Halcyon

Part 73

It's frustrating how Miles found it not even thirty minutes after he got there yet I've been on my knees for hours looking for the stupid thing. To add to that, I lose myself in the villa too.

I'm led by a maid who takes me back to the entrance and from there I take the same direction Tamir did when we first arrived.

I'm barefooted, exhausted, with hair sticking to my forehead, sand still on my legs and knees, the shirt wet to my back, as I arrive to a stop at our door. Slowly, I push it open.

"She couldn't have gotten far!"

"She's not in the woods!"

"You're just telling me what-" the words stop mid sentence as I appear in the door. "Where the hell have you been?" Tamir rushes to me. "Halcyon I've been worried sick! You just up and left."

My hand clenches tight around the box before offering it to him. "I'm sorry."

"Miles texted me," Sierra's voice sounds behind us. "We found Halcyon crawling at sand. She ran off, I'm assuming back to her liege."

I'm still there, box in hand, standing. Finally my eyes sting once more and I invite the feeling letting my hot tears trail down my face.

"She went looking for it. Told you she wasn't in the woods." Her soft footsteps move in my direction but when she reaches me she just brushes past and leaves.

We're left in our silence, nothing but wild panic still runs through me. "My love," his tone is soft, inviting.

"Take it." I extend my hand some more showing his initials scarred on me. At a slow pace, he does before I move to the bathroom.

"Did you open it?" I don't turn at the question.

"No." I shut the door then ready myself to a shower. Once I'm done I step out to find him slumped on the bed, he picks himself up leaning on his elbows as I drag my bag out form under the bed.

I decide on a yellow floral spaghetti strap dress that stops just at my thighs. I can feel him watching me dress as I slip a lace thong on before the dress. We don't say a word to each other but I hear him fall backward making the bed move.

I unzip my front pocket and grab a pregnancy test I brought and took before coming here. "So I talked to my doctor because I missed my period last month," I keep my eyes on the test but I can sense his eyes on me.

"She said that it's entirely possible that I miss certain periods because of the birth control or my cycle might be messed up." I was not even sure if I was going to even tell him this, but I needed something to talk about. "She made me take a test at the hospital and I asked for the results in paper...I was going to look at it but ripped it up before I got the chance."

I take the box out showing him. "So I took this," I shake the box. "Took two...um...I didn't look at it, couldn't bring myself too. So here," I chuck it by him, "you look at it." I lift my head to him sitting up focusing on nothing but me.

I sustain his eye contact raising my hand for my necklace for something to fidget with. "I'm sorry I shouldn't be bringing this-"

"No," he stands. "This is my fault. You shouldn't be apologizing."

"Maybe you should look at it first," I step back.

"Halcyon look at me,"

"I can't,"

"Why not?"

"I keep messing things up." My voice breaks as I recline. "I just keep messing things up, you don't want this."

"What are you talking about?!" I don't know how he got so close to me be he's standing right there. His hand cups a side of my face bring my face up to meet his eyes. "You don't know what your talking about."

"I'm not fit for this," I shake my head. "You know that I can't be in your mafia, I can't survive seeing people die, I nearly died myself. I tried, I tried being strong but I just keep breaking and crying."

"No one's asking you to be strong for me, or fit in any category. Is this about your pregnancy? You're not even pregnant."

"You don't know that!"

"Wouldn't you be throwing up by now?"

"Pregnancy looks different on everyone."

"Okay," he breaks away going to the bed, I wipe my cheeks watching him reopen the box and tip the sticks out. "Negative. Look," he moves to me showing me the tests. "You're not pregnant." He comes back to me. "I know what pregnancy symptoms look like."

"I'm not bringing anything to the table!"

"You saved my life! What is wrong with you? What do you mean you're not bringing anything to the table?" He scolds me. "My men literally love you! You run your own coffee shop without any assistance.

"You lost your parents, then your brother, then you over came an addiction, all on you own! You managed to save a bleeding man on your floor then change him for the better. All you do is benefit others." He hangs his head.

"All we do is take from you. We take your gratitude, we take your kindness, we take your love." He shakes his head. "After all this, everything you've been through, you still mange a genuine smile. If anything, I envy you."

Wow. I...I did not expect this to turn out this way.

"It bitter to think you don't believe you're recognized. You're no longer the sad girl I met, the one that believed she wouldn't be missed if she died. You've become stronger," his head lifts, "but not for me. You did it for yourself, so you can keep smiling."

I hang my head as his words marinate in the silence he's left. He turns his back to me before moving to the end of the bed and throws the tests down. I watch his back move away from me.

"I want to be your husband," my heart accelerates, slowly he turns to me before digging into his pockets. "It's cheesy but," he throws the red box at me and I catch it, "you'll make me the happiest man alive." The door opens and he's gone.

Alone, I'm left with the box and finally open it. A gleaming diamond ring.