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“The car keys are over there,” he said, gesturing at the coffee table. His voice was flat and unemotional. “I’ll make sure that Roger sends all your things to your parents’ house. For now, I transferred money into your bank account, so you can buy some basic necessities until your luggage arrives.”
“What?” Mia whispered inaudibly, feeling like all air had left the room. Her chest felt like it was getting squeezed in a giant vise, and she couldn’t seem to get her lungs to work.
“The guardians will continue to watch over you and your family for now, until we’re sure that Saur was acting alone. You should be safe enough now that he and Leslie have been caught.”
Her brain couldn’t seem to process what he was telling her. “K-Korum? What are you talking about?”
He turned away then, looking out the window again. “That’s all, Mia. You can go.”
Hardly aware of her actions, Mia slowly walked down the stairs, a cold sensation spreading throughout her body. “Go where?” she asked, unable, unwilling to understand. Pausing a few feet away from him, she stood there trembling, desperately needing him to turn around, to look at her with that warm smile of his.
But he didn’t. He was like a statue, completely still and unmoving. “I assume to your parents’ house,” he finally said. “Isn’t that where you usually spend your summers?”
“You want m-me to leave?” Mia could barely choke out the words through the constriction in her throat. A black pit of despair seemed to yawn underneath her, ready to engulf her at any moment. Surely he couldn’t mean that, surely he didn’t really want her to go . . .
“Take the car,” he said, still looking out the window. “You know how to drive, right?”
“I don’t have my driver’s license with me,” she said numbly, staring at his back.
“If any cops stop you, I’ll take care of your ticket. Your license and the rest of your things will be delivered to you this week.”
Her throat closing up, Mia wrapped her arms around herself, trying to contain the agony within. “Why?” she whispered hoarsely. “Why do you want me to leave?”
“Isn’t that what you wanted?” he asked coldly, turning around to look at her. His face was completely expressionless; only the faint yellow flecks in his irises gave away any hint of emotion. “Isn’t that what you’ve been fighting for all these weeks? Your freedom? Well, you have it.” He turned away again, effectively dismissing her.
Feeling like she was suffocating, Mia desperately sucked in air. “Korum, please, I don’t understand –”
“Is my English not clear enough for you?” His words lashed at her like a whip. “You’re free to go. Leave, get out of here.”
Almost choking on the sob rising in her throat, Mia backed away, the pain of his rejection nearly unbearable. The back of her knees touched the coffee table, and her hand automatically closed around the car keys lying there. Grabbing them, Mia turned and ran out of the house, her vision blurred by tears streaming down her face.
She got as far as the car before sinking down to the ground. Her entire body was shaking, and she could barely draw in enough air through the compression in her chest. For some reason, Korum didn’t want her anymore. He wanted her to leave. After everything, he was letting her go.
It didn’t make sense; none of it made sense. Leaning against the car, Mia sat on the hard ground, hugging her knees and rocking back and forth. After a couple of minutes, when the initial shock of agony had subsided, she tried to gather her thoughts, to attempt to understand what had just happened. Surely, there had to be a logical explanation for this. Why would he bother making her immortal if he was planning to walk away from her all along? Why would he have gone so far as to make her family like him if he didn’t care about her? Why would he have told her that he loved her? Had it all been a lie? Had he been toying with her all along? The thought was so excruciating that Mia had to push it away for the sake of her sanity.
Or was it all her fault? Did her reaction to his revelation make him change his mind about their relationship? Perhaps he was beginning to tire of her already, and this had been the last straw for him. Mia raised her fist to her mouth, biting down hard to contain a moan of pain. She couldn’t imagine her life without him, and he didn’t want her anymore. She’d lost him; for whatever reason, she’d lost him . . .
She should get in the car and leave, try to salvage some pride instead of crying in his driveway, but she couldn’t make herself move. If she left now, she might never see him again. He had no reason to be in New York anymore, and there was no guarantee she would ever be allowed in Lenkarda again. If she drove away, the person she loved more than anything would be gone from her life.
She couldn’t allow that to happen.
Her face wet with tears, Mia resolutely got up, brushing the dust and gravel off her dress. If Korum truly didn’t want her, she needed to hear him say so. He would have to explain himself because she wasn’t leaving without a fight. He had forced his way into her life, into her heart, and now he thought he could walk away without an explanation? She might have been too afraid to question him in the beginning, but she wasn’t anymore. If he wanted to get rid of her, he would have to physically remove her from the premises. She wasn’t leaving until they talked about everything.
And wiping her cheeks with the back of her wrist, Mia headed back into the house to confront the only man she’d ever loved.
* * *
Korum was standing in the same spot, still looking out the windo
w. Hearing her approach, he turned around. For a second, a flash of something appeared on his face before it smoothed into its expressionless mask again.
“You didn’t leave,” he said quietly, studying her dispassionately. She knew his sharp gaze didn’t miss the remnants of tears on her face or traces of dirt on her legs.
“No,” she said, her voice rougher than usual. “I didn’t leave.”
“Why not?” He inquired, looking mildly curious, as though they were talking about nothing more important than a movie she didn’t enjoy.
Mia’s eyes narrowed. “Why do you want me to go?” she countered, her chin lifting. “Yesterday, you said you loved me, and now you don’t want to be with me?”
