22. Madelyn

CHAPTER 22

Madelyn

A muscle twitches in Dominic’s jaw as he stares at me from across the kitchen island.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“You heard me, Dominic. You need to let me go. There’s no use holding on to me. It’ll only end up hurting us both. Honestly, I think our relationship is a little ill-fated. I mean, think about everything that’s brought us to this point. Scepter, us losing our families, you killing my dad. It’s a lot. It’s exhausting. Most people would have gone crazy by now. I think we just need to stay away from each other. We just killed the link connecting us, and now I think it’s time to let each other go. Turn the page forever.”

“Sorry, Flowers, but that’s bullshit,” he says, his stormy gray eyes burning with defiance. “I already told you, didn’t I? I don’t believe in fate or coincidences. I make my own fate. You’re that fate. I know I wronged you. I was going to give you space until you could look at me again without that hollowness in your eyes. I’d do anything for you, Madelyn. But letting you go is out of the question.”

“W-we can’t be together,” I argue.

“Says who?” he retorts, walking toward me.

My heart starts to race as he approaches, backing me against the refrigerator at my back. Before I can even think to escape, I’m trapped. Both by his body and in the depths of his eyes.

“Look into my eyes and tell me to let you go,” he prompts.

I swallow, feeling a tremble go through me. Everything about Dominic consumes me in the best and worst way. I hate that I still love him. I hate that I could never hate him. Everything he’s done, what he is, it should have me running for his hills. But all I want to do is stay by his side.

But I can’t. I have too much self-respect to do that.

“Let me go, Dominic,” I say, my mouth dry. I can see the effects my words have on him. He falters, pain clear as day in his eyes. His pain hurts me as well. But I’m not done talking. “Let me go temporarily.”

“What?” he asks in confusion.

“You promised me a safari as a Christmas gift. I want to go somewhere in Africa, maybe Kenya. I hear that’s the best place for Safaris.”

“You want to go to Kenya?” Dominic asks slowly.

“Not just Kenya, I want to travel the world. For about a year. It’ll be like a journey of self-discovery. I think I need to find myself, Dominic. And you do, too. We’ve both spent so much of our lives as ghosts, as shadows. Sometimes I’m not sure who I really am, and I don’t think you know either. Specter was right. We are broken, but broken things can be put together.”

“I’ll put you together myself,” he vows, his voice steady, unwavering.

I shake my head, placing a hand on his jaw. “You can’t fix someone when you have holes yourself. The two of us need to heal apart from each other. We also need, like, loads of property.”

He doesn’t even smile at that. His eyes search mine pleadingly.

“I need you, Madelyn. I understand this is all on me. I lied to you, I kept the truth away from you. I hid who I really was. Your anger is one-hundred percent justified, but if I let you leave I won’t get to see you for a year. How am I supposed to protect you? How would I know you’re safe?”

“I protected myself for years before you came along, Dominic,” I say softly. “I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”

His eyes flutter shut and he leans into my touch. “Don’t go, baby.”

I’m not going to lie, my resolve falters a little bit at the heartbreak in his tone.

“I have to,” I tell him, my eyes welling with tears. “For both of us. You hurt me, and I need to find a way to forgive you for all that pain. Just give me a chance, Dom. You found me the first time around. Give me a chance to find you again.”

“You might not come back, Flowers.”

I want to deny it and tell him that I definitely will, but the truth is, in my journey of self-discovery I could come to realize that maybe my love for him was something also born from my deep-seated trauma.

“You just have to trust that I’ll make the right decision.”

With those words, I lean up and press a soft kiss on his lips. It’s barely even a kiss. I pull away before it can get too deep, despite the clenching in my chest. Every inch of me wants him but every part of my mind knows I can’t stay. And I think he understands that, too.

“Come back to me, okay? And promise me you won’t go looking for trouble.”

I scoff. “I never go looking for trouble, trouble always finds me.”

Dominic simply sighs before wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into a comforting hug—the last hug I get from him before I leave.

CHRISTMAS DAY

One Year Later

The air in Chicago is sharp and cold, the kind that bites at your cheeks and makes your breath fog in front of you. But the city is alive, shimmering with holiday magic. Twinkling lights wrap every lamppost, wreaths hang from storefronts, and the faint sound of carolers drifts through the bustling streets.

I pull my coat tighter around me, my gloved fingers clutching the straps of my bag as I step out of the cab.

“Millennium Park, please,” I tell the driver.

Ahead, the massive Christmas tree stands in all its glory, its branches glinting with silver and gold ornaments, a thousand fairy lights casting a warm glow over the crowd below. The sight is everything I hoped it would be—festive, magical, perfect.

My heart pounds as I scan the area. Carly and Joshua swore they’d get Dominic here.

“Trust us,” Carly said when I texted her my plan. “We’ll make it happen.”

There’s a crowd of people at the park so it takes me a second to find him, but once I finally do, my heart skips a beat. It stops working and then starts beating again, racing in my chest.

Dominic stands near the base of the tree, his hands buried in the pockets of his coat, his dark hair dusted with snowflakes. He’s staring up at the tree, looking out of place but undeniably striking in the sea of holiday cheer.

I take a deep breath, my heart racing as I move closer. It’s been a year since I last saw him—a year of adventures, healing, and finding myself again. I went to Kenya and then Rome, Greece, Italy, France. I toured half of Europe and then I went home. Not my home here, but my other home.

Home in Mexico. My mom left the city about a year after she gave birth to me so I barely even remember it, but she did tell me enough that I was able to track down her family members. My family members. I met my grandmothers and my aunts. I have about ten cousins. It was nice to find a sense of belonging like that. At first, it was hard. They’d spent the last twenty years worried about the whereabouts of a daughter that would never come home. And then they opened their arms to me and a part of me sighed in relief.

I have a family now. But there’s still one more person left. The person who completes my heart, no matter how much I tried to deny it.

He doesn’t notice me at first, his focus still on the tree. I make my footsteps light as I slowly creep toward him. Once I’m close enough, I tap his shoulders.

“Hey, stranger,” I greet with a wide smile.

He turns, and the sight of his face, that familiar blend of sharp edges and quiet intensity, makes my chest tighten. Our eyes meet, and the entire world holds its breath. Those beautiful gray eyes widen at the sight of me, a flicker of disbelief crossing his features mixed with shock.

“I know what you’re thinking. But I promise this is not a dream. I am right here in front of you. Flesh and blood,” I ramble, a little nervous at seeing him again.

“Madelyn,” he says, his voice low and rough.

My heart warms. “Hi,” I say, smiling.

For a moment, neither of us moves. The noise of the crowd fades into the background, the world narrowing to just the two of us.

“You’re back,” he says, his voice softer now.

“Surprise,” I reply, spreading my arms slightly. “Merry Christmas.”

He takes a step closer, his gaze searching mine. “Why are you here?”

“I missed home,” I say honestly. “But more than that… I missed you. So, so much.”

“You came back,” he breathes.

“I came back,” I assure him on a nod.

“Were you able to achieve all that you wanted?”

“Yes, and so much more. I healed and I saw the world, but it all felt a little hollow. And by the end of my trip, I knew it was because I didn’t have you by my side. But I needed time to figure out who I was and what I wanted. But now I’m sure. And what I want is you, Dominic. I’ll take all your darkness, all the shadows, everything. As long as I have you by my side,” I breathe.

His jaw tightens, and for a moment, I wonder if I’ve made a mistake. I wonder if maybe I was too late and he’s already moved on. But then he steps closer, his hands hesitating before reaching out to take mine.

“You just dropped this on me in the middle of Millennium Park?” he mutters, his lips twitching in what might almost be a smile.

“It felt appropriate,” I say, laughing lightly. “I thought I’d recreate the scene from one of those Christmas Hallmark movies you hate.”

His thumb brushes against the back of my hand, and his eyes soften in a way that makes my chest ache. “In that case, we’d better act the scene right,” he murmurs. “I missed you like crazy, Flowers. And I love you. I wanted to say it before you left but I thought it would be selfish of me when you so clearly needed me to let you go. But now I need you to know how much I love you, Madelyn. I think I’ve loved you from the moment I laid eyes on you.”

My eyes well up with tears. “I love you too, Dominic. Now, are you going to hug me or not?”

He chuckles before slowly pulling me closer and wrapping his arms around my waist.

“I don’t deserve you,” he says quietly, his voice thick with emotion. “But I’ve spent the last year wishing I did.”

“You do,” I say firmly, pulling back to cup his face with my hands. “You always have.”

Before I can say anything else, his lips capture mine in a kiss that’s soft and deep, filled with all the things we couldn’t say before.

Around us, the crowd cheers as someone counts down to the lighting of the tree. When the lights flicker on, casting the park in a golden glow, Dominic pulls back just enough to rest his forehead against mine, a rare smile curving his lips.

“Merry Christmas, Maddie,” he says.

“Merry Christmas,” I reply, my heart full as the snow continues to fall around us.

The end.