“But that’s the problem. I don’t actually know why I’m here,” I counter, but he doesn’t accept my reason.
“You know why. It’s always been the reason…since you were eight years old.”
“What?” I question, completely lost in translation.
“Stella hasn’t told you anything?” I shake my head slowly. “I stayed away, not because I didn’t love you…but it was because I loved you. But you”—his regret is palpable—“you didn’t love me. You never did. Your heart has always belonged to another.”
“Who?” I ask in a mere whisper. I know the answer, but I need him to confirm it as the truth.
“Cayden.” Even though I knew what his response would be, I still can’t mask my shock. “It’s why you’re back here. You may have amnesia, but it seems your love for him knows no bounds. I was stupid for ever thinking we’d work.”
“Please tell me our story,” I say with nothing but sincerity. No matter what I thought of Calvin when we first met, his genuineness and apparent love for me have me hoping that maybe I wasn’t such a bad person, after all.
He smiles, but it’s bittersweet. “Our parents are longtime friends, so I’m surprised our marriage wasn’t prearranged at birth. We vacationed here when we were kids. Our houses were the biggest. I used to admire the view, but I now know this was done with intent. We were looking down on the entire neighborhood—figuratively and literally. But that didn’t stop you. Not only were you stubborn but you were also inquisitive. Not a good combination for an eight-year-old little girl.” He takes a breath, clearly needing to compose himself, as do I.
“I knew I wanted to marry you. I may have been ten, and you eight”—he smirks at his naivety—“but I knew you were the only girl for me. But life doesn’t work that way. The moment you met Cayden Coachman…everything changed.”
My steady breathing fills the silence as I gather the courage to hear what he says next.
“I always thought you were with him as a fuck you to your mom, but it was just wishful thinking on my part. You always belonged to him. Even when you agreed to marry me, I thought that maybe things had changed. I knew you were still seeing Cayden behind my back, but you had been long before we got engaged.”
“What…what does that mean?” I ask, swallowing.
He pins me with his steel-blue stare while I remind myself to breathe. “It means we became a thing about eight years ago. But I use the term lightly. We were apart more than we were together, but I loved you. I accepted that Cayden was always going to be a thing of your past. But as long as he stayed there, I was fine with it. And he did stay there. For a while.”
“For a while?” I wish I was a touch more coherent, but my head is spinning.
He nods, digging his hands into his pockets. “This place, it’s always been your gravitational pull. No matter how settled things were, no place made you happier than being here. Even though I didn’t want to accept it, I always knew a person, not the place, was what made you feel at home.”
“Why did you stay with me?” I ask, ashamed.
“Because I loved you. I still do.” He has no qualms about opening his heart to me, which just makes me feel worse. “We hadn’t slept with one another for over six months. I knew it was coming, but the day you gave this back”—he fingers the ring, lost in thought—“I knew we were done for good.”
Calvin’s tale is just another proverbial nail. Just what sort of a person was I?
Regardless, it’s evident that all of this, just as I knew all along, began with Cayden. So it seems fitting to end it with him too.
“What are you doing here?” The utter contempt in Cayden’s question has me flinching, frightened of what comes next.
Calvin pockets the ring, appearing to treasure it and the memories it holds. But when his eyes narrow into mere slits, I dare say there are some memories he wished remained forgotten. “I’m here to tell Peyton the truth. Something you should have done a long time ago.”
I’m afraid to face him because now that I have scattered pieces of this elaborate puzzle, I’m terrified of the image I’ll see. But the reason I’m here gives me the strength I need to turn around. Everything Calvin just shared has me looking at Cayden in a different light. But underneath it all are the emotions I have associated with him from the first moment we met—home. Cayden is my home.
He can sense my change of heart. He knows that Calvin has fed me snippets, but now, I want to know it all. “What happens between us is none of your business. It never was. But you just can’t help but be her knight in shining armor, can you?” Cayden spits.
The mood turns in an instant. “I don’t make apologies for wanting to protect her.”
Our gazes are locked in a heated exchange, and I am completely one with the phrase actions speak louder than words. At this moment, Cayden wants to devour me whole. “That’s where you and I differ. You think she needs protecting. But she never did. I made that mistake once, and it ended up being the biggest regret of my life.”
I am touched by his affirmation, as I like that he doesn’t see me as some damsel in distress, because not once have I ever felt that way. I don’t need protecting. All I need is the truth.
“You have always been your own strength,” Cayden confesses, and it’s suddenly just him and me. “You are fearless. You are strong. You are Peyton Veronica fucking Lane.” Tears sting my eyes because I have never felt more empowered than I do right now.
Cayden storms over, placing his quivering hand on my cheek. The moment we touch, I know that everything has changed. “Don’t you ever forget it. Regardless of what anyone tells you, you are beautiful. You are wise, but most of all…you are mine. You always have been.” I bite the inside of my cheek to stop the emotion. But he runs his thumb over the apple of my cheek, tearing me in two.
As I lean into his embrace, the noise transforms into silence because just as I knew they would, Cayden’s demons appease mine. Sadly, Calvin’s demons don’t like being benched. I don’t know why Cayden is shoving me aside, and when my butt hits the ground, I still don’t understand his actions until I peer upward and see Calvin deliver an uppercut, snapping Cayden’s head backward with a sickening crack.
I gasp, horrified, unsure if this is really happening or not, but when Calvin launches forward, armed with a war cry from hell, I know this nightmare is real. “Stop it!” I roar, finding my footing as I rise. But Cayden blocks me from harm’s way, which puts him into the line of fire.
Calvin attempts to deliver another blow, but when Cayden ducks and serves a right hook of his own, it’s clear that Calvin got in a lucky shot. He connects with his nose, and I immediately see blood.
They circle one another, fists raised, eyes sharp, but Calvin doesn’t stand a chance. Each time he lunges forward, Cayden ducks and weaves. He is the true champion, but there never was any doubt in my mind that he was.
“The slate’s been wiped clean. She doesn’t remember,” Calvin states. “So how about for once, you fight me fair and square. Or are you afraid she’ll finally see you for what you really are?” I don’t know what that means, but Cayden clearly does. The change in his demeanor is evident, and at this moment, I fear for Calvin’s life.
Cayden growls, the low, graveled sound enough to warn me things are about to turn. His words inspire me, and I act before I think. Rushing forward, I wedge my way between them, thinking of the consequences later. “Enough!” I scream, resting my hands on Cayden’s cheeks, beseeching him to stop.
Calvin is at my back, and the fact doesn’t go unnoticed by him. The fight in him simmers. “Peyton?”
I don’t know what he expected to happen. Did he think coming here all chivalrous would put him in my good favor? I appreciate his honesty, but any feelings I may have had for him are gone. I feel nothing. But from what he tells me, I doubt I ever did. “Just go, Calvin.”