Page 119 of Point of No Return

Yes. Desperately.

“I don’t think you have the nerve.”

He’s right. He’s so fucking right.And god if I could only admit it to him.If I could only tell him the truth.

Ruined. I’ve ruined him. He’s mine- and no one else’s. When he kisses me, he steals my breath away. He’s kissing me like he never wants to let me go- like hewon’t.

And for a moment, it’s just us. I know how he feels about me, and he knows how I feel about him. I don’t run. I revel in us, in him, in the feeling of his hands tugging me closer. Here, it’s safe.

But my mother will never give up until this is over. Until Skar and Aleks are gone, and we’re all that’s left. If I stay, I will be the death of them.

If I go…

The thought breaks the last human part of me, shattering me to pieces. And I kiss him back. I stand on my toes just to reach him, and one of my hands tangles in his hair, tugging as he groans into my mouth. The sound is my undoing, the point that finally tips me over the edge.

Because I love him too. I kiss him, pouring all the words I can never say into him:You are everything I’ve ever wanted- and nothing I will ever deserve.

I’m weeping, tears spilling into the kiss. My body moves before my mind does, and he tenses just as the blade sinks home.

He breaks away from me, and betrayal, cold and unforgiving, passes over him as he looks at the inches between us- at my hand still holding the blade lodged in his gut.

I’m so sorry.

His blood coats my hands, and bile rises in my throat as he stumbles back.

What have I done?

He sinks to his knees, hands gripping his stomach as blood leaks from the wound.

Don’t throw up.

I stumble back, tripping over the bag and landing on my ass. I fumble upwards, wiping away the blood and the tears as I yank the bag into my hand.

“Charlotte-”

Out, out, out, I’m telling myself, looking down at my hands and forcing them to work. Grab the keys, grab the bag.

Leave.

Skar reaches for me, hands shaking, and I step away. My world crumbles down to the ground in front of me- just like it always had to. Just like I always knew it would.

“I’m so sorry,” I whisper, slipping my ring off my hand and letting it fall into the carnage I leave behind.

My heart is caught between longing and guilt and love and pain, and my mind is taking over. Somehow, I make it to the car. I lock it. I key the ignition to life and force myself to think about anything except for the choice I’ve made.

I kick the car into gear, and I drive like hell. I drive until I’m far enough away to pull to the side of the road and vomit my guts up. Hiccups are lodged in my throat, and for a moment, I just kneel and cry.

I don’t know where I’m going- all I know is that I can’t stay. My mother will find me anywhere I go, anywhere I hide. While I hadn’t chosen Skar, I hadn’t chosen her either. Life as I knew it before is over. And I have no idea what’s ever going to be left for me.

Part Three

Redemption

Chapter Fifty-Three

Charlotte

…Four Months Later…

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