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I shrugged and sniffed back aching waves of grief. “Then I suppose I have no choice but to let fate deal with me. I won’t run as there’s nowhere else I want to be. I won’t fight if I’m arrested. I’ll accept my death sentence from my father, all because I’m too selfish to stop loving your daughter. I tried to let her go; I truly did. It was my fault she went to Zara’s that night because I told her I wished I didn’t have this need for her or her for me. I called what we had a mistake and—”
My voice cracked again, but I balled my hands and let anger siphon through me. “It was a mistake to think I deserved her when I’ve done nothing but cause her pain. It was a mistake to think I could survive without her when I can’t take a single breath without her near. I’m condemning her to a life of misery and grief if I get caught. And I hate myself for that. I hate that I have nothing to offer her. I hate that our future won’t be easy. I hate that I’ve stolen her heart, and I know you’ll hate me too. Hate me all you want, but I can’t give her back. I won’t. She was mine the moment she found me, and I wish...I wish.... Fuck, I wish I’d come to you sooner. I wish I’d told you the night Neri came to me with hurt in her heart. If I had, she never would’ve gone to Zara’s. Ethan would never have been near her, and I...I would never have destroyed everything you love.”
Breathing hard, I hung my head, feeling the cold kiss of an executioner’s blade on my nape. Jack could slaughter me with how much I’d told him. In a way, I wanted him to.
That awful fog of despair that never let me go was unbearably thick and heavy. Without Neri, that cloud would swallow me whole. I wouldn’t survive. But how could I ask her to keep giving me her light? Forever putting her in charge of my happiness when all I gave her in return was stress and worry and pain?
I looked at Anna. At the tears raining down her cheeks.
And then I looked at Jack. At the stony glower on his face.
My ribs turned crimson as my heart bled all over them. I struggled to speak. “I love Neri with every fucking part of me, but I love you too. I love this family. I love who I am when I’m with you. I’m so grateful to you for every day you’ve given me. And I’m kneeling before you, not as a shipwrecked orphan or the son of a monster, but as the boy who fell in love with your daughter. I want this ring on her finger. I want you to know how deeply committed I am to her, not just for now but for always. And I want you to accept me as the son you always said I was, not because you fished me from the sea but because my heart belongs entirely to Nerida...and that...well that, as much as you probably don’t want it to...makes me...yours.”
Silence fell as I finally stopped speaking.
My lungs hurt from Jack’s kicks.
My heart palpitated with fear.
Neri cried quietly a few feet away.
And Anna groaned softly, tore her hand from Jack’s, then dropped to her knees beside me. With a sob, she wrapped her arms around my shoulders and hugged me so damn tight. “God, Aslan. I-I don’t know what to say. I had no idea how much you struggled. I’m so sorry. So, so sorry.” Kissing my cheek, she cried quietly, “Thank you for taking care of my baby. Thank you for being there for her. Thank you for loving her so damn much. Thank you, Aslan. I love you too. I’m so honoured and humbled by your dedication, and...I’m so, so sorry for what happened here tonight. For what Jack did. For what I did in return. For thinking badly of you when you’ve been nothing but the kindest, most wonderful guy.”
Her perfume of flowers and sunshine wrapped around me as I sat frozen. Not knowing if Jack would let me hug his wife. Not knowing if I was forgiven or if this was goodbye.
But then Jack swiped at the tears rolling down his horror-drawn cheeks and choked around the rocks in his throat. “You killed him?”
I held his stare and nodded, ferocity roaring through me. “He was in pieces and bleeding. I didn’t take his last breath, but I hope to God the ocean did.”
His hands balled on his thighs. “And you went to Neri because you felt her. She didn’t call you. You had no way of knowing she was in trouble apart from...sensing her?”
I nodded again, this time with utmost conviction. “I don’t understand it myself, but yes. I did.”
“How?” He shook his head, his forehead furrowing.
My heart slowed as I looked at Neri, standing in shadows and moonlight.
I sank into her, calmed because of her, and a worshipping smile tipped my lips as I breathed, “Because she’s my other half.”
Jack flinched.
Anna hugged me harder, crying into my neck.
And every part of me stiffened as Jack cleared his throat and grunted, “You’ve said your piece. Now...it’s my turn.”
With a sniff, Anna pulled away and shifted back to kneel beside Jack, her eyes on the ring in my fingers.
“You have lied to me for months. Snuck around behind my back. Touched my daughter without our consent. And gone out of your way to assure me that nothing was going on. You tell me you’ve loved her for six years, and I honestly don’t know if that makes me feel sick or strangely grateful. You expect me to trust that you didn’t do anything inappropriate with her until a month ago when you married her without telling any of us, and you don’t even have the gall to be angry with me for hurting you.”
“Dad—”
Jack ignored Neri, snapping, “You speak of yourself as if you’re worthless. You have the audacity to kneel before me and give up your life as ammunition against you. You tell me you have nothing to offer my daughter. No future that she could want. No prospects or hopes or riches.” His mouth twisted as he spat, “You watch me as if I’m going to kill you myself, and what’s worse is...you’d fucking let me. You’d honestly let me murder you with my bare hands because you truly think you don’t deserve to be here. With us. Happy. Free. In love.
“Fuck, Aslan, for a guy who has an eidetic memory, you’re so fucking stupid.”
Anna touched Jack’s bunched thigh. “Jack—”
He ignored her just like he ignored Nerida. “You think you have nothing to offer my girl? Look at yourself. Look at what you did. You killed for her. You did what I would’ve done in a fucking heartbeat. You felt her screaming for you, for God’s sake. You’re so wrapped up in my daughter that I believe you would commit mass genocide if it kept her safe. And bloody hell, that alone puts me in your debt. What you did to that bastard is exactly what I would’ve done, and the fact that you did it for her...” His finger shot to Neri, shaking just as much as I did. “That you did it for the girl you love? That you did it for my daughter? Shit, Aslan, that shows me you are exactly the man I thought you were. The man I’m honoured to have in my home. The man who I asked to look after my baby because I trusted him to care for her above himself. You did that and more, mate. You did what any man in love would do. And you need to stop hiding from who you truly are because you are a good man. A great man. A man I owe fucking everything to because you protected my baby when I couldn’t. You avenged her when she was wronged. You put your life on the line to help her. And that kind of dedication—”
