Page 41 of Vintage

I sighed in contentment, leaning into the sensations of my dream, but a faint whisper and the dampness of my tears pulled me back to reality.

A dark figure hovered above me, slowly coming into focus to reveal the most captivating face.

"Ro," I breathed, hardly able to believe he was actually there.

To challenge my own doubts and to convince myself that he was merely a creation of my mind, I reached out to touch his cheek. A hint of fear coursed through me, but he responded by kissing my palm and resting his face against it, gazing at me intently.

With each moment, as his warmth seeped into my flesh, he felt increasingly tangible.

"Ro," I breathed out his name again, a cry escaping me, and I noticed the darkness in his eyes deepen.

He gently wiped away my tears and leaned in closer, pressing his lips to mine. When he pulled back slightly, I sat up, observing him kneeling beside the bed.

"Mrs. Rowan, I turn my back for just a moment, and you find yourself in trouble," he teased, rising to sit beside me.

In a burst of spontaneity, I leaped into his arms, pulling him onto the bed with me. As he settled in the center, I crawled over him, wrapping my arms around him tightly and burying my face in the crook of his neck, sobbing like a child.

His hands caressed my hair and back, each touch feeling surreal, reminiscent of a distant dream from a time that hadn’t been more than eight months ago.

"I missed you," he murmured, placing a kiss on my temple.

"I... me too..." I managed to say, my voice shaky. Together, we sat up, his back resting against the headboard while I clung to him like a little monkey.

"Were you hurt, Mrs. Rowan?" His voice was laced with tension, filled with concern and pain for me.

I shook my head, and as my tears began to fade, small hiccups punctuated the words that escaped my lips.

“I should have realized it was a mistake to let you return to this town. I'm sorry, love... This is all on me.” He wrapped his arms around me tightly, and even though every part of me wanted to ask him what I was missing, I held back. Having him here felt fleeting, and I didn’t want to squander it on anything other than enjoying his closeness.

Perhaps that’s how the night slipped away, because when I finally opened my eyes, he was gone, just like a fleeting dream. However, I found a note on my bedside table, written by him.

I shut my eyes tightly.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

After running a warm shower and slipping into a black hoodie and leggings, I made my way downstairs to find Reese in the kitchen preparing breakfast. To my surprise, Darius wasn’t alone; Ace and Dimitri were there too, along with a new face.

"Good morning! Did you sleep well?" she asked, serving me pancakes, bacon, eggs, and fruit juice.

I nodded slightly and took my seat at the round table, starting to eat. My gaze, however, drifted to the man sitting next to Darius. As if sensing my stare, he looked up and smiled, introducing himself as Reginald, the Vice President of Darius' MC. I was taken aback; I had never met him.

It wasn't until I had finished, and Reese had given me my medications and tended to my wounds, that we finally reached the crucial part. The conversation.

"How are you feeling today?" Dimitri started.

"I've had better days," I replied, my gaze fixed on the files and the ring I had received from the studio yesterday, along with a diary resting beside them.

"That makes sense... My brother filled me in on the recent events, and I can only imagine how bewildered you must have felt when you first learned about it all. Unfortunately, without any concrete evidence against Willow, I can't initiate an official investigation, but I'm here to offer any other assistance you might need." He clenched his fist on the table and nodded politely.

Given my current state, I wasn't up for a lengthy discussion, and he recognized that, allowing for a moment of silence.

"I looked through the diary, not entirely but towards the early days; it belonged to a boy who documented his days at home. From his perspective, there wasn't much to note, but he repeatedly mentioned the dangers of being out after dark. His parents had strict rules about him not staying in town past four. According to his entries, he feared he would get lost and that the Witch of the willow tree would take him." Darius recapped.

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