Chapter 281
Chapter 281:
Harper Quinn and Felix Carter were arguing with the security guards.
Harper waved her phone in the air. “He hung up on me! Well, he didn’t hang up, the line just went dead! He’s in danger p>
Felix rolled his eyes and leaned against the gate. “He’s not in danger, Harper. He’s on a date. He probably threw the phone in the water. It’s his signature move p>
Harper gasped. “With Skye? On the boat? Alone p>
She tried to push past the guards. “I need to make sure she didn’t stab him! Or that he didn’t kidnap her p>
The guards, Alistair’s elite enforcers, formed a human wall. They didn’t budge.
“Mr. Thorne gave strict orders. No interruptions. Lethal force authorized for intruders p>
“Lethal force?” Harper shrieked. “I’m his best friend p>
“That’s why we haven’t shot you yet, ma’am,” one guard deadpanned.
Harper tilted her head, listening. A loud boom echoed from the harbor. “Is that… fireworks p>
Felix pointed to the sky, where the remnants of the display were fading. “Proposal. Definitely a proposal. The boss doesn’t do fireworks for dinner p>
Harper screamed in excitement. “I need to see the ring p>
Back on the boat, Alistair kicked the cabin door shut and locked it.
He set me down and walked to a small, hidden fridge built into the mahogany wall. He pulled out a box.
“Make a wish,” he said.
He opened the box. It wasn’t a fancy French pastry. It was a simple strawberry shortcake from a bakery in Queens. My childhood favorite. The one my mother used to buy me before everything went wrong.
I looked at him, touched. “You remembered p>
“I remember everything about you,” he said, lighting a single candle.
I closed my eyes. I didn’t wish for money. I didn’t wish for revenge. I had those things.
“I wish for… peace,” I whispered.
I blew out the candle.
Alistair kissed my forehead. “I’ll give you war against your enemies, Skye. But in this room, I will give you peace p>
C𝘰mp𝗹e𝗍𝘦 с𝗁a𝗽𝘁𝘦r𝘴 𝘰𝗻 𝖻𝗲𝗹𝘯𝘰𝗏𝗲𝗹ѕ.c𝗈𝘮
We sat on the floor of the luxurious cabin, eating the cake with plastic forks straight from the box. It was intimate. Domestic. The antithesis of the cold, sterile luxury I had grown up with.
Outside, faintly, I could hear Harper shouting at the guards.
“Should we let them in?” I asked, licking frosting off my thumb.
“Absolutely not,” Alistair said. “Let them wait p>
He pulled me down onto the rug, and we lay there, staring at the ceiling, hands clasped, the gentle rocking of the boat lulling us into a rare, quiet moment.
Morning sunlight streamed through the round porthole, casting a beam of gold across the room.
I woke up alone in the massive bed. The sheets were cold on his side.
I wrapped a silk blanket around myself and stepped out onto the deck. The air was fresh, smelling of salt and morning.
Alistair stood at the railing, staring at the horizon. He was shirtless. For the first time, I saw the map of his life written on his skin. Scars. Burn marks. Knife wounds. They crisscrossed his back like a jagged spiderweb.
I walked up behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist. I pressed my cheek against his scarred back.
“Regrets?” he asked, his voice rough with sleep. He didn’t turn around.
“Only that I didn’t meet you sooner,” I replied.
Alistair sighed and turned in my arms. “You wouldn’t have liked me sooner, Skye. I was… a monster. I had to be p>