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54
TAYLOR
I freeze when I catch sight of his broad shoulders.
He ignores the chair at Celine’s bedside. He’s just standing beside her, looking down at her pale, lifeless face with the frown of a man facing a river he doesn’t know how to cross. I’m not sure if I’m the right person to judge—scratch that; IknowI’m not—but I still can’t see any real love there.
It strikes me again, not for the first time, how it’s cruel to the point of heartbreak for a person like Celine—who has so much love to give—to tie herself to a man who has none to offer in return.
The nurse notices me standing in the doorway and gestures for me to enter, but I shake my head and try to back out of the room before Ilarion sees me.
I’ve got one foot in the hallway, so close to a clean escape, when he lifts his gaze and spots me. His frown somehow morphs without actually moving. The storm in his eyes worsens.
I have two options. I can hold my ground, do the mature thing, and just talk to the man. Say what I need to say and be done with it.
Or…I can turn tail and run.
In the face of the emotional upheaval I’ve dealt with in the last few days, I take the coward’s route. I slam my palms against the swing door of the hospital room and nearly run headlong into Dr. Baranov.
“Taylor!” he says in surprise.
“Sorry, Doctor,” I mutter, maneuvering around him with my head down. As soon as I have a clear lane, I take off running down the corridor toward the staircase.
I hear Dr. Baranov cry out a second time when he’s almost hit in the face by the door as Ilarion bursts through and nearly mows him down. I don’t wait; I start moving faster.
It’s juvenile. I’m in his house; I can’t exactly outrun him forever.
But do I stop?
No.
Hellno.
Not until I’m in the south gardens. This stretch of the property is riddled with little alcoves, small clusters of shrubs and statues where I can hide. And hiding is exactly what I intend to do.
Right now, the thought of speaking to Ilarion, of looking him in the eye and pretending…
It’s more than I can take.
“Taylor?”
Fuck.I crouch down and find a spot under one of the lilac bushes. It’s smaller than I anticipated, and I have to cram my body into the space. Thorns prickle at my skin. My legs come up to my chin and I try not to breathe when I feel him draw closer.
“This isn’t a game, Taylor.”
I bite my tongue and say nothing. At least not until his legs appear in front of my hiding spot. Then he squats down and I find myself staring at those hypnotic blue eyes.
“Don’t be a child.”
I grind my teeth together and extricate myself from under the bushes. “A smarter man would take the damn hint.”
“I’m plenty smart. I’m just not very patient.”
“Well, at least you’re aware of your failings.”
I pat down the soft cotton dress that I’m wearing in search of my composure. It’s nowhere to be found, though. I peek at my little nook under the lilacs, but no luck there, either.
So with an exhausted sigh, I straighten up and give him a glare. I’m telling myself that avoiding Ilarion is just a matter of simple dislike. “What do you want?”
