Island of Secrets and Scars

Two days later, Ian stood outside the clinic. His bags were packed for his return trip home, but he wouldn’t be taking the most important things with him. At the sound of footsteps on the packed dirt, he lifted his head. Slowly, Cameron made her way to him. Looking at her face still made his stomach twist and his fists clinch. To say bruises covered her face didn’t accurately describe her. Blue and purple covered so much of her skin that she appeared to have simply turned colors. Eventually, the marks would turn green and yellow, then fade away. But Ian could never unsee what the monster had done to her.

“All packed up?” The stitches in her lip kept her from giving him a full smile. Something in the way she held herself aloof from him though, told him she wouldn’t have smiled even if she could.

“Yeah. I was planning to come by the cottage before I headed to the boat.”

Looking away, she gave a tiny nod. “I thought this would be better.”

“Better?”

“Easier.”

No. Nothing about any of this was easy. Whether he told her goodbye here at the clinic or at her cottage, he’d never done anything harder. How the hell had she walked away all those years ago?

“Have you changed your mind and decided to go with me?” He grinned as if he were joking. They both knew better.

Without returning his smile, she shook her head. “I’ve already—”

“Yeah. I know.” Not wanting to argue with her moments before he left, he stepped closer to pull her into his arms.

Instead, she stepped away.

Her action stung. “Cam?”

“I just wanted to tell you goodbye.” Tears filled her eyes, but she didn’t let them fall. “I’m so glad you came here. Really. Even with everything…” As her voice broke, she turned her face down to look at her hands.

The need to hold her and comfort her was so strong he didn’t know how much longer he could withstand. Still, he sensed whatever she was here to do she needed to be removed from him to do it.

“I’m glad I know what really happened in Africa and how you really felt,” she finished.

He wouldn’t mention she should’ve always known.

“I’m glad to have the memories of these last weeks to replace some of the old ones. I’d rather remember our ending like this.”

“Our ending?” She had to be crazy. “We’re not ending, Cam. I’m leaving, but I’ll be back.”

Studying her hands as if they held the answer to all the world’s problems, she twisted her fingers. “I won’t be here.”

Shock rocked through him. She’d sworn she couldn’t take Ara away from her home, her family. Now she wouldn’t be here? “Where the hell will you be?”

Hoping she’d come with him was useless, but unavoidable.

“You were right. As long as Victor Roberts knows she’s here, none of us are safe. We’re going to take her somewhere else.”

“Somewhere else?” He couldn’t help but parrot her words. “Where?”

Negligently, she lifted a shoulder. “There are other islands like this. Places we can make a life without a lot of questions.”

And no answers since Cameron was becoming the queen of not giving any.

“So, you and Keso will do what you did here? Pretend to be a family. Pretend—”

“We are a family,” she insisted. “Aren’t you the one who said we’re her true parents? That—”

“But to each other. What will you pretend to be to each other?”

Why he asked, he didn’t know. The only plausible answer was obvious.

She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. Averting her gaze, she took a deep breath. Her chest rose, pushing her breasts against her tank top, before she flinched, squeezing her eyes shut in pain.

“Cameron?”

“We’re not going to pretend.” Voice trembling, she continued, “I’ve… we’ve decided to get—”

“Don’t you say it.” Gripping her biceps, he snapped her against him. “I swear to God, Cameron. Don’t you—”

“I’m going to marry him.” Not a trace of happiness accompanied her words.

Desperation washed over Ian, blanketing his skin, his heart, until the emotions felt too heavy to even breathe. He dropped his hands from Cameron’s arms and backed away. “You can’t do that.”

“I want to. You being here reminded me of what I’ve missed. I wanted to be married. I wanted children. After you, I thought I couldn’t have that, but now—”

“You can have that. With me. What the fuck are you thinking, Cameron? You can’t marry him. You can’t—”

“I am,” she whispered. “It’s best for Arabella, for any other—”

“You can’t have his child.” This was the final straw. She’d officially lost her goddamn mind. He’d tell Wes. They’d have her evaluated and forced back home for care. Leaving her here in the middle of a clear mental breakdown wasn’t an option.

The smile she gave him barely turned the corners of her mouth. Her cool hands cradled his face. “I love you. I will always love you, but I have to move on and live. You have to m—”

“No. Hell no.” Shoving her hands away, he jerked back. “This is bullshit, Cameron. How can you say you love me—”

“Because I do.”