One for each of us.
We didn’t need bedrooms for staff.
We didn’t need bedrooms for kids.
We didn’t need guest bedrooms.
In our world, this house was meant to be just ours.
Ours.
Of course, there was never an ‘ours,’ never an ‘us.’
Just her.
And me.
Locked in a bitter war.
I lead her up the stairs.
“More bedrooms,” I say, showing her a couple. And then we walk past a door.
“And this room?”
“Is mine, not yours. This half of the house is off-limits to you,” I say, pointing down the hallway.
Before she asks more questions, I pull her into my bedroom.
It wasn’t my intention to bring her here. I had other plans for Liesel, but the second I drag her into my bedroom and shut the door, I realize this is where I need her.
Liesel’s eyes bulge as she looks around the room, another combination of my and Liesel’s dreams. It can turn into a dark cave, like I wanted, at a push of a button—the curtains close, the lights dim, and a dark duvet gets thrown over the bed. But it’s also what Liesel envisioned—light, bright, and airy with a picturesque view of the ocean, a balcony for two, and a mostly outdoor bathroom ensuite.
Liesel smiles, really smiles. “You did it. You built our dream. It’s beautiful.”
I’m silent for a moment.
“It’s not yours.”
Her smile falters. “I never thought it was.”
“You’re not going to get free, Liesel. There is no way off this island. You’ll live the rest of your life here. You’ll die here.”
“Then, lucky for me, I’ll die in my dream house.”
I nod.
She glances out the window, her smile returning. “That is if Waylon doesn’t come for me.”
“Waylon has money, but no skills. He will never find you. And I doubt he loves you enough to devote his life to searching for you, which is what it would take to find you.”
She tucks her mud and leaf-stricken hair behind her ear. “Waylon loves me more than you know. He asked me to marry him.”
My throat tightens, and my eyes flatten into slits. I grab her left hand, not believing I missed anything. I hold it up.
“I don’t see a ring.”
She pulls her hand free. “I don’t need a ring for Waylon to prove his love for me. For us to promise to spend our life together forever.”