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He left me.
Maybe I shouldn’t have been so surprised to wake up alone in that hotel room, with only memories of the closeness and wild passion we’d shared. After all, my relationship with Sebastian has been marked by lies upon lies, secret agendas, and hidden motives from the very beginning. But the past week we’ve spent together after the crash, I thought it was different now. That we were being honest, and open. Risking our hearts for real this time.
I was wrong.
I swallow back the ache, too sharp to stand. I look around and wave the flight attendant back. “Sorry,” I blurt, “But I’d love a drink. Whiskey. Neat.”
“Of course, Miss Michaels.”
I blink, and it takes me a moment to realize, that’s the name on my ticket, and that fake ID that Sebastian arranged.
I pull the passport from my purse, and glance at the pages.
Amelie Michaels.
It’s close to my old name, but someone else entirely. But of course, it has to be. Everyone thinks that Avery Carmichael is dead, buried in the snow somewhere in the Alps, the victim of a terrible plane crash.
A crash that was no accident…
I shiver, tucking the passport away as the steward delivers me my drink. “Thank you.”
I take a gulp, feeling the low, sweet burn of the alcohol slipping down my throat.
So, this is what it feels like to be a ghost…
I feel an unfamiliar surge of grief. It shouldn’t be so weird for me; I’m not leaving anything real behind. I’ve been living a lie for months now, and the Avery who was living in London with Sebastian was a fictional creation: fake background, fake personality, fake everything. I created her to achieve a goal, nothing more. It should be easy to leave her there, buried in the snow.
It should be a relief. A sordid chapter of my life is over. I kept my promise to Miles’ memory. I got my revenge on the great Sebastian Wolfe.
But at what cost?
The grief cuts at me, and I drain my whiskey glass, trying to numb the pain. But I know, there’s no drink in the world that could soothe my heartache.
Why did he leave me?
I know that he probably thinks he’s being noble. Protecting me and keeping me safe and far away from whatever forces are trying to cause him harm. He’s got a target on his back, after everything he’s done, and it’s not so easy for him to disappear. If anyone recognizes him out there….
It’s game over.
Or maybe I’m just being the fool I always swore I never would be. Maybe those teasing plans we made were nothing but fantasy, and Sebastian always planned to walk away.
It was only fate that stranded us together at the cabin, after all. Only necessity that brought us together against the elements. He’d vowed to destroy me after I ruined his life; maybe that anger was too strong to be overcome, and once we were back in civilization again, and he had the chance to leave…
He took it, without a second thought. Absolving his conscience with those million bucks, like I was some high-priced whore he could fuck and pay off the next morning.
Maybe he’s celebrating my broken heart.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we’ll soon be approaching JFK…”
I startle back to reality, wiping tears from my eyes I didn’t realize I was crying.
Whatever his reasons, it’s over now. Our time together, my quest for vengeance, it’s all behind me, and I have to try and think clearly now and be grateful for the way things turned out.
I’m home. Sebastian is in my past now. And I’m lucky to have gotten out of this alive.
But there’s one question that haunts me, as the New York City skyline comes into view.
What do I do now?
