"I want to go back to my parents."
Cadence froze, his fork halfway to his mouth. The casual tone in which she’d said it didn’t fool him. Slowly, he set the fork down on the plate and turned his gaze toward her.
"No," he said simply.
"Why not?" lanie pressed, keeping her voice as steady as she could even as her hands clenched under the table. "All I’m asking is that you let go back to them. I don’t want to be imprisoned here. Even if it’s just for a short visit... even if you let go back and see them just once- You cannot seriously be jealous of my parents."
"They’ll keep you away from and..." His tone hadn’t changed, but there was sothing darker beneath it. As if he already knew this for sure. She could already hear the finality in his voice before he even finished the sentence. "I cannot. I will not let you go this ti, lody. Last ti letting you go was enough. I agreed, then, didn’t I? But not this ti!"
lanie clenched her fists in frustration, her nails digging into her palms. Dr. Jung- that bastard had planned out every damn thing once she was off the island, but the fool had not thought about what to do with this biggest obstacle. He hadn’t told her how to convince this man. How to get through to him.
"Why would they keep away?" she asked, forcing herself to keep calm. "They want to be happy and..."
"You’re the one who said it," Cadence replied and shrugged like it was obvious. "You told your parents are old-fashioned. You said they wouldn’t understand, that they’d pull you away from . No, no, no... I can’t risk that, lody. I won’t let you go away.""
lanie frowned slightly. Why would lody have told him sothing like that? Why plant that fear in soone already obsessed with her? Still, she couldn’t afford to dwell on that now. She needed to think, and quickly.
She forced a small smile and tried again. "That’s because we’re not married," she said gently. "They wouldn’t approve of anything less. But that doesn’t an they’d disapprove of you. I just... I don’t want to marry without their blessings. I want to go back and tell them about you."
Then, she paused, her eyes narrowing as she tilted her head slightly, testing a different route.
"Or is it that you don’t intend to marry ? Is that it? You don’t plan to marry at all? I am here just for your amusent."
She watched him carefully. His reaction was imdiate.
Cadence’s eyes widened, and for the first ti in their conversation, she saw sothing close to panic flicker in his expression. Her stomach sank.
Had she gone too far? Said the wrong thing? With soone so obsessed, shouldn’t he be relieved that she was willing to tie her na to his? In the next mont, he abruptly dropped the cutlery, the clatter sharp in the silence, and scrambled around the table toward her. lanie’s breath hitched. She stood up halfway, bracing herself for impact, ready to defend herself if he raised a hand—but instead, Cadence threw his arms around her, pulling her into a crushing hug.
She gasped, caught off guard, and imdiately began to push against his chest. But he was speaking again in a voice trembling with emotion.
"You want to marry ," he whispered, his voice thick with wonder. "You really want to marry but won’t even hug ? lody, I’m so happy! You have no idea. Thank you. Thank you for accepting . Thank you so much..."
He held her tightly, like he didn’t want to ever let go. lanie hesitated, then gave his back a quick, awkward pat, just enough to keep up the act before firmly pushing against his chest again.
Reluctantly, he pulled away. But before she could take a breath of relief, Cadence’s hands found her neck, and he leaned in toward her, his gaze on her lips, clearly aiming to kiss her.
lanie cursed under her breath. Damn it. How was she supposed to avoid this?
Thinking quickly, she lifted her hand and placed it firmly over his lips, stopping him just in ti. She let his lips press into her palm instead, forcing her voice to sound soft but firm as she leaned away from him.
"Is that all I am to you?" she whispered, shaking her head. "I won’t kiss you. Not until we’re married."
He paused, and then she felt his smile against her palm as if pleased with her answer.
Cadence caught her wrist gently and turned her hand, brushing a soft kiss into the center of her palm.
"If that’s what you want," he murmured, "then I’ll call an officiant right now. Today. We can get married tonight, and then"
"No!" lanie blurted out, panic shooting through her voice as Cadence began to turn away, already reaching for his phone or whatever he thought he needed to bring an officiant here.
She stepped in front of him quickly, trying to cover the desperation in her voice with sothing more asured. "Not like this," she said, catching his arm. "Please. Not... not in a rush. I want it to be right. I want to wear sothing proper. I want to... to be able to talk to my parents first. Just once. Just to tell them."
Cadence hesitated, and she could see the conflict brewing in his eyes. He wanted this too much.
She cupped his face and said," Cadence. I want my parents to bless us. So that they don’t worry."
"But... will they accept ? I kidnapped you... What kind of parents woudl approve..."
lanie smiled up at him then," We won’t tell them, then. I’ll tell them that you saved from the kidnappers and kept with you because I lost my mory. And now, we are madly in love each other and want to marry."
Reviews
All reviews (0)