Page 182 of Modern Romance September 2025 5-8
He didn’t falter. ‘I won’t,’ he said, his voice quieter now, drifting to her ears only by the grace of the wind.
‘You’ll come for me,’ she said, but he was too far away to hear. Her voice was too weak. Unsure…
She couldn’t reach him anymore.
He didn’t want to be reached.
He didn’t want to hear.
He didn’t want to be loved.
The pilot guided her inside the helicopter, and she let him, let him buckle her in and close the door.
The helicopter’s blades came to life. And up and up they went. Above the tree line. Above the castle.
She saw him. Walking up the stone steps.
She waited for him to look up. To see her.
But he didn’t.
He closed the doors. Shut himself inside without her.
Her chest seized. Her lungs locked.
He’d rather be inside, locked inwith them, than with her.
The helicopter turned. Flew away from the castle. Away from him.
A tear slipped free. She didn’t brush it away. She let it slide down her cheek. Let it drip to her dress. And she acknowledged her sadness. Acknowledged his last arrow had sliced through her ribs and entered her heart.
And it was bleeding.
Her heart was shredded.
Broken.
Their time was up.
And whatever they’d had together was over.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Two Weeks Later…
AURORA FINGERED THEdelicate yellow crib bedding tied around the antique oak bars. She pinched the soft casing that would cushion the baby from the hardwood. The tiny ducks, dancing with their open beaks sewn by hand into the bedding, taunted her with their happiness.
She turned away from it. But it was useless. In every corner of her peach bedroom, he was there. Inside the little vases. In the boxes she hadn’t let them put into storage, full of the birds of prey dining set.
He’d been true to his word.
The trucks had arrived the next day.
He’d returned…everything. The smallest vase. The largest dining set. Her silk pumps she’d kicked off outside the great dining hall.
He’d sent it all back.
The last box had arrived today.
