by Komal Kant
Epilogue
Estella
My skin was red, and raw, and pink.
The needle was biting into my arm, but I did my best to ignore it. The pain was only going to be temporary and it would be worth it.
Vincent stood behind me, silent and composed. He was the steadying presence in my life. He didn’t take his eyes off me once. Just having him here with me made me feel more sure about the decisions I was making.
We were making choices together and they were our own.
The tattoo artist stepped back and placed the needle down. “What do you think?”
“Take a look, Stelle.” There was a smile playing on the edge of Vincent’s full lips.
Taking a deep breath, I lowered my heard to the inflamed area of my skin, not sure what to expect.
What I saw made me take a sharp intake of breath.
Seth was gone from my arm and in its place Forget was written in a fancy cursive font. Just that tiny change made me feel like a different person. I felt stronger with Vincent by my side. I felt like we could deal with all the world’s problems together.
Vincent was my rock and I was the one that held him together. We still had a lot of things to figure out, but the one thing we knew was that we were breaking away from the past that had continued to haunt us.
I finally felt like a whole person. Vincent was the one who helped me escape and took me away from the harsh reality of things. Now, I was complete.
Now, I could finally move on. I could leave that chapter of my life behind forever.
Now, I could finally forget.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Some days, I just sit here and cry. Which sounds totally morbid, I know. You’re probably thinking, “What’s wrong with this psycho? Why is she always crying?” See, the thing is, I’m not much of a crier—I know it’s hard to believe—and I never have been. But you guys sure know how to make me cry.
Someone made a quiz for Falling for Hadie on Goodreads—I cried. Someone told me about getting a tattoo of a quote from my book—I cried. Someone told me a very sad and personal story—I cried. See, I’m doing all this crying because you guys are letting me into your lives. I always wanted to be able to touch people with my books, and now that it’s actually happening, I cry.
My readers are amazing. They share personal stories with me; they send me videos and pictures that they think I’ll like; they talk to me about their day; they tell me about their family and friends. My readers motivate me so much to get my books written.
Then there are the people who speak to me day in and day out and check up on me just to make sure I’m coping. I don’t know what my life was like before you guys were in it. Thank you Erica Cope, Eden Crane, Ren White, Michelle Flick, Sarah Hayden Davey, Ren White, Samantha Durante, and Autumn Doughton. I can’t begin to describe what it means to me to have you all in my life.
Thank you to my cover designer, Eden Crane, for designing not one but two amazing covers for Wrong Side of Town. You are so talented and amazing! I’m sorry for the countless hours I spent distracting you from your work.
And, because Erica Cope is such an important part of my life, I have to thank her again. Thank you for being such a great friend to me. You put up with my craziness and my ability to say the weirdest things without reason. I hold all our conversations—you falling asleep on the keyboard; squealing incoherently over random things; discussing book boyfriends—in the highest regard. And, in keeping with the theme, yes, Erica has also made me cry this year.
To the bloggers who continue to support my work; especially Peggy Warren from Le’Book Squirrel, Jodie O’Brien from Fab Fun and Tantalizing Reads, Melanie Lowery from Sassy Mum’s Book Blog, and Ashley Torres from Happily Ever Book Hungover. Thank you to everyone who reads, reviews, fan girls, and recommends my books.
Finally, Estella and Vincent: what a crazy journey you both took me on! This was a tough story to write, but Estella and Vincent’s voices rang so loud and clear in my mind that I had to tell it their way. To all the readers, thank you for sharing this journey with us.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Komal Kant is the author of Impossible, Falling for Hadie, and the upcoming Wrong Side of Town. She currently lives in Sydney, but wishes she lived all over the world.
When Komal grows up, she wants to own a lot of Siberian Huskies. She is also overly enthusiastic about video games, Spiderman, Byronic heroes, and pretty shoes.
You can find out more about Komal on her website: www.komalkant.com