Meanwhile, I was sitting in a casino bar, staring at pictures of a florist while contemplating whether abducting her counted as a reasonable relationship strategy. I wanted what they had.
And I’d do whatever it took to get it. But there was no guarantee I’d end up with the same results as them. If I ended up like my father, that would destroy me...and her. Despite the risks, that might be my only option.
My thoughts strayed to my beach house. If she’d give it a chance, I knew she’d love it there. I could picture us living there. I could see us cuddled up in bed, watching anime until the wee hours of the morning. I could see us cooking together.
And waking up wrapped in each other’s embrace. I could see us walking along the beach, holding hands, talking about our day. I could give her a good life. I knew I could. If it took kidnapping her to show her that, then fuck it, I would.
"What's going on in that head of yours?" Raz asked, pulling my thoughts back to them.
I swirled the whiskey in my glass.
Then, before I could stop myself, I asked, "When did you know?"
All three men frowned.
"When did we know what?" Cas asked.
I hesitated before saying, "When did you realize you were willing to do anything to have them? Including things that were illegal and irrational.”
"Ahhh, I see what you’re asking,” Raz said. “With Monique, the moment I spotted her in my casino, I knew I wanted her. I didn’t give a damn that she was married, especially after learning Trevor’s weak ass was her husband. I’d taken one look at her and said,that woman will be mine. But what solidified my feelings was our first argument. Right after I showed her the contract and told her to sign it.”
“I still can’t believe you did that,” Leo said, shaking his head.
Raz smiled. “Honestly, neither can I. After reading the contract, my Rosa got so mad that she tried to stab me with a pen. I knew right then, she was the one.”
I frowned. “Because she tried to stab you?”
Raz nodded. "Don’t look at me like that. You weren’t there. You should’ve seen how beautiful she looked when she did it."
"She tried to stab you, and you thought to yourself,That’s the woman I’m going to marry?" I asked.
"That’s exactly how it happened,” Raz told me.
Shaking my head, I looked at Cas. “What about you?”
"Well, I’m not as savage as our big brother. I fell for Meka before I met her,” Cas told me.
That sounded more like Juliet and me. I leaned closer to the bar as Cas continued.
“You all already know about the situation that left me depressed. And that Meka and I met through a hotline, where she talked me off the ledge. And after that, we continued talking, growing closer without ever seeing each other. Her voice soothed something inside me. So, when she showed up here with Monique, I recognized her instantly from her voice alone.”
Why was his situation so similar to mine and Juliet's? Mine and Blossoms? Cas recognized Meka from her voice, after having never seen her. I was recognizing Juliet in Blossom from their mannerisms and similar things they both said.
“I took her to my room to verify that she was the woman I’d been dreaming of, the woman who saved me when I was feeling lost.”
“You took her to your room against her will, right?” I asked.
“I mean... it just happened that way,” Cas told me. “I don’t truly recommend kidnapping women ordinarily. It just sort of happened in my situation.”
“You made it happen,” Leo pointed out.
“True. And she tried to kill me while we were in my room. But I survived. And look at us now. In love and happy. It worked out,” Cas said. “That makes it worth it.”
But it could’ve gone horribly wrong. So could Raz’s situation. Had these women called the cops, as they should’ve, these love stories would’ve been tragedies instead.
I turned to Leo. “What about you?”
“Toya was intimidating when we first met. And I liked that about her,” Leo told me, shrugging. “Now, I’m hers. She’s mine. The end.”
