r trainwreck of a father.

"You're such a pathetic excuse for a man," I tell Emilian coolly.

"You're one to talk," he snarls back. "Pussy-whipped, that's what you are, Dexter. An idealist who needs knocking down. I've seen my fair share of people like you. They all take a tumble in the end. This town wasn't made for dreamers. This town was made for men with money."

I grit my teeth. "You mean for abusers. Bullies. Monsters."

He laughs. "You say that like you're not one of them, Booth. That's what we all are. Men."

It's my turn to laugh now, and I shake my head in disbelief.

"A real man, Emilian, knows the difference between consent and control," I spit out. "And only a weak man takes control when no consent is given." I grab Pandora’s waist and pull her against me. "A real man cherishes control. Makes his toy's life better with it. A real man looks out for the people he cares about. He doesn't hurt them. And he isn't afraid to admit he loves... loves as deeply as you'll never allow yourself."

"Stupid, insolent boy," Emilian spits out. "I'll be delighted to watch you go down in flames, just like your parents. You deserve to burn, just like they did."

My hands form fists, but before I can attack the piece of shit, Bryony tears her hand out of mine. For a moment, I'm convinced it's over. We've lost the battle and the war.

But then Bryony steps in front of the microphone and speaks directly into it.

"Pandora Oakes has my vote."

I can't believe she's done this. Silence lays on the crowd as we all come to terms with what Bryony has just done. I believed in my toy, but I didn't believe in the others. I wasn't sure she'd get the votes she needed. But as I look at her now, I see her in a new light. She's done it. She's won the war.

"Oh my god," Pandora breathes as the guys all embrace her.

I step toward her. Bryony is left shaking on the stage, barely able to hold her husband's gaze. The guys part, allowing me access to Pandora, and she runs into my arms. I embrace her, holding her tight.

"We did it," I whisper in her ear. "You did it. You changed this cursed town, Pandora."

She's beaming so wide it must hurt, and even though there's a hint of sadness to her smile, I know she's ecstatic.

Maybe now, we'll finally be able to move on.

Maybe now, I can tell her the truth.

The truth being that the hope of finding Reign and Lily Anna is nearly gone. That all the PIs, the police, the men Emilian hired, are close to giving up.

They're gone, vanished without a trace.

And as I stare into my toy's hopeful, brightly shining face, I know it's something I'll have to tell her sooner rather than later. I also know it will break her heart.

But I'll always be there to pick up the pieces.

21

Pandora

6 years later

Eden Falls has changed a lot during the past six years.

The only reason Dex and I stayed in town was because of the search for Lily Anna and Reign.

They told me to give up. Countless people have tried to convince me we'll never find them. But I never listened to them. I cling to the hope that someday, Lily Anna will bring my son back. Often, I imagine what he looks like now. The photo-robot the PI team has put together paints him as a handsome young boy.

If he comes back, he won't even know me or Dexter. But I still cling to the hope that we'll get him back. Some days, the hope is waning. Others, it's stronger than ever. I keep clinging, hanging on to the last few straws of my patience. Hoping, praying my son will come back. And I know one day he will.

I just don't expect that day to happen when it does. When I'm leaving the doctor's office, sitting pale as a sheet in the back of a car a chauffeur is driving. A small smile breaks on my lips when I think of what I just found out. I fight it off my face as the driver pulls up in the long, winding driveaway of Booth Manor.

Tags: Isabella Starling , Betti Rosewood Elite of Eden Falls Prep Romance
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