A Debt Repaid (The Debt Duet 2)

A single tear manages to escape my eyes and rolls down my cheeks as we hold on tight for life. For love. Because even though we had no physical relationship, the love I felt for this daddy and his little girl was real. And I won’t ever forget that.

“No, thank you for offering me a place to stay … a home … and for being the best teacher in linguistics and culture I could ever have.”

Deion snorts and cries at the same time.

“For being a great dad and an amazing friend and for everything else you will be. Even without me.” When our embrace ends, I add, “Because you will live your life to the fullest. Promise?”

He nods, sniffing. “What about you? Where will you go?”

“With me,” Easton replies with a stoic voice.

“Wait … isn’t this the guy you told me about, the one who—”

He attempts to glance at Easton, but I direct his attention back to me.

“Yes. But I made this deal. It was my choice,” I say. I don’t want him to start an argument. The last thing I want is for this to end in a fight or worse … for Deion to be killed.

He rubs his lips together and nods a few times as tears well up in his eyes.

And I shake my head, and mutter, “Don’t. Don’t cry for me, please.”

A gentle smile appears on his lips. “I won’t.”

“Promise me. Promise me you’ll be happy and forget about me,” I say.

The melancholic look he gives breaks me apart. “I can’t.”

“You have to,” I say. “Please.”

He closes his eyes and sighs. “Okay.”

“Thank you,” I say. “For everything.”

And I turn my head before he opens his eyes. I don’t want to see the tears. I don’t want to see the guilt and the truth that reflects in his eyes. The truth where I leave in exchange for Ashanti coming back. The truth where I was the cause of her being taken.

I’m the only one who can fix this, and he knows it.

That’s why I have to leave.

None of this will stop … until I make it stop.

So I walk into Easton’s open arms and let him guide me outside and into his car. Back to the life I once knew … the life of a princess … a pet.

Chapter 11

Charlotte

I don’t cry on the way back to Easton’s mansion. When I called to beg for his help, I thought I would, but I guess I’ve already settled on the idea I’m going back to the one place I tried to escape from. It’s as if the universe is telling me it wants me to be there … with him. Easton Van Buren … my husband.

My eyes instinctively draw up to meet his eternal gaze. Those eyes that can set my soul on fire with a mere blink. How does he do that time and time again? How does he defrost my heart and make me so complacent in my own captivity?

I don’t understand. Not when I’ve been living with such a sweet man for so long and still didn’t feel anything remotely the same for him even though he was perfect in every way. Too perfect, maybe. And Easton is anything but that, which is why I find it so hard to understand why my heart can’t stop beating out of my chest whenever I look at him.

It’s as if my brain hasn’t yet gotten the cue that I’m back in his clutches while my body is ready to go. And that is one confusing clusterfuck of feelings.

“That was a heartfelt goodbye you gave there,” Easton mutters while driving.

I look out the window at all the shops and homes and wonder if I’ll ever see the outside world again now that I’m going back.

“I needed it to last,” I say. “I probably won’t ever see them again.”

There’s a moment of silence. “Who says you won’t?”

I turn my head and glare at him, blinking a couple of times. Did he just say that? “What do you mean?”

He sucks in a breath. “I can arrange for you to see them more often.” He briefly glances at me. “If it makes you happy.”

A smile forms on my lips, and I fight back the tears. “I’d love that.”

He nods, and the smile that follows is the first semblance of humanity I’ve seen in him in ages. The last time was when he donated all those toys to those kids. Maybe there is more to him than meets the eye.

“You will keep your promise, right?” I ask.

“Are you afraid I’ll suddenly go back on it?” he retorts while keeping his eyes on the road.

I glance at him. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

He narrows his eyes at me. “This time is different.”

Why does it feel like he’s a completely different person from who I remember him to be? Did our time apart change him that much? Or did I just never see the real man he could be underneath the beast?