“I tried,” I whisper. “I wanted so badly to move on. You were kind to me when I needed kindness, and you never asked for anything I couldn’t give.
” I swallow hard. “I wanted to fall in love with you, Mick, I really did.”
“But you didn’t.”
Tears sting my eyes. “No.”
The single word feels cruel.
“I’m so sorry.”
Silence hangs between us.
Then Caleb speaks softly, “So… you’re not over me?”
I meet his eyes.
The answer has always been there.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be over you.”
Relief floods his face before he pulls me into another embrace. “I’ve missed you so much, my sweet Indi.” The moment his arms close around me, something inside me settles.
For months, I’ve felt as though I’ve been drifting through life, pretending to be okay.
Now…
I’m home.
“Indica.” Mick’s voice brings me back to reality. “You expect me to be okay with this?”
“Don’t call her Indica,” Caleb mutters. “She hates it.”
I shoot Caleb a warning look, and he immediately raises his hands in surrender.
“Mick…” I step toward him. “You deserve someone who can give you their whole heart.” My voice trembles. “I wanted that person to be me.” I shake my head. “But I can’t keep pretending.”
He looks away, rubbing his bruised jaw. “You’ve broken my heart.”
“I know.”
He exhales slowly before meeting my eyes again. “Please leave.”
The words aren’t angry… they are defeated.
“And take your rockstars with you.”
I nod. “I’m truly sorry, Mick.”
He turns away before I can say anything else, and I watch him disappear into the back of the café, while guilt settles heavily in my chest. “He deserved better than what I gave him,” I murmur.
Caleb slips his fingers through mine. “I know.”
I glance toward Aston and notice the red-haired woman tucked comfortably beneath his arm.
I smile. “Who’s your friend?”
Aston grins. “Long story.”
“I’ll tell you later,” Caleb says with a smile before looking back at me. “There’s a lot I need to tell you.”
“If you’ll have me back…” I squeeze his hand.
“I’d like to hear all of it.” Emotion shines in his eyes.
“I’m tired of running, Caleb.” The words leave me before I can stop them.
“Every time something went wrong, I ran.” I smile sadly.
“I don’t want to do that anymore.” I look into his eyes.
“Being with you isn’t easy.” I laugh softly.
“But being without you…” My throat tightens. “That nearly destroyed me.”
He brushes a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “I never stopped loving you, but I honestly thought you were better off without me.”
“I wasn’t.”
He lets out a slow breath. “I’d rather fight beside you than spend another day without you.”
A smile finally breaks across my face. “I don’t want another day without you either.”
He smiles back. “And Sasha…”
I shrug. “I don’t even care anymore.”
He laughs quietly. “Oh, trust me. You’re going to care once I tell you what really happened.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Over dinner?”
“I’d love that.” He leans down and kisses me again, this time softly.
“I hate to interrupt…” the redhead says with an apologetic smile, “… but someone just pulled out their phone and started filming. I think it’s time we disappeared.”
I glance around the café and notice several people watching us. “Good idea.”
Caleb laces his fingers through mine, and together we hurry outside with Aston, the redhead, and security following close behind.
The cool London air hits my face, and I glance back through the café window.
Mick is standing exactly where I left him.
Watching me.
The guilt returns instantly.
“Hey.” Caleb gently hooks a finger beneath my chin until I’m looking at him instead. “Don’t do that to yourself.”
“I hurt him.”
“You did.” He doesn’t pretend otherwise. “But if he hadn’t been working here today, we never would’ve found each other again.” A slow smile spreads across his face. “You believe in signs, remember?” I can’t help smiling back. “Maybe this was one.”
“Maybe?”
He laughs. “I’d say fate finally got tired of us being idiots.”
I laugh for what feels like the first time in months.
Aston walks over, smiling from ear to ear. “So… what’s the plan?”
Caleb looks at me. “I brought my car.” His eyes light up.
“Would you mind taking me home?”
“I’d love to.”
Aston claps Caleb on the shoulder. “About bloody time.”
Caleb laughs, slipping his hand back into mine as though he has no intention of ever letting go again, and neither do I.
“You too, Aston. And thanks… Amber, was it? For the heads-up about the video.”
She smiles. “That’s right. You’re welcome.”
“Oh, and Aston.” He glances back over his shoulder. “I’m really glad you’ve found happiness again.”
His smile softens, though something guarded flickers behind his eyes. He slips an arm around Amber’s waist, gives me a small nod, and together they head towards his car.
Caleb watches them go. “I’m not sure whether he’s found happiness with Amber or whether he’s just trying to move on from Annie,” he says quietly. “Either way, he’s doing better than I ever managed.”
Guilt settles heavily in my chest once again. “I’m sorry I ran without letting you explain.” I look down at our joined hands. “We made a pact, Caleb. Seeing you with her… then hearing her on the phone…” I shake my head. “It broke me all over again.”
“I know.” He squeezes my hand gently. “Believe me, the second I saw Sasha walk into that after-party, all I could think about was you. She’d been playing us from the very beginning, Indi.
Every move she made was calculated.” He brushes his thumb across the back of my hand.
“Come back to my place. I’ll make us something to eat, and I’ll tell you everything. ”
I nod.
There are too many questions, too many emotions, to try and unravel standing on a London sidewalk.
Without saying another word, I lace my fingers through his and lead him toward my car. “I’ve missed this.”
I glance up at him.
“Holding your hand,” he says with a smile before I even have to ask.
A warmth spreads through my chest. “I’ve missed you.”
As we reach the car, he gently stops me and pulls me into his arms. “This isn’t a dream, is it?” He buries his face against my neck, and I laugh softly, closing my eyes as I breathe him in.
“No.” I smile.
“And it better not be, because if I wake up tomorrow and find myself back in my beige, ordinary life without you…” I shake my head. “I don’t think I could survive losing you again.” He leans back just enough to look into my eyes. “I love you so much.”
Emotion catches in my throat.
I’ve heard those words almost every day for the past month. They’d just never come from the man I needed to hear them from, and I smile through the sting behind my eyes. “I love you too.”
He kisses me again, slow this time, as though neither of us wants to rush another second together. I melt into him, letting months of heartache disappear beneath the warmth of his embrace.
Being here…
Being with him…
It feels like I’ve finally found my way home.
Some things were simply meant to be. And Caleb McCormack-Slade…
Even through the chaos, especially because of the chaos—he was always meant to be mine.
The drive back to Caleb’s house is strangely familiar.
Nothing has changed.
My toothbrush is still sitting in the bathroom exactly where I left it months ago, which is equal parts unsettling and comforting.
Over dinner, Caleb tells me everything.
About Sasha.
About the lies.
About the night she framed him into believing they’d slept together.
About the stalking.
About every twisted game she’d played to keep us apart.
Then he tells me what really happened the night I ended things.
She hadn’t been in his hotel room at all.
She’d been out in the hallway.
By the time he finishes explaining everything, one truth is painfully clear.
Every time we’d fallen apart… Sasha had been standing somewhere in the middle, pulling the strings.
Then he tells me about Germany.
About losing control.
About wrapping his hands around her throat.
About Hux paying her to disappear and keep quiet.