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“You could listen to him, but never to me?”
The tears began to fall more in earnest down my cheek. “We’d broken up and my mother died. Everything was a mess. I was scared—”
“But you should’ve known I would never stalk you. I’d never hurt you no matter what you’d done to me, because I understood you were going through a lot. I wanted to be there for you, but you wouldn’t let me in.”
“I wanted to, but I didn’t know how. I love you so much, Callum, and I have for so damn long. Walking away from you had been the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, outside of watching my mother die, and the more time that passed between us, the harder it became to change things. I wanted nothing more than to be in your arms, and I suspected Travis knew it. He had to because he had a—”
“I know what he had at his place. I saw it all.”
“I’m sorry,” I told him once more.
“You don’t have to nothing to be sorry about when it came to him. Hell, I can’t blame him for being batshit fucking crazy in love with you, because I had fallen just as hard, if not more than, he did. The only exception was that I was willing to give you the space needed to work through things if you would’ve only communicated with me. I’m not a monster, Nicole.”
“I know, Callum. These weeks without you have been pure hell. My blind naivety had almost cost you your life and career, but I’m paying the price for it because it has cost me you.”
“I still love you,” he told me.
“And I love you. I never stopped.”
“So, what happens now?” he asked.
Hope bloomed inside of me as I rolled fully back over to him and took his hand in mine. “It’s going to take a while for me to figure out how to forgive myself, but do you think you could ever forgive me?”
“I did the moment I heard your scream come through my cell phone. I knew in that moment that I would move heaven and earth to save you.”
“My hero,” I murmured to him.
“Not a hero,” he quickly replied. “I’m just a man in love.”
“My man” I said, then went to lean in toward him but grimaced in pain.
“And I’m the man who’s going to send you back to her room to rest.”
“I want to stay here with—”
“You. Your room. Rest.”
“Okay. Fine!” I said as I leaned back and threw my hands up in surrender. “We are okay, though. Right?”
“We’re better than okay,” he told me. “I should be getting released soon, so I’ll stop by to see you later.”
I nodded, then the door opened and my nurse reappeared. “Are you ready to say goodbye?” she asked me.
“Not goodbye,” I said as I flashed Callum a watery smile, “But a see you later.”
He smiled back at me, then I was wheeled back to my room. I now had even more incentive to get better, and as I remembered the ambulance ride here, I now knew I’d been spared because my life wasn’t over as my mother’s had been. I still much more to live, and with the love of my life. I was still smiling as I got back into bed and was hooked back up to all the machines. This was temporary, but love was forever.
EPILOGUE - NICOLE
ONE MONTH LATER - MARBELLA, COSTA RICA
Our tropical paradise was just as beautiful as I’d remembered it, except now it was just the two of us. Classes started up in ten days, and thankfully Callum and I had both gotten the green light to return. I wasn’t quite sure what was going to happen with the investigation, but as it turned out, the Dean had received a large financial contribution, and soon the newest courtyard would be named after Courtland. Daddy and Jonas had been so happy that I’d survived Travis. I still got sad whenever I’d thought about what had happened. At one time, I had considered him a good friend, and although it’d been a lie, a small part of me still mourned his demise.
I might’ve been mourning much more than that had I perished myself. The police had been ready to leave his apartment which would’ve spelled the end of me. If I’d been up there any longer, I might have frozen to death on the rooftop. My hero had been the man I’d loved the whole time.
Callum noticing my butterfly charm on the floor was a stroke of luck. I didn’t think I’d ever get it back because it’d been inventoried as evidence, but Detective Falloray came through, and now it was back on my neck where it belonged. Nicolai had even bought a new chain for it on Christmas, and I suspected my mother would be very happy about it.
This was the first holiday without her, but I had spent it with my brother and father, the latter of which stopped working for two days straight to spend time with us. We had a holiday meal catered this year, just as we usually did, and others flew in from out of town to celebrate with us. I’d gotten to see my aunt and uncle, grandparents, and a host of cousins, including Victoria. It wasn’t the same without my mother, but the mood was definitely not as somber as it’d been on Thanksgiving. All in all, it was a start in the right direction.
