drop my hands from around his neck. “Is this my ticket to leave?”
“Your ticket?”
“Well, aren’t you giving me back the stocks so I’ll go?”
“Is that what you think?”
“Isn’t that why you did it?” My voice is broken and hurt, even to my own ears.
He grabs me by the waist and tugs so that I end up sitting on his hard thighs. The position has become too familiar. The thought of never having it again is more painful than being stabbed.
Jonathan’s fingers dig into my hipbone, tender but firm. “It’s the other way around.”
“The other way around?”
“I gave you back the stocks so you wouldn’t stay just because I’m holding them over your head.”
A deep breath heaves out of my lungs as his grey eyes hold mine hostage. “Does that mean you’re giving me the opportunity to choose whether I leave or stay?”
He gives a sharp nod. “But if you do choose to leave, I might not play fair.”
“When have you ever?”
“You already know my methods, so choose wisely. I’ll give you some time to think about it.”
“I don’t need time.”
He narrows his eyes, fingers tightening into my hip. “If you’re in the mood to be chased, I’m happy to oblige.”
I lean over and whisper in his ear, “I’m not going anywhere.”
“No?”
“I’ve kind of gotten used to you. It’d be weird to get a different roommate.”
“Is that so?”
“I think so. I love you, Jonathan.”
He smiles, a genuine one that lights his grey eyes and threatens to stop my heart. “You do, huh?”
“I do. I thought I was incapable of love after losing Dad and Alicia, but you wrenched it out of me so easily. In the beginning, it was frightening, but it soon became exciting. I’m so glad I met you — or more like, re-met you.”
His hand wraps around my throat, and my breathing hitches like every time he does it. “And I’m glad I kept you, wild one. You flipped my world upside down and I enjoy every second of it. I don’t only love you, I’m obsessed with everything about you, and I’ll spend the rest of my life proving how much your presence means to me.”
“Jonathan…” My voice shatters with adoration and utter passion for this man. My tyrant. My love. My life.
“You’re staying. It’s final.”
“I’m staying. After all, I have Alicia’s permission.”
“Alicia?”
I lift my chin. “It’s a secret between me and my sister.”
“Fascinating.” He shakes his head. “I’ve known you were a wild one since you were five.”
“Since I was five? I first met you when I was seven.”
“Mmm. Maybe.”
“Jonathan. What do you mean?”
A sadistic gleam covers his eyes. “A secret.”
“You’re awful.”
“You still love me.”
“I do.”
“Say it.”
“I love you, Jonathan.” I sigh. “I love you so much.”
Still grabbing me by the throat, his lips find mine in a kiss that seals my fate.
Epilogue 1 - Aurora
Six months later
You know when you think you have it all, and there’s a nagging feeling at the back of your head that maybe something wrong will happen and take all the good away?
I’ve never stopped thinking about that possibility since the attack. Not even after Dad went into a coma, taking most of my childhood memories with him.
But in another way, I learnt to move on.
My nightmares have slowly started to disappear, and it’s all thanks to the man who sleeps beside me every night.
Jonathan holds me to him or above him, and the moment I get lost in his warmth, the world ceases to exist — nightmares included.
We go out on long walks, and I’ve gone back to hiking. I love the thrill of climbing and knowing I’ll reach the top at the end of the journey. The fact that Jonathan is there every step of the way gives me a sense of empowerment I wouldn’t have found any other way.
That’s why I’m here today. A year ago, if anyone had told me I would be wearing a huge white dress and walking towards the man I once thought was a god, I would’ve pegged it as another hallucination.
Now, it’s far from it.
All eyes turn to me as the music changes. We’re on Jonathan’s private island for our wedding. The island he named Aurora right after he told me I was staying with him and that was final.
He can be so swoony, despite his tyrant nature.
For him, the proposal was simple. He slid the ring on my finger and said, “You agreed to stay, what did you think it would be?”
Not that I would’ve said no. From the beginning,