Page 116 of The Oscar Escape
Pain flashed in Dom’s eyes, but it gave way to resignation. He nodded and pulled out his cell.
“Wait,” Oscar begged. “Give me one minute, Aria. Please, don’t go. Not yet.”
She schooled her features. “You’ve got one minute.”
He took her hand and led her several paces away toward the edge of the bluff. “Don’t do this. I love you. We love each other. This place showed us that.”
She flinched. His words only produced more arrows headed straight to her heart.
Havenmatch Island had revealed something, but it wasn’t what he thought it was.
“Don’t you see, Oscar?” she began, unable to hold back the tears. “You never wanted me—you wanted a version of me you created in your head. An Aria you keep locked away. Not the celebrity. If you loved me—the real me—you wouldn’t ask me to stop.”
“This life is killing you,” he shot back.
“This life is what my legacy demands.”
He shook his head, but the fight in him had dwindled.
She wiped the tears from her cheeks. “You said words mattered to you.”
“They do.”
She stared into his stormy blue eyes and saw the boy she’d loved her entire life. Pushing aside the memories, she willed herself to ignore her shattered heart, but the pain radiated from the center of her body in waves of jagged regret. “Listen closely to what I’m about to say to you. My next words will make our situation crystal clear.”
“Don’t say it,” he begged.
Of course, he could read her mind. Despite their wreckage of a relationship, he still knew her better than anyone. The trouble was, he didn’t know his own heart.
With trembling hands, she removed his mother’s ring from her finger and pressed it into his palm. “You’re a drifter, searching for your next escape. And I’m a dreamer, committed to the dreams and aspirations of my family. I’ll always love you, but there’s no way forward for us. The lie stops here. It’s over, Oscar. We’re done.”
Chapter21
OSCAR
“That’s the sign for Telluride, Ozzy Bear,” Ivy said, pointing out the half-open window.
Oscar signaled and exited the highway. A numbness had set in. It was as if the world had dimmed. Or perhaps it was him.
Ivy rooted around in her backpack. “Do you think we’ll beat Daddy there?”
“I’m not sure, Ives. He said he had an errand to run before he could head down.” His voice even sounded hollow—not that he’d been using it much.
“Are you sad about selling your house?” the child continued as she rummaged through her backpack.
“What are you looking for in there, Ivy?” he asked, changing the subject on purpose.
“My Clawdia Junior,” she replied and pulled a plush stuffed cotton candy lobster from her pack.
He wasn’t sure why she’d packed a bag. This wasn’t another vacation—more of a down-and-back drive. Inez had informed him that today was the final walkthrough on the Telluride cabin. He’d get one more look before the buyers had their last check of the property. From there, it was simply paperwork.
Paperwork.
Like a marriage license.
He swallowed past the emotion in his throat and wished like hell he could light up a cigarette. “It’s just a house, Ives.”
“Do you miss Havenmatch Island?” his sister pressed, peppering him with questions.
