My heart stumbles over the next beat. I pull my hand away and he stands but his eyes are still on me. “What does this mean, Felix?” I ask, but I’m sure I already know the answer.
“You are being smart by running away to London. As much as I hate that you’re leaving, you have to.” He crouches down again to meet my eyes. His eyebrows stitch together heavily as his head tilts. “My father is still out there somewhere, and he isn’t going to give up until he has you. If he has to, he will use the Hellions to get you. He doesn’t care. All I know is that he is getting stronger and stronger, day by day. There have been mates disappearing from other states and the Leaders aren’t sure about what is happening, but I know. I know very well what is going on. It’s my father. He’s taking their energy and then killing them. He’s gone mad.” Felix’s hazel eyes broaden with something that is beyond worry. His eyes are terrified, frightened about all of this.
“Oh, God,” I say, clutching at my panicked heart. “So, what should I do?”
“It’s a good thing that you’re leaving in only a few hours. He won’t be able to trace you that fast. He’s strong, but he isn’t that strong. I’ve been tracking him, trying to sense him, and I’ve gotten very close at one point but from what I can feel, I know he isn’t anywhere near as strong as I or Jules are. But if he keeps kidnapping mates and Angels and stealing their energy, he will get there in no time.”
“When Jules said to tell me everything, did he mean this?”
“No. He only wanted me to convince you not to leave so soon. He wanted me to scare you and tell you that it’s not easy in London. If anything, it’s worse. But right now, I’m telling you to go, Alexandria. It is a must. Even though it is a mess over there, it is much safer there than it is here because London is guarded by Guardians. There will always be someone around to help you.” I nod slowly but my heart remains still. My fingers are shaking and my leg is jumping up and down. “Calm down, okay?” He looks down at my leg before staring back up into my wide eyes. “I don’t want Jules to feel you negatively. He’ll think you’re not having a good time.”
“Well I’m sure he can already feel it, Felix. I’m terrified. What if he figures out and follows me to London?”
“He won’t get that far ahead if you leave. Trust me, I’m working on it.”
“Okay,” I sigh, somewhat relieved. Now I definitely want to go. “Can we just eat, please? I don’t want to think about this anymore.”
He nods with a small smile. “Anything you want, Alexandria.” He kisses my hand then makes his way to his seat again.
I stare at my hands as he sits. “Why can’t I tell Jules?” I ask.
He tilts his head and glares at me briefly. “If he finds out, he will tell someone and try to stop my father. I don’t need him trying to create an army of Angels. That will only cause more drama and my father will work that much harder just to get what he wants. Jules is a person that doesn’t like to hold back. He will do all that he can if you are in involved. He acts on impulse and actions and, right now, I don’t need that. I have to do this with a thorough plan.”
I nod. “I understand.” He flashes a small smile as he winks.
“Everything will be alright. I promise.”
I nod again.
“Geff,” he calls to the butler in the corner. Geff turns around in the blink of an eye and makes his way toward us. “Could the lady and I get a bottle of Cristal champagne please?”
“Yes sir. Right away,” Geff says then dashes off to a door that leads to the kitchen. I smile at Felix as he reaches for his menu again.
“You enjoy this?” I ask.
“Enjoy what?”
“Wining and Dining.”
“No, I just love to spoil you.” He glances over his menu with a mesmerizing grin.
“Why did you choose a romantic dinner, anyway?” I ask, not that I’m complaining—it’s beautiful—but he could have easily taken me somewhere else.
“I wanted your last night with me to be memorable. What I’d really wanted was to have dinner at my place, have a little wine, and chat, but Jules refused,” he chuckles.
“Of course he refused. I don’t even know why you thought of that,” I sneer, shaking my head.
“Oh, he was very wise to have refused because I’m sure that if we were at my place, I wouldn’t just be eating dinner.” He eyes me over, smiling captivatingly with his beautiful lips. Heat flushes between the center of my legs but I shake it off and pretend that I didn’t hear that. But that line—he was smart for that. He had me. Right when he’d said it, I wanted to take him on this table . . . but I’m with Jules and I love him.
Luckily, Geff comes back with a champagne bottle sitting in a silver pail full of ice before it gets too awkward for me to say anything back. He pulls it out, pops the cork, and pours some into our champagne glasses. “Just let me know when you’re ready to order, sir,” he says.
“Actually, we’ll start off light with an appetizer. Bring us stuffed mushrooms and make it light on the gravy please,” Felix orders.
“Yes sir.” Geff nods, places the champagne on the table, and then dashes off again.
“I don’t understand why people respect you so much. I know you’re rich but everyone seems to be afraid of you,” I say, observing how Felix takes a sip of his wine with a simple smile.
“I pay my people with more money than they need. I respect my workers, and they have no choice but to respect me. I am a generally generous person. And speaking of working, Liam got the job. He starts tomorrow.”
“Oh my gosh,” I gasp. “That’s great!” I grin as I reach for my champagne. “Thank you for setting it up for him. I was afraid that he was going to go down the wrong path.”
“Liam is your brother and he’s seen way too much to just be lying around wallowing. He needs to be doing something that will occupy his time. He deserves it and he’ll make great money there.”
“Thank you,” I whisper.
He nods then lifts his glass of champagne up. “This is to new beginnings,” he says, smiling deliciously. “This is for luck in London, developing your wings, and for a life filled with tranquility.” I lift my glass to meet his and they clank gently.
“To new beginnings,” I giggle before taking a sip.
He doesn’t take a sip of his wine, though. Instead he stares at me with wide, adoring eyes. “You’re a lovely person, Alexandria. I’m sorry for everything that has happened to you.”
I place my glass down but my eyes don’t drift from his. I reach for his hand and he grips it, staring at them instead of into my eyes. “It’s okay, Felix. I understand. It wasn’t your fault. I know that now.”
“But I used to be a part of it all. I gave you that cross necklace to get you caught up in what we had going on. I thought I was the only one still involved. It was my father’s last wish,” he says faintly. My face falls slightly as my hand begins to recoil. “But I saw you and . . . I knew that I couldn’t hurt you. I saw you many years before you met me but I never introduced myself to you until I asked you out for coffee. Before that, I just watched you, studied you. And as I did, I realized that you didn’t deserve it. You were too beautiful, too graceful, too simple—” he breaks off as he pulls his hand away to place his on top of mine now. “I have something else to tell you, Alexandria. About your memory loss.”
“Tell me, Felix.”
His lips press together into a thin line. He eyes me over and over again before squeezing my hand gently and lifting it to his lips to plant a soft kiss. “I was there when the Hellions killed your friends. I witnessed it all. But I was only nineteen. I didn’t know what to do. I was shocked that they were going through with it. My father warned me that if I didn’t help with something, he was going to kill my mother. He threatened me and I didn’t want that for her. She’s all that I had. My father grabbed you, dragged you around like a ragdoll. But you fought hard and he couldn’t control you for long. We heard someone calling your name and he was forced to sto
p. I could feel that it was another Angel calling you. And as his voice got closer, I realized that it was Jules—your mate. My father and the Hellions spread their wings but he told me to handle you. To make you forget. And I did.”
Jerking away immediately, I gasp. “Felix, this is your fault?” My eyes narrow into furious slits.
“Just hear me out, Alexandria,” he begs, his eyes softer, weaker. I can tell that he didn’t want to tell me this. “I carried you away from the scene. My father was gone, no one was around. I made you lose your memory—I was forced to and he would have known if I hadn’t—but I couldn’t leave you stranded there. He gave me some sort of ruby and the ruby leaves you unconscious for hours. So I took you to the police station, told the cops that I’d found you lying stranded on the road, and then I left. I went to California with my mother for two years. I studied there, got my degree, and when I’d heard that my father was sick, I came back here. After what he had made me do, I considered him dead. I told on him—ratted him out—and the Leaders took his wings and his angelic gifts away. He’d gotten sick because of me. I didn’t want to leave you there. I couldn’t. You were too innocent and that day, I realized that maybe my father’s ways weren’t for me.
“No matter how he’d raised me, I couldn’t really get with his plans. But I felt bad for snitching on my own father. I hated to see him lie around on his sickbed in pain and misery that he would never grow out of. He asked me to help—to bring you to him—and I told him that I would get you but I still have a soft side, and that is only because of my mother. She raised me to respect women. When I saw you again, when I really met you, I tried to just forget about what happened and take you to him. I wanted to forget all about it—about how I felt for you . . . but I couldn’t. The more that I was with you, the more that I fell. I fell in love with you, Alexandria.”
I jerk away from him and slide back in my chair. “Felix, you knew about my memory loss—you were the cause—but you didn’t tell me? How can I trust you after hearing this?” I stand to my feet rapidly.
“Alexandria, you can trust me.” He stands with me. “I promise that you can trust me. I fought for you, saved you, and killed my brother for you. You have to believe me.”
“Yeah, well maybe that was just a part of your diabolical plan too. What else do you have up your sleeve, huh, Felix? What else are you hiding from me?”
“I’m not hiding anything, Alexandria! If I were still working for my father, do you think I would have told you all of that? I would have kept it a secret!”
“I don’t care Felix!” I rush for the double doors, wanting nothing more than to get away from him but he beats me too it in one swift movement. Damn his angelic gifts. He grips onto my forearms, tilts my head back, and kisses me. He pulls me in tight and I can’t help it. I sink with him. We collide and heat crashes through me, striking at every nerve and cell in my body. The kiss feels good, but I still don’t trust him. Not after this, not when my memory loss is his fault. He could have prevented the tragedy. He had his options.
“I didn’t want you to remember any of it,” he whispers huskily against my lips.
“Nothing that you say matters, Felix. I don’t want to be here with you.”
“I’m sorry, Alexandria. I swear, I was young—and I was afraid. I would never hurt you like that again. I swear.”
I shake my head as I pull away. I wrap my arms around myself and continue to eye him for a long time. It’s impossible to forgive any of this. He knew all about this. He was there, but didn’t tell me any of it until now? When he’d first met me, he was working for his father, trying to take me away, train me, and then steal my wings again. What if he never would have fallen in love with me? What if I was just some girl to him that he could give a shit less about? I would be dead by now. “I can’t trust you, Felix,” I murmur as my head shakes lightly.
“Alexandria, please, you have to!” he begs as he reaches for me but I jerk away. “Don’t pull away from me!” His grip clasps around me but he is sure not to hurt me. But I tug away from him again.
“Get off of me, Felix!”
“I’m not letting you go until you promise me that you forgive me, Alexandria!”
“Felix!” I gasp and we both whirl around to face the deep voice that is filled with nothing but anger. Jules’ brown eyes are sparked gold, angry, and luckily he doesn’t have his wings out. His jaw is clenched as he glares at Felix. “That’s enough. She doesn’t want you touching her now leave her alone.”
A growl comes from the heart of Felix’s throat as his eyes spark an icy hazel. His eyes water at the rims but he releases me gently and the glow of his eyes and hands fade rapidly. I hurry to Jules and he clutches me in his arms quickly. “I gave you your chance, Felix. You’ve just ruined it,” Jules grumbles, his hand still wrapped around me.
My eyesight grows blurry but I force myself to hold off on the tears. But it’s impossible. All of this time, I’ve been confused about what had really happened to me, and now I know. It all happened way before meeting him at my doorstep. It all happened because of him. All of this could be a set up. He could still be lying to me. A part of me doesn’t want to believe it because he’s fought for me, countless times. But a part of me is still afraid because his father is still out there somewhere and the reason that he may not be catching his father right away is because he’s still working for him. After Braxton, I can’t trust anyone like how I used to. The only Angel that I can trust is Jules and he had to gain that trust from me. He had to work for it.
“Alexandria, please,” Felix begs, ignoring Jules and stepping in closer with weakened features.
I shake my head, burying my face in Jules chest. I can’t face him. I can’t deal with looking into his eyes. I will forgive him but he doesn’t deserve my forgiveness. I have to go.
“Goodbye, Felix,” I whisper, trying my hardest not to look at him. But my will never lasts because I take a peek at him and his eyes are wetter, harder. His mouth is hanging open, disbelieving it all.
“Come on,” Jules whispers in my hair while turning me around.
We make our way out of the double doors but just before they swing close, Felix yells, “This isn’t goodbye, Alexandria. I will see you again!”
I shudder but I don’t look back. I can’t look back. I hear glass shattering and angry roaring and that causes me to steal a glance over my shoulder but Jules turns me around, pulling me in closer so that I won’t be a witness to the destruction that Felix is bestowing in that romantic dining room.
My only question for this situation is: who knew? Who knew that Felix would be the one that caused me four years of heartache, four years of confusion and worry? This is worse than Braxton because I trusted Felix more. I defended his name, made room for him in my heart, but with one simple background story, all of that has been shattered. It’s not that I don’t want to forgive him, I just can’t. I can’t because he didn’t tell me soon enough. He told me after all of the trouble, after all of the fighting. I’m not sure if he loves me or if it’s just a lie. I’m not sure if he really cares for me, or if he’s trying to trap me. I’m not sure about anything with Felix anymore and it breaks my heart because I love him, I adored him. He had me at hello, but that wasn’t really him. I don’t think anything that we’d shared was really him.
But there is one thing that I’m sure about and it’s moving away to London.
Who knows what will happen. Maybe I’ll stay there for good. Maybe I’ll train, work hard, and come back here to kick Felix’s ass. He’s lost my trust and I will be forced to lose my love for him. I’m furious with him because he could have prevented the entire thing. I want to believe that he’s good and that he’s worth my love, but it’s impossible. Felix was a great person, a great friend, and I hate that I have to let him go. I hate that I have to leave like this—without a proper goodbye—but I have no choice. I have to get the hell out of here and I have to forget about everything that we’d shared. I have to forget about everyt
hing that he’d told me because it was all just another bluff. He was only trying to set me up.
START OVER
I tried.
I tried so hard to just let it go, to stop thinking about him—about whatever may have happened to me during my past. But I couldn’t. It was hard and I know Jules could tell that I was upset but he refused to bring it up. Since I didn’t eat with Felix, Jules and I decided to go out and have an unplanned celebration dinner for Liam since it was going to be a while before I saw him again.
Liam talked all about his interview and how hot the assistant is and I laughed, joked around, and teased him but it was all a front. I couldn’t really be happy. I was more than satisfied for Liam and his new job as one of the managers of a huge music production company. He loves it and it fits him because Liam is a music person. But everything between him chatting, sipping wine, and Jules talking about the streets of London had faded into a blur. I couldn’t think straight. I was distracted.
Felix has really hurt me and I know for sure that Jules isn’t going to cut me any slack when he stays the night. He’s going to go on about it by telling me that it’s okay and that I should think of something else but that will be impossible for me. He will only tell me that because he doesn’t know the real reason of why I’m upset or why we had argued in the first place. I won’t think of anything else because it happened and all this time, Jules thought that he was never going to find me but he couldn’t because Felix and his family are the ones that caused the trouble. I refuse to tell Jules what really happened because I know for a fact that Jules will delay our flight just to go back and rip Felix’s heart out.
As soon as we arrive home, Liam explains how exhausted he is and goes straight to bed. Jules and I decide to make hot cocoa, popcorn, and watch movies until it’s time to go. We don’t want to sleep because we have seven hours to sleep, plus more when we get settled in. But I’m sure I will be too excited to sleep. I’ll also be too worried to doze off as well.
OBTAINED (Book One) Page 28