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“We never had a chance,” I whispered into her ear, watching her in the reflection of the window and fighting back the urge to just keep her by my side forever. “Not with the way we started, not with our families being mortal enemies. And also, Stockholm syndrome.”
My attempt at humor didn’t land the way I wanted it. Instead, a single tear ran down her cheek, and my heart ached at the sight of it. I tried to soothe her, skimmed my fingers through her hair, but the weight of our situation was both too heavy to bear and too absolute to change.
“Please don’t make me leave,” she begged, her voice cracking with emotion.
“Mi dispiace, amore mio.I have no choice,” I told her, struggling to keep my voice level and void of emotion. “Your safety is more important than anything else, and you’ll never be safe at my side.Sei il mio cuore.”
I kissed her crown, then turned her around in my arms, wiped away her tears, kissed her one last time, and sealed our bittersweet goodbye.
Her lips tasted like desperation and heartbreak, and I knew for as long as I lived, I’d never forget the taste.
Or the feeling.
Hand in hand, we walked downstairs, where my brothers, her sisters, Hawk, and Birdie waited in the entry hall.
All eyes were on us, but I couldn’t bring myself to let go of her hand. The warmth of her touch was the only thing keeping me sane and in control.
It didn’t matter that every fiber in me screamed to not let go, to keep her, no matter what.
But that wasn’t reality.
And escaping reality was not possible.
Not for us.
Sophie had to leave, and I had to let her go.
But even with the distance between us, even though we would never see each other again, she would take a piece of my soul with her—one I could never reclaim.
The SUV’s engine hummed softly as we drove to the airport. Sophie’s hand was still clutched tightly in mine—a lifeline she refused to let go of.
I could feel the silent questions from everyone around us, their gazes heavy with curiosity and concern, but I didn’t care.
All that mattered was Sophie, her warmth burning into my skin—leaving a mark, forever.
She struggled to be brave.
My little fighter.
And watching her suffer in silence nearly killed me.
The unspoken words hung heavily between us, a suffocating cloud of pain and longing for what could never be.
“Everything will be okay, Gabe,” Sophie whispered, her voice barely audible above the noise of the road.
I squeezed her hand gently, unable to speak. There were no words left, just a raw, gaping wound that had my teeth on edge and a violent urge to burn down the entire universe simmering just under the surface.
When we arrived at the airport, we pulled up to the private section, and the gate opened for us in impeccable timing. Hawk had arranged everything perfectly—there wasn’t a single trace leading back to me, ensuring that nobody would know the jet was connected to us, or who the passengers were.
We stopped right in front of a nondescript business jet.
“Time to go,” Alessio announced, his voice void of emotion. He probably could see with one look at me this goodbye was tearing me apart, but he also understood the necessity of it all.
The inevitability of it.
Alessio exited the car, Birdie, from the passenger side, threw me a dirty look before she was gone, too.
I watched Jemma, Cara, and Fiona exit the other vehicle with Cristo, while Hawk followed close behind.
