Page 30 of Say You'll Stay

“This discussion isn’t over,” she says finally, rising to her feet with a rustle of expensive silk. “I expect you to come to your senses, Juniper. And soon.”

With that, she’s gone, leaving me alone once more with the ruins of my life. I feel battered, broken, but there’s a new resolve growing in the shattered spaces inside me.

I sink to the floor, my knees giving way, the weight of my choice settling on my shoulders. I feel flayed open, raw and exposed… but also, for the first time in my life, free.

I love Cara. I love her with every shattered piece of my being. And I will fight for her, for us, with every breath left in my body. Even if it means severing the strings that have made me fly all my life, cutting ties with the only world I’ve ever known.

My fingers tremble as I dial her number, each ring a timpani in my ears. And then, like a benediction, her voice.

“June?”

“Cara.” Her name is a prayer on my lips, an invocation. “I need you. Please. There’s so much I have to tell you, so much I should have said long ago.”

A beat of hesitation, a held breath. Then, soft and tentative, a spark of hope. “Okay, June. I’m here.”

The line goes dead, but the embers in my chest glow brighter, fanned by her words. I know the path ahead is strewn with thorns, that the wounds of our past still fester and throb. But God help me, I’ll walk through fire if it means a chance to be worthy of her love.

I stumble out into the night, the city lights a blurred kaleidoscope through my tears. But for the first time in an eternity, my steps have purpose. I’m no longer a ghost drifting through the wreckage of my life - I’m a man determined to claw my way out of the darkness, to fight my way back to the light.

Back to Cara, my North Star. My savior and my absolution.

I’ll lay myself bare at her feet, a sinner seeking grace. I’ll confront the demons that have haunted our love, the poisonous secrets and twisted obsessions. I’ll conquer my own weakness, lay waste to every rotten impulse.

And from the ashes of what we were, maybe, just maybe… we can build something new. Something pure and unbreakable.

A love forged in the crucible of our pain, tempered by the hard-won battle of every scar we’ve earned.

I’m halfway to Cara’s place, my heart pounding in time with my frantic footsteps, when my phone vibrates in my pocket. I almost ignore it, too focused on my mission to fix what I’ve broken, but something compels me to check the screen.

Judith’s name flashes up at me, and a sense of unease curls in my gut. She never calls this late unless it’s important. I answer, my voice tight with impatience.

“Jude, I can’t talk right now. I’m on my way to—”

“June, you need to come home. Right now.” Her voice is strained, edged with a panic I’ve rarely heard from my unflappable sister. “It’s an emergency.”

My steps falter, torn between the pull of Cara and the urgency in Judith’s tone. “What’s going on?”

“It’s Mother. She’s arranged some sort of engagement party for you and Amethyst. June, you have to get here. This has gone too far.”

My blood turns to ice in my veins, realization dawning like a cruel, twisted joke. This isn’t an emergency. It’s an ambush.

I storm into the mansion, my eyes immediately finding my mother’s. She stands at the center of the grand foyer, a triumphant smile on her lips, Amethyst draped on her arm like a prize-winning accessory.

“What the hell is this?” I demand, my voice shaking with barely contained rage.

“Why, it’s your engagement party, darling!” My mother’s voice is sickly sweet, a poisoned honey. “Isn’t it wonderful? Amethyst’s parents and I arranged everything. We wanted it to be a surprise.”

Amethyst glides over to me, slipping her hand into mine. Her touch feels wrong, a pale imitation of the electricity that sparks beneath Cara’s fingertips. “Aren’t you happy, June? We’re finally making it official.”

I wrench my hand away, disgust curling in my stomach. “I never agreed to this. I told you, Mother, I won’t marry Amethyst. I love Cara.”

A hush falls over the room, the gathered guests watching with bated breath, eager for the drama to unfold. My mother’s eyes flash with warning, her smile turning brittle at the edges.

“Juniper, don’t be ridiculous. You’re just confused, that’s all. Amethyst is perfect for you, can’t you see that? She’s your future.”

“No, she’s not.” I step back, my heart hammering against my ribs. “Cara is my future. She’s the one I want, the one I choose.”

Amethyst’s face crumples, tears welling in her eyes. “June, please. I love you. We’re meant to be together, everyone knows it.”