Page 148 of Reverie

I’m supposed to be his soulmate.

Soulmate. The title feels right, seeing as it’s my soul that’s in the process of cracking.

Now that I’m Mrs. Winter Leigh Brigham, I could walk away and be set for life. I’d questioned him over and over about a prenup, and each time I brought it up, he just looked at me like I were mad.

We didn’t sign one. Instead, he handed over nearly everything to me.

But I don’t want to walk away from him—from our family.

I want him.

All of him.

And what I have of him right now isn’t enough.

A tap on the door has me sitting up in the bed. I pause for a moment, afraid that it might be Jami on the other side, but my shoulders drop when Hunter speaks.

“Sunb—Winter. We’re preparing for landing. Can you please come to your seat?”

His presence on the other side of the door is comforting…and at the same time, I don’t want to see him at all.

You’re hiding again, Winter.

“Yes,” I call out. “Give me a moment.”

I move to the bathroom, wetting my palms and using them to slick my hair into a messy bun at the top of my head. Staring at my reflection, I catalog all the changes in my appearance.

The scar I got from Adam’s attack is barely noticeable most days. Now, it feels like a beacon on my forehead.

“You are a bad bitch from Hell. You’ll get through this,” I say to my reflection.

I feel Veronica’s presence next to me, cheering me on.

No matter what happens, I will get in contact with her.

Pulling my shoulders back, I exit the room and keep my eyes on my seat as I navigate toward the front of the plane.

I want to cry and yell and throw up all over the floor when I see Hunter’s dark hair over the top of his headrest. The captain’s chairs are spacious, set on a swiveling base. He faces forward, whereas before he faced the aisle.

When I reach him, he looks up at me with so much conflict in his gaze. Things are heavy between us, and I know that he knows what I know: Things could go nuclear at a moment’s notice.

I don’t want to fight—at least, not like this. So I look away and take a seat, putting the seatbelt on with a quietsnick.

“How much time until we land?” I ask once I’m settled. I situate my seat to face forward like Hunter’s. He taps his hand on the table in front of him, and I notice curiously that instead of whiskey, he has water in his glass.

He blows out a deep breath with a chuckle. “I thought about stretching the truth, but that won’t get me anywhere. There are still a few hours before we reach our first destination.”

More deception. More manipulation.

Putting my hand on my seatbelt, my voice is grating when I say, “What the fuck is this, Hunter?”

But before I can remove the belt, he grabs my hand, pausing my movements.

“Can you give me fifteen minutes of your time, Winter?” His voice is barely above a whisper, but his plea carries the weight of the world within it.

I stare down to where our hands touch, his thumb resting near the ring he gave me just hours before.

“If you want to talk, then let’s talk,” I say, my voice just as low.