The End

GAVIN

I’d fucked up.

More than that, I’d dropped a nuclear bomb on everything good in my life.

As my driver tore through New York City traffic, I repeatedly called Annalise. All I got was her voicemail.

“Fuck!”

Sergei’s eyes flashed to mine in the rearview, but he kept his mouth shut.

~Smart man.~

Looking back, I’m not sure how I possibly imagined keeping this a secret. Better yet, why I felt the need to in the first place.

I should have just told her about the threats, that I’d received stalker-like photos of her for weeks and, despite the best investigators money could buy, had yet to come up with a suspect.

But I hadn’t wanted to worry her. Instead, I paid people to pretend to be paparazzi outside the penthouse to keep her inside. Then, I lied about the charity ball in a desperate, misguided attempt to keep her out of harm’s way.

It didn’t matter, though. In the end, she was hurt anyway.

I pulled my phone out to call again. At the same moment, it started ringing.

~Mark.~

“Hello?” I practically barked into the phone.

“Ms. Miller made it back to the penthouse, sir.”

“Keep her there,” I ordered.

He paused, and I thought I heard Annalise’s voice in the background. “She’ll wait for you.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “What do you mean, ‘wait for me’?”

“She has a bag packed.”

~Dammit.~ I slammed my phone down.

The entire rest of the drive, I played out scenarios where I convinced her to stay. She’d signed a contract, after all.

I almost laughed. As if a piece of fucking paper would be enough to keep Annalise Miller from leaving my sorry ass.

But if it wasn’t? How would I possibly survive without her?

I flew out of the elevator doors at the penthouse and rounded the corner.

There she was, my beautiful little fiancée, standing with a suitcase and her purse. My heart sank. It was probably the same bag she had ready to go for our wedding in Florida.

“Annalise…”

“Don’t.” Her tone was sharp, her body rigid. “You’re a piece of shit, Gavin.”

I swallowed and shoved my hands in my pockets to keep them from shaking. “Please give me a chance to explain.”

She took a deep breath, and I noticed the rims of her eyes were red and puffy. No doubt she’d been crying.

I’d done that. I’d caused her pain.

“There’s nothing to explain,” she said, eerily calm. “That cell phone you gave me? It was Chelsea’s. I read her messages and emails. I know she didn’t give you a choice but to go.

“Maybe it was wrong of me not to tell you. But I’m not sorry. I had to know what kind of man you really were, and I guess I got my answer.”

“And what kind of man was that?” I asked, already anticipating the response.

She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “A liar, Gavin.”

Her words cut me like a knife. “I love you, Annalise.”

She laughed in disbelief. “You use love like a weapon, dangling in front of me like an unattainable prize just to thrust it in my face when you know you’re about to lose at your own game.”

“That’s not what happened,” I argued.

She ignored me. “With one touch, you have the ability to set my entire soul on fire, but you constantly choose to leave me out in the cold.”

She shook her head. “I’ve been on my own since I was eighteen, Gavin. In the beginning, I let myself believe that this contract with you was an opportunity to share a life with someone. Maybe it wouldn’t be what I pictured, but we could be happy.

“Then we spent time together, and I foolishly hoped that things could be different. That maybe, just maybe, we would end up being everything I was looking for. I gave you every piece of myself, every stupid piece of my heart. And tonight, you showed me exactly how much I actually mean to you.”

I stepped toward her but stopped when she stiffened. “Annalise, you mean everything to me.”

A single tear fell down her cheek, and I wanted to drive my fist through the wall.

“Please, baby.” I reached out to her, but she shook her head.

“You lied!” Her voice cracked just enough to break my heart. “You lied! Again!”

Her shout echoed around us in the massive penthouse, a ghostly chorus reminding me of my faults.

She wiped her cheeks angrily. “All I’ve ever needed from you is the truth, and you never give it to me willingly. I can’t live like this. I won’t.”

I closed my eyes and forced back the lump in my throat. “Where will you go?”

She snorted. “Like I would tell you.”

~Figured as much.~

“Take my credit card.”

She rolled her eyes. “Why? So you can track me?”

“I just want you to be safe,” I sighed. “There’s cash in the top right drawer of my desk.”

“Fine. Thanks.”

“And the dog.” Her eyes flashed to mine. “Take Anubis.”

At that, her bottom lip shook, but she just nodded before snapping her fingers. The pup immediately came trotting dutifully to her side.

A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. ~Even the dog fell for her.~

She started to gather her things, but I stopped her with my hands on her arms. She tensed but didn’t pull away.

“I fucked up, Annalise. I know that. I hurt you more than I can ever make up for. I’m an asshole, and I deserve for you to walk away.

“But if you give me another chance, I’ll spend every day of my life trying to be good enough for you. And even if you leave now, I’ll never stop loving you.”

She refused to meet my eyes, so I leaned down and brushed a kiss on her forehead.

She bit her lip before whispering, “Goodbye, Gavin.”

With that, I knew I’d lost her. I clenched my jaw as I watched the elevator doors close, fighting the urge to stop her.

“Mark.”

He appeared from the shadows like a phantom.

“Make sure she gets whatever she’s going to safely,” I told him.

He met me with a detached stare. “I won’t tell you where she is.”

~Great.~

“I just want to make sure she’s okay. You don’t have to tell me anything.”

“Okay.” He turned without another word.

I knew he thought I was an asshole. Frankly, I didn’t blame him.

In the quiet of my apartment, her absence was like a tangible weight in the air. Already, the warmth she’d brought with her was dissipating. In its place, she left suffocating loneliness.

I fell to my knees and cursed at the top of my lungs.

~How could I have lost the best thing that ever happened to me? How could I have lost the love of my life?~