Chapter 32
C H A P T E R3 2
You and I
Ella
The Present
S unday evening rolled around and I arrived at the banquet hall with my mamá and papá . The gala was being hosted by another renowned family in South Side for a non-profit organization that my parents often donated to.
I wrapped my fur stole around me tighter as I stepped out of the town car, the cold autumn air nipping at my bare skin.
I wore the offerings Cade sent over yesterday. A stunning blue silk gown with a slit that exposed my thigh with every step, and a two-tiered diamond and blue sapphire necklace that made me feel like a queen.
Over twenty-four hours since I saw Cade and my heart ached, wanting to see its soul companion in the flesh. To hold him. To talk to him. To finally give my reply to his heartfelt letter.
I didn’t want to live without Cade anymore either.
This lifetime was ours.
It was about time I told him.
Upon entering the ballroom, it was filled with guests, gold and black décor, waiters walking around with trays of champagne flutes, and the low whirr of conversation blending with the orchestra’s classical music.
My friends spotted me before I saw them. Cutting through the crowd, Darla and Hera reached me and threw their arms around my shoulders in hugs. “You made it!”
Darla was in a black gown with her signature red lipstick, sharp winged eyeliner, and pearl jewelry. Hera was in a hunter green ensemble with soft bronzy makeup and an impressive diamond necklace that I remembered Shaun gifting her for her eighteenth birthday. He was obsessed with her and she was too blind to see it. Shaun invited her to all his hockey games, took her out for café dates, tried to learn words in Urdu for her, and she thought he only liked her as a friend.
“Oh my goodness,” I said to them. “You both look beautiful.”
“Look at yourself!” Darla returned. “Stunning. Ten on ten. Marry me.”
I chuckled, my cheeks warming under the praise.
“C’mon, give us a twirl,” Hera encouraged and I did. “Damn, girl!”
“Thank you.” I preened while they oohed and aahed. “Cade gifted me the dress and necklace. Speaking of him, is he here?”
They shook their heads. “We haven’t seen any of the Remingtons yet.”
My shoulders sagged. “Oh, I guess they should be arriving soon.”
We decided to take some selfies, and I made sure to send a full-length picture of Hera—discreetly—to Shaun, who wasn’t attending tonight due to his concussion.
Christmas came early —Ella
He replied within seconds.
Good GOD. —Shaun
I’m drooling. —Shaun
Holy fuck. Is that the necklace I gave her?? —Shaun
Yup!—Ella
Send me more pictures throughout the night. You owe me. – Shaun
*Thumbs up emoji* —Ella
For the next few minutes, we chatted about Darla’s publishing plans—she was finally going to do it, Principal Hill’s opinion be damned—and me reopening my online store for my knit creations. I’d taken a break over the summer and the first semester of university was extremely hectic, leaving me no time for my art projects.
In the midst of our conversation, I noticed Dacia on the other side of the room.
She had an unreadable look on her face. Holding a champagne flute in her hand, she gazed at a painting of a starry night with two lovers standing on a bridge wrapped in purple roses. The world around her buzzed, yet Dacia was rooted in place, spellbound by the image before her.
I’d never seen her like that, lost in a trance.
Dacia snapped out of it and finally left, coming to join us. She smiled and gave me a hug. “You look amazing, Ella.”
“Right back at you.” She wore a skin-tight white gown and enough diamonds to blind anyone who looked in her direction. “What are your thoughts on the painting?”
“Exquisite.”
Darla recently told me her sister was into collecting art, paintings in particular. “Who’s the artist?”
A wistful smile flashed on Dacia’s lips, before she hid it around the rim of her champagne flute. “Somebody I used to know.”
I didn’t understand her cryptic tone. Before I could pester her for more information, I felt a familiar pair of eyes on me.
I turned around, searching for him.
My dark prince leaned against a pillar, that signature heart-melting smile on his face as he watched me like I was the answer to all his prayers.
The corners of my lips tipped up in a reciprocating smile.
Our gazes spoke while our words could not.
You’re a vision to behold, mi corazón .
You’re my favourite memory and I would relive you a million times over and then some more, mo chuisle.
That magnetic force yanked our bond and we crossed over to one another, pushing past a crowd of people and meeting halfway, hope and love in our expressions.
“Hi, pretty girl.”
“Hi, querido .”
“You look breathtaking.”
I melted, my hands flexing by my sides, longing to clutch him. “So do you.”
That smile of his morphed to a full-blown grin, flashing me those dimples I loved.
Tonight, Cade was dashing in a navy blue suit, the top three buttons of his dress shirt undone, showing hints of his tattoos and the gold chain around his neck, threaded with my promise ring. He must have gone back for it after I threw it away, making sure to wear it so everybody here knew that he was irrevocably mine.
“I was worried for a second that you wouldn’t come tonight.”
“I can’t stay away from you, Ellie. After all, you have something that belongs to me.”
I swallowed. “What?”
“My heart.”
Warmth filled my chest and a hundred butterflies unfurled in my stomach.
I had his heart…and I was never giving it back.
Before I could kiss him senselessly, Cade extended his left hand, the one with the Serch Bythol knot tattooed across the back. The silver rings at the base of his knuckles glinted under the chandelier lights. “Do you want to dance with me?”
Without hesitation, I grasped his hand, swearing to never let go of him after this moment. “I would love to.”
He swept me into his arms just as the orchestra began a new ballad. My left hand rested on his shoulder and my right twined with his as we moved slowly to the music.
The feeling of home rocked through me.
Cade lowered his forehead to mine. “I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you, too,” I murmured.
Everyone watched us. Our families. Our friends. Our foes.
Though we didn’t care. Nothing mattered except for him and me.
Dancing together after being separated for months was a statement. A way of letting the crowd know we were together again. You could tear us apart, but we’d still find our way back to one another.
We were meant to be. Now and forever.
“How’s your ankle?” He glanced down at my heels.
“It’s feeling okay. I iced it. Still a bit tender, though.”
“I’ll kiss it better soon.”
“You promise?”
“Have I ever broken one, Ella?”
“No,” I whispered. “You never have.”
“I never will either.”
It was spoken with such strong passion. I smiled and rested my head in the crook of his neck, inhaling his calming scent.
“There’s something I want to say,” he rasped. “Will you hear me out?”
I couldn’t deny him when he implored with all the humility he possessed.
I nodded in a silent yes .
The familiar calluses of his palms tickled me as he cupped my face, tilting it back so I could see all the affection swirling in his eyes. “Ella, meeting you changed the course of my life. I’ve never known true yearning until I laid eyes on you. Not only were you the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen, but you became the embodiment of all my dreams. Becoming your friend first was one of the greatest joys of my existence. You showed me the meaning of friendship, love, and cared for me like no one ever had. I fell hard for you and became exceedingly restless with every passing day because I wanted you as more than a friend. I wanted you as my girl.”
I smiled, remembering how desperate I was to add the word boy before friend .
“And when I finally had you, Ella, that yearning was never fully satiated. Days, hours, minutes, seconds. None of it was ever enough with you. You consumed my every thought, every breath, every heartbeat. And you still do. I never thought I’d have to experience life without you—the only girl who made me feel like all my parts, no matter how dark and broken, were worth loving—but I have and I can say that I’ve hated every moment of it. I know I can survive without you, but I will only live if I have you by my side. You strengthen me. You challenge me. You make me feel alive, happy, and whole. Now that the past is behind us, will you give me the honour of having you once more? Because you’re it for me. I love you with every piece of my heart, Ella.”
I swooned from his confession.
“ Mi corazón .” I caressed my fingers over his chiseled jawline. “I love you too. I never stopped loving you, despite how hard I tried. It’s impossible. You’re etched in every corner of my soul. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. I don’t want to survive without you either, Cade. I want to live with you and I want to uphold every promise we made to each another.”
Cade’s blue eyes were vivid with emotions. Still holding my face, he kissed my forehead and reminded me of our most important vow. “You and I, in this lifetime and all the ones to come, mo chuisle .”
“You and I. Always.”
We kissed on it.
A maelstrom of tender feelings erupted like confetti inside of me as we righted every wrong in our story.
Breaking away, Cade whispered, “Are you ready to get out of here?”
In case my family asked about my whereabouts, I knew my girls would cover for me. “Yes.”
The second we stepped outside, Cade unexpectedly swung me into his arms. I laughed with delight as he carried me to his Ferrari like a dark prince from a twisted fairy tale, stealing his princess away forever.
“Cade, where are we going?”
We weren’t taking the usual route to his home.
“It’s a surprise, Ella.”
I loved surprises. “Okay.”
My gaze fixed on the rushing scenery, I settled more comfortably in my seat, recalling the moment from twenty minutes ago with perverse pleasure.
Cade had opened the car door for me and just as I sat down, I noticed ELLA stitched in the leather headrest. It was a new addition. Cade chuckled boyishly, seeing the stars in my eyes. “You like that, huh?”
I nodded shamelessly. “I love it. No one gets to sit in this seat but me, okay?”
He’d kissed me and murmured against my lips, “No one else ever will, Ella. It’s yours.”
It pleased the territorial monster inside of me.
I missed being a passenger princess, as much as I missed watching Cade drive. There was something so attractive about him behind the wheel. The way he handled such a powerful car with ease while holding my hand, pecking my knuckles like he was starved for my touch.
It wasn’t long before Cade pulled into an underground parking lot of a sleek building.
“What are we doing here?” I asked when be helped me out of the Ferrari.
He grinned. “You’ll know in a minute.”
We walked towards an elevator. Cade swiped a keycard and we headed to the top floor. A few seconds later, there was a loud ping and the doors opened. He ushered me inside with a hand on my back.
It was dark inside, save for the moonlight seeping through the floor-to-ceiling windows lining the entire loft-style penthouse. A conversational pit sat in the middle like a centerpiece and an unlit fireplace to our left.
“Did you…buy this place?”
“I bought this place for you, Ella.” Cade kissed my cheek. “For us.”
I gasped. “When?”
“A few months ago. After you mentioned wanting to live together one day.”
I felt undone by the love this man bore for me. I wished I had more words to convey what I felt for him—what I would never stop feeling for him.
“Cade.” I threw my arms around his shoulders and he immediately placed his hands on my hips, tugging me deeper into him. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Do you like it?”
This was exactly how I pictured our first place. He put in the work and gave us our dream home. “It’s perfect.”
“Remember when I sent you gifts for your birthday this past summer? There was a keycard in there. It was for here.”
I did remember seeing a keycard in those packages. It was probably stuffed somewhere in my drawers with the rest of his offerings.
Cade and me were both August babies with his birthday a few days prior to mine. I felt awful that I hadn’t gotten him anything. Granted, I was overcome by my grief and pain. And I didn’t know the truth about that night like I knew now.
But still.
“I didn’t get you a birthday present,” I said regretfully. “I’m sorry, Cade. Tell me what you want—anything—and it’s yours.”
“Everything I want is right here.” He kissed my right eyelid. “My whole world is in my arms. I don’t need anything else, Ella.”
“I love you so much.” I buried my face in his chest, tightening my arms around him. His heartbeat was my personal lullaby. “No more time apart, Cade.”
“I love you too.” He kissed the top of my head. “No more time apart, Ella.”
With our vow floating in the air, he led me through the penthouse, showing me every corner of the place. Was this truly happening? Did he really buy us our own home? My excitement ramped up seeing each new room, appliance, and feature. For a girl who loved to cook and eat, the kitchen was a wet dream. And for a girl who loved art, the studio he built me upstairs nearly had me weeping.
“Now you’ll have more room to create and fulfill orders for your online store.” He proudly gestured to the work table and the shelves filled with all sorts of paints, yarns, threads, and tools.
God, I loved this man. I smothered his dimples with kisses until the only sound ringing in the penthouse was his infectious laugh.
“We’re going to christen every inch of this place,” I announced as he dragged me down the hallway of the second floor, towards what I presumed was our bedroom.
“Sounds like a plan, Ellie.”
The bedroom was straight out of my fantasies, housing a canopy-style California king-sized bed, dark colours paired beautifully with pastels, an en suite housing an incredible jacuzzi, and an enormous balcony encased by a stone balustrade.
I loved everything about it.
I touched the cold glass window, staring at the night view, made even more beautiful when Cade’s reflection entered the picture.
His arms went around my waist and he tucked his chin in the crook of my neck. “What do you think?”
“It’s amazing, Cade. I love it.”
“I’m happy to hear that.”
My attention was diverted to the crystals strategically laid out on the floor next to the windows. “What are these doing here?”
“You left them at my place months ago.” He kissed my nape. “Tonight’s a new moon. I wanted to charge them for you.”
There I went, falling deeper in love with this man.
Such a simple gesture but so meaningful.
I stared at his reflection, noting the hunger in his eyes. The lust sketched in the lines of his face. The desire coursing through his body and seeping into me slowly like an aphrodisiac. I trembled with the need to become one with him.
“I know we have a lot to talk about.” I whirled around to face him, placing my hands on his muscular chest. “But there’s only one thing on my mind right now.”
“Mine too.” He grasped my face and leaned down, planting little kisses along my jaw until he reached my earlobe. “I want to make love to you, mi vida .”
I moaned, holding on to the crooks of his elbow. “Yes.”
“I want to touch every inch of your body. I want to leave my imprint all over your heart,” Cade whispered, his voice raspy like smoke and sin. “I want to sink so deep inside of your soul until all you see and feel is me, Ella.”
“Please, mi amor ,” I begged. “I want that too.”
We were never leaving each other ever again.
“Are you going to be a slut for me tonight?” He caressed his lips along the shell of my ear. “Are you going to show me how much you’ve missed me, baby?”
There he was.
My princepin. My gangster. My bad boy.
Shivers cascaded down my spine as he layered kisses down the column of my throat. “Y-Yes. I’ll be anything you want me to be.”
“Good girl.” His dark smirk, filled with naughty promises, stamped over my pulse, feeling it beat madly for him. “Now take off your dress for me.”