“Ladies and gentleman, please pay attention to our safety procedures…” the flight attendant droned on over the loudspeaker.
I felt the plane leave the gate, and I swallowed the lump in my throat. Alec wasn’t coming. He was gone. The connection had just been severed, like a surgeon severing the arteries to my heart—or, at least, it felt like that. It hurt like that.
I’d never see him again.
With my eyes closed, I put my face in my hands and cried quietly, hoping I wouldn’t disturb the person next to me.
“Handkerchief?” he asked, and my eyes flicked open.
Alec was seated next to me, holding out a folded white handkerchief. I sat up straight and blinked, hoping I was hallucinating.
“I—what?” I babbled.
“Here,” he said, reaching over and wiping my face dry. As he did so, he unbuckled his seatbelt and came into the middle seat. “I almost missed the flight,” he said casually. I noticed he was wearing a suit. “My statement at the station ran late. But I made it.”
I glared at him. Was he really here, or was I drunker than I thought?
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I hissed venomously.
“I knew you’d be mad, love,” he said, almost giddy. Giddy?
“Don’t you dare call me love—”
“Charlotte, let me explain,” he said, barely holding back a laugh. “But you’re very cute when you’re mad,” he added, smiling.
“Don’t patronize me,” I spat, crossing my arms and gesturing rudely for him to begin talking.
“Yesterday was… eight years in the making. When I agreed to marry Natasha, it was only under the condition of helping her. She’d grown up on the border of Russia and the Ukraine and, needless to say, it was conflicted. Her family sold her to a man when she was fifteen—a man who didn’t treat her very well. She paid someone to bring her over the border to Belarus, and from there she fled to Poland, then Germany, and eventually, she ended up in Wales. After her tourist visa was up, she came to me as a friend, and we made a deal. I wanted to help her.”
I watched him, horrified yet curious, as he continued.
“We married quickly in court. Of course, applying for a marriage visa requires proof of your relationship. I had her listed as my emergency contact, helped her to rent an apartment in both of our names, and we opened a joint bank account. We spent a day together, taking pictures and planning what we would say if… if we were ever discovered. Our plan was to fake it—to convince the police that we were actually married, yet unstable. It wasn’t a hard idea to come up with. Natasha is very fiery, and loads of people marry for the wrong reasons. We wanted to convince them that we loved each other. Otherwise, we would’ve both been thrown in jail for God knows how long.”
“So…” I started, trying to make sense of it all.
“Let me finish,” he interjected quickly. He was beginning to look nervous. “We filed for divorce in November. I don’t know who tipped the police off last week. We spent part of today trying to figure it out, but we still don’t know. We suspect it was a scorned ex-boyfriend of hers. Anyways, we filed, but it hadn’t gone through yet when you arrived here, so technically, yes, we were still married, and I’m sorry for misleading you in that aspect. So last night, when the police came for me, I had to act quickly. I knew Natasha remembered our pact from years ago, and that’s what you saw in the interrogation room—us pretending.”
I saw him shift in his seat, and I wiped my palms on my pants. I hadn’t even noticed that I’d been sweating.
“It was… the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, to walk away from you, to ignore Henry’s calls, your voicemail, knowing you would try and leave. But the hardest part was trying to pretend that you didn’t mean anything to me. I hope you understand that you’re my everything. You mean the world to me, Charlotte. I just had to pretend… otherwise, I would’ve been in prison right now.”
“You’re a very good actor,” I said glumly. He didn’t have my trust back yet. I kept my distance, leaning away from him, and waved for him to continue.
“I spent all day today pacing around Natasha’s apartment, waiting for our meeting to come so that I could leave and come find you immediately. We had to give a statement, and we spent all day solidifying our case. We brought in our pictures, our apartment lease, a copy of my employment papers listing her as my emergency contact… everything. We explained that our relationship was built on passion, and though we loved each other, that we’d decided to go separate ways. It worked. They believed us and dropped the case. We even got them to expedite the divorce proceeding, so as of eight-thirty this evening, we are officially divorced.”
“That kiss though…” I said, trailing off.
“Jesus, Charlotte. I’m getting all of this off of my chest, and you’re worried about the damn kiss?”
“You threw your money at me. Do you know how demeaning that was?”
“I know. But I had to give the policemen a show. I needed you to believe me. I needed you to think that I was leaving you. It killed me to do it—seriously, I was a wreck at Natasha’s. But it worked. I’m sorry that I had to put you through that, but it’s over now. It’s all over.”
“Natasha said you slept together…” I said, watching his face. “Recently.”
He laughed.
“She’s such an actress. I don’t know why she said that. We’ve never… been physical. That kiss was our one and only kiss and I have to say, between you and me, she’s an awful kisser…” I gave him the death stare. “The only reason I can think of as to why she did that was to convince the officers. She likes to be dramatic. It sounds like something she would do.”
“She was pretty convincing. Are you sure she doesn’t love you?”
“I don’t know and I honestly don’t care because I don’t love her and I never have, Charlotte. She did tell me to tell you that she’s sorry, and to call her if you had any questions when this was all over.”
“I hate that I was a part of your sick game,” I added, leaning further away from him to show my obvious disgust.
“We had to—we had to save our livelihood. Marriage fraud is a felony. We would’ve gone to jail… both of us. If convincing a bunch of cops that Natasha and I were the real deal for a day was the price of getting away with it, then so be it. I’m so, so, so sorry, Charlotte,” he said quietly. “I wanted to call you so badly. I wanted to tell you. But I couldn’t say anything until the records were cleared.”
“Why should I believe you? I don’t think you understand—you broke me,” I whispered, a sob escaping my lips.
“I know, and I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you.” He scooted closer, and I pulled further away.
“Everyone hates you. Helen was going to fire you,” I said callously, still shaken from the past twenty-four hours. I didn’t forgive that easily.
“I don’t blame her. I was a complete arse. I’ll have a lot of explaining to do, I presume,” he smiled, and reached over to my leg. He brushed it softly, and I shivered. I hated my body for betraying me. “I needed to see you first. I needed to tell you everything.”
“I didn’t think you’d come…”
“I didn’t think I’d make it,” he laughed. “I got on the plane just as the doors were closing. I would’ve been on the next flight anyways, but I hoped to get on this flight, so that I could have you in front of me for eleven hours. You wouldn’t be able to run away that way. I knew you’d be mad, and rightly so.”
“Damn straight I’m mad,” I said through clenched teeth. “I could spend the rest of the flight ignoring you.”
“You could. You have that right.” The plane turned onto the runway, and the engines powered up. Alec grinned down at me. “Looks like you’re stuck with me. Too late to run away now.”
“I’m not the one who ran. You did. You hurt me, and I can’t just forget what happened.”
“I know. I realized there’s nothing I can say to assure you that this
will never happen again. There’s nothing I can say to convince you that it was physically painful for me to leave you laying on the ground like that, at the station. I made sure Mary was coming, and I demanded that the officers stay with you until she arrived. I made Natasha park down the street, and I couldn’t breathe until I saw you get into Mary’s car. I wanted to run to you then—you looked so broken,” he said, his voice breaking. “There’s nothing I can say, and I know that.”
I watched as he shrugged, and I leaned in a tiny bit closer. It all made sense. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe him, but rather that my body had been tuned to hate and despise him for the past twenty-four hours, so it was hard to just flip a switch and be OK.
“I think I’ll forgive you one day,” I added, feeling hopeful. “I… I just… give me a minute.”
“OK.” He watched me nervously, but also clearly amused. His suit was pressed, and he was wearing his dress shoes. His tie was loosened, and his hair was wild. He’d shaved, but now he was sporting a five o’clock shadow. I couldn’t help but be flooded with relief. My whole body swayed with it, and it was the most glorious thing in the world. My eyes met his, and he smiled. Damn—damn him.
“Alec…”
“What? What can I say?” he pleaded.
“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. I didn’t know what magic words would make me forgive him and forget what had happened.
“OK. If words aren’t working, perhaps I’ll move on to plan B.”
“And what would plan B entail?”
“Actions.”
“Right. So… what, are you going to throw more money at me? Hold your ex-wife’s hand? Wave me away dismissively?”
The plane began to take off, and as we lifted, Alec began to make his case.
“Charlotte Anne Bloom, I’ve loved you since the first day I laid eyes on you. Before I even spoke to you, I loved you. You are the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. It amazes me that people can continue living their lives with you in it—that they don’t see what I see, see you how I see you—and in a way, it makes me the luckiest man alive that I get to be the only one to see you that way. I’m sorry for torturing you for the past twenty-four hours, but I plan on making it up to you every damn minute of every damn day for the rest of my life, and I mean it when I say the rest of my life. You gave my life meaning—you’ve bewitched me, and I hope to stay under your spell forever. I don’t want to go another damn day without you. I should’ve done this sooner…”
My mouth hung open as Alec shifted in his seat next to me, his face anxious. He took a deep breath and reached into the lapel of his suit, pulling out a small, velvet box, and suddenly, everything came into focus. In that moment, I ceased to breathe. I ceased to exist.
“Charlotte Bloom, will you marry me?”
EPILOGUE
Five years later
“Mommy, I’m hungry,” Ella whined, and I shifted in my beach chair so that I could face her.
“Well, what do you feel like? Hot dog? Hamburger? Cotton candy?” I smiled devilishly, and my heart swam as she looked over at me and grinned lovingly.
“Ooooh, cotton candy!” she squealed.
“I want cotton candy, too!” Audrey demanded, and I looked over at Alec as he lowered his sunglasses disapprovingly.
“Well, if they can have cotton candy, I want some cotton candy, too,” he added, and they jumped up and ran over to him, colliding with him. He scooped both of them onto his lap.
“Daddy wants candy, too,” Ella repeated.
I saw Alec begin to stand, but I stood first, gesturing for him to stay put.
“You have cute little monkeys climbing all over you,” I said, tickling my daughters as they shrieked excitedly. I caught a glimpse of his glistening chest. He’d gotten some sun, and he was tanner than normal. I loved that he looked so yummy right now. I loved that I still felt this way about him. “I’ll go. Anything else besides cavity-inducing candy?”
“Maybe some vegetables?” Alec suggested, looking down at Ella and Audrey as he said it.
“Noooo,” they cried in unison. Alec laughed.
I waved at them as I walked to the food stand. This holiday had been so much fun. We were here with Mary, Henry, and their two sons, Noah and Liam. Liam was still a baby, but Noah was about the same age as Ella and Audrey.
Alec and I had received quite a shock soon after we’d gotten engaged—I was pregnant. We were in the middle of planning a wedding and those are two things that don’t go well together. Needless to say, we opted for a quickie wedding in Ireland, and soon after, Ella and Audrey, twins of course, made their dramatic debut into the world. My labor was difficult, but having the girls was so worth it.
I looked out at the water where Mary and Henry were trying to get little Liam to walk, unsuccessfully it seemed. Noah splashed around behind them. I glanced around at the Pacific shoreline, and a small part of me was glad to be back in L.A. We were doing a west coast road trip, going from L.A. to San Francisco to Portland. The girls hadn’t seen their grandparents in over six months and they were very eager to see where mommy had lived for so long. We’d also decided to visit Mary’s family in San Francisco.
I waited in line at the food stand, clutching my wallet and fanning myself with it. I wasn’t used to the heat any more, and L.A. was currently in the midst of one of the hottest Decembers on record. I ordered four large cotton candies and waited by the pick-up window, smiling aimlessly. My life with Alec had been so blissful, so perfect. Sure, we had our ups and downs, but life was good—so, so good.
I worked for myself in the small cottage Alec had rented five years ago; the home we’d bought shortly after the girls were born. We’d renovated, adding another room, because we couldn’t bear the thought of living somewhere else. Besides, Ella and Audrey loved living next door to Liam and Noah.
When the cotton candy was ready, I carried them haphazardly back to our chairs. I accidentally bumped into another woman, and I muttered an apology quickly—it was too crowded here. My eyes found hers over the puffs of wispy candy, and I smiled, realizing who it was. I had to keep from dropping the cotton candy in the sand.
“Oh my god… Lainey.”
“Charlotte,” she said, stepping back and taking me in. “You look well.”
“You do, too,” I added, taking in her sunbathed, almost burnt skin. She looked radiant.
We watched each other wordlessly for a few seconds, and I saw a smile twitch at the corners of her mouth.
“Your family is lovely. Congratulations.”
“You were right,” I blurted, before I could stop myself. “I have you to thank for all of this,” I said, gesturing to our surroundings, and then to my little family, sitting twenty feet away. I saw Alec look at me quizzically.
“I suppose I was right. Twin girls,” she mused, smiling widely.
“I don’t think I ever thanked you.”
“I didn’t do anything, Charlotte. I just guided the way.” She squeezed my arm and turned to walk away. “I’m glad everything worked out like it was supposed to.”
I watched as she walked away from me, heading down the shore. I composed myself and headed back to our chairs.
Alec came over to me as the girls started to build a sand castle, eating their cotton candy hastily.
“Who were you talking to?” he asked. He brushed my hair away from my eyes, and pulled my sunglasses off so that he could kiss me properly. My lips met his, and I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck. My soulmate.
We pulled apart, and I looked up at him, not entirely sure how to explain.
“Just someone from my past.”
His eyes clouded with understanding.
“That wasn’t…”
“Yes. It was.”
“Did she…”
“She said she was glad everything worked out the way it was supposed to.”
“Ah. I see. Well, I’m glad too,” he said before quickly lifting me up and spinning me around, making me screech with
delight.
“Eww, mommy’s kissing daddy,” Audrey cried, and Ella laughed.
“It’s because they’re in love, Audrey,” Ella countered wisely, her four-year-old voice even more adorable because of her lisp.
Yes.
We were.
Always and forever.
THE END
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you to Peter for putting up with me while I wrote this book. I know the dishes piled up and the dinners went uncooked. I love you!
Thank you to Kaelyn for your amazing editing. I could not have done this without you.
Thank you to my family for believing in me when I wasn’t sure if I should keep going.
Thank you to the amazing authors I’ve encountered in this genre. Your books inspire me and give me hope. In no particular order: Colleen Hoover, Jojo Moyes, Karina Halle, Rachel Robinson, and Aubrey Dark. Whether or not we’ve corresponded via email or I’ve just stalked you on Instagram, your advice was/is invaluable.
Lastly, thank you to the small number of fans/readers I’ve acquired on this crazy journey of mine. None of you go unnoticed, and I appreciate the support/encouragement you’ve given me along the way.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amanda Richardson is an award-winning author living in Los Angeles with her fiancé and two cats. When she’s not writing, she can be found drinking wine, playing Scrabble, or searching for cheap flights to places she’s never been.
You can visit her website here: http://www.amandarichardsonauthor.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/amandawritesbooks
The Redemption (Charlotte Bloom Book 2) Page 18