Page 130 of Fraud
“Okay.”
I watched her rise, grabbing her purse from the coffee table before letting herself out. As the door clicked closed, I found my gaze still frozen on the letter before me.
A tiny smile tugged at my lips as I saw the motel logo on the front as my fingers brushed the edges. The seal was broken from Jane’s fierce sense of protectiveness.
For better or worse, that woman was my family, and I was hers. She’d put my happiness above all else, no matter the consequences. I only hoped I could return the favor someday.
Taking the letter in my hand, I slowly unfolded it, my heart skipping a beat when I saw Killian’s handwriting
Kate,
I came to Oregon to destroy a life in order to regain my own.
Instead, I found a future with you.
I know my words mean little to you, considering how much I’ve used them to deceive you.
But, believe me, I do love you.
That was never a lie, nor was it part of the plan.
Enclosed you will find everything I have on Laura Stone. It’s the only copy. Keep it, delete it…it doesn’t matter. After I chose to be with you, I never planned on using it anyway. I’d already found everything I needed.
Just know that you changed me. For the better and maybe a little for the worse…because leaving here is the hardest thing I’ll ever do, because I want to fight for what we have.
But I have to find Liam and make amends for ignoring my duties as a son and brother for far too long. If there’s anything I’ve learned during the past few weeks, it’s to keep your loved ones close.
You never know when it will be time to say good-bye.
Yours always,
Killian
Tears began streaming down my cheeks as I read the last words, remembering the look in his eyes just before I walked away.
Was that our final good-bye?
I’d thought it was. I’d been so blinded by anger, so shell-shocked with betrayal, that I didn’t take the time to see the whole picture.
This man really loved me.
But, after everything that had happened—the lies, the deceit…from both of us—was a life together even possible?
Did I still love him?
That was the ultimate question.
I sent Jane off to run some errands while I tried trudge through the pile of emotions I had.
After a call into work and a quick shower, I was nowhere closer to solving the war raging in my chest.
Did I love Killian?
Yes. That much was easy to admit.
Did I want a future with him, knowing everything I did now?
That was the hard part.
