REIKA

EPILOGUE

ARDEN

"I FUCKED UP! I fucking know it. I'm sorry. Please, don't go. We can still have this," I screamed, pleading. This couldn't be happening.

"I can't Arden. I honestly can't. This is over. My plane leaves in the morning." She took a step back and my heart dropped.

"You are the one person outside of my family that I trust blindly. The one person I would trust my heart with. Please, Let's work this out." I reached for her hand and begged. She let me hold it but shook her head 'no'.

"We tried that already. We worked it out, over and over, and over..." she lamented, disheartened.

"This time it will be different," I promised. A promise I wasn't sure I could keep.

"How so?"

"I won't give up." My voice nearly cracked as I looked into her sad eyes.

"You will." She let my hand go. "You already have."

"Give me a chance... The last one." I pleaded once more, but she shook her head 'no' repeatedly. I was losing her.

"We are not mates, Arden. I know you are afraid to let go, but one day you'll find her and what we have will be over, anyway. You'll leave for camp in two weeks and before you know it, you'd have forgotten all about me."

"How can you say that? I'd never..." My trembling hand reached for her face to caress her and she took a step back.

No!

"I should have never broken up with you." I harshly brushed my hair back, regretting greatly my stupid decision.

"It was the best thing you had done for us."

"No!" I shook my head, not being able to accept this.

"Listen, it's OK. I'm OK."

"But I'm not OK. I don't want to lose you." I pleaded once more.

"And have me on standby, waiting for you to make up your mind, hoping one day you'll be mine and mine only? No. Arden, you already lost me." Those words cut deep. She walked closer to lovingly caressing my face one last time before stepping back and out of my reach. "You'll have her..."

"Don't fucking talk to me about her!" Anger rose in my chest and if I could, I would have broken every single thing in my way. This was her fault.

"Is not bad to have a little leap of faith. Things might still work out with her. She could be the one." Said the one girl my heart wanted right at that time, but couldn't have.

"She fucking cheated! I snuck into her cabin and found her with not one, but three dicks. Every fucking hole filled." I spat.

Silence.

"I'm sorry." Her beautiful brown eyes watered and I knew she meant it. After all the shit I had put her through, she didn't have a single ounce of bad blood in her towards me.

"It's what I deserve, I know. I don't deserve you, but please, take me back, stay here." I begged for the last time.

"I... I can't, Arden." another step back. She was getting further and my heart beated in desperation. My eyes followed her figure as she slowly walked back. A single tear rolled down her cheek before she turned away and left. With my eyes fixed on the empty space she had left, I held back my tears.

After all those years, that's how it ended.

I felt like shit for fucking losing her, but I couldn't drag my pride even further for someone who just abandoned me.

Ding!

The 'seatbelts-on' signal light woke me up. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have just been cleared to land in the beautiful land of the rising sun. We are expecting clear skies and warm temperatures, so we hope you will have a relaxing and fulfilling visit. As we start our descent, please make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their full upright position. Also, make sure your seat belt is securely fastened and all carry-on luggage is stowed underneath the seat in front of you or in the overhead bins. Thank you." The flight attendant announced and then repeated the same instructions in the foreign language from the place we were heading to.