Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 80563 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80563 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Even in all my rage with the pain of a broken heart, I didn’t want to hurt him. It took a while to accept what had happened, and if it wasn’t for my friends, I would have gone back to him, wanting so desperately to believe that he wouldn’t really hurt me like that. The Easton I knew, the man I fell in love with, would never do something to purposely hurt me.
But he did.
He looked me in the eye and told me he loved me and then betrayed me. He carried on day after day, telling me he loved me while he kept that secret, knowing that it would come out one way or another. And when it did—it would kill me. Literally. Only someone seriously deranged could do something so heinous while being able to say I love you.
Though in the end…was it love? Lucas has been certain since the moment he met Easton that the guy was still in love with me. I didn’t want to see it then, but there’s no denying it now.
“Maybe you should go talk to him,” Ricci says, looking out the window.
“Nah, I don’t—” I start but cut off when I see Easton arguing with the two hunters. Juliet starts to squirm like she does when she’s too hot in the sling.
“I can take her,” Abby offers. She gave up and let Penny have her phone, which will buy at least ten minutes of the kid being entertained. “Go talk to him.”
“Thanks,” I tell my sister. She knows the cliff notes version of what happened with Easton, though I don’t think she knows the full details of what we’d just gone through together with the djinn. Starting a text thread to fill everyone in is sounding like a better and better idea every day.
Abby takes Penny and I hurry out of the restaurant, finding Easton heading in the opposite direction of the hunters. They’re mad he stood up for me—again. Why he keeps running with assholes like that, I’ll never know. Though the life of a hunter can be very isolating.
“Easton!” I shout and he stops, turning and looking a little confused.
“What are you doing?” he asks when we’re only a few feet apart.
“That was weird. Things are…weird.”
His brows go up and he bobs his head up and down. “You can say that again.”
I laugh. “I haven’t thought about that day in a while. The day I…uh…found out your intentions.”
Easton looks out at the busy street next to us. “I think about it from time to time. You know I regret, it, right?”
“Which part?” I ask slowly. “Meeting me, or pretending to love me?”
“It wasn’t,” he starts but isn’t able to finish. “It wasn’t all…pretend. I…wasn’t lying the whole time.”
“I loved you,” I tell him, slowly shaking my head as the emotions come flooding back. We never talked about what happened between us, and working it out probably would have saved me a couple dozen sessions with the Academy social worker. “Wholeheartedly with everything inside of me.”
He cast his gaze down. “I know.”
“I would have done anything to be with you,” I continue and bite the inside of my cheek, watching emotion play across Easton’s face. “Gone anywhere and followed you because I thought if we were together, it would be home.”
“I thought the same thing,” he confesses. “And I meant it when I told you I loved you.”
“But you hurt me. You did what you did knowing it would break my heart. Yet you looked me in the eyes and lied. Again and again and again.”
“I did.” He slowly inhales and looks up, brown eyes meeting mine. “And I regret that every single day. I lost you.” Looking away, he shakes his head and plows a hand through his dark hair. “I knew what I was doing would hurt you. Yet I did it anyway. I told you that you could trust me as I lied to your face. And those lies and manipulation pushed you until you couldn’t take it anymore and I made you the bad guy so I could play the victim and not have to deal with the guilt of what I did. And I’m sorry. I don’t deserve your forgiveness yet you gave it to me.”
My mouth opens and closes, both taken aback and impressed at how insightful Easton was. Almost dying—the most recent time at least—most have really rattled him. “I’m okay being the villain from time to time. And I did go a little Carrie at the end, though you totally deserved worse.”
He chuckles. “I did. None of that shattered glass came close to me.” Holding my gaze, he inches closer. “I really am sorry. I went into that job thinking it would be easy. We were taught witches are bad. It seemed so black and white at the time. Make sure you were a witch and then finish the job.”