Bartered (The Encounter #1)(54)

He simply remained still, eyes flickering over my face, gazing, memorizing as I stared at him with tears slowly steaming down my face.

“Am I ever going to see you again?” Maybe in a year, maybe in two… ten years… I wasn’t sure when, but I would love to see him again.

“We end here, Isobel. We won’t be seeing each other again. I’ll make sure of it.” When he unexpectedly reached out with his thumb, not to wipe my tears, but to press it on my bottom lip, it felt as though he was searing it with something. Maybe he was saying his goodbye. He did once like to kiss me.

“Hugo,” I cried out, needing him to reconsider.

And when I saw something pass his eyes, I thought he’d change his mind. Instead, he merely left a kiss on my forehead, sealing his goodbye.

“Never let your father, or anyone for that matter, dictate your fate again.” He made a smile that broke my heart. “Go on, ma belle, follow your heart.”

It was his words that made me choke on the ones I wanted to tell him, the truth in his eyes clearly evident. However, what gutted me most was the fact that he’d made sure I was taken care of before leaving me. It was his kindness—even after all I had done to him—that ate me alive. How could he still be so generous when all I’d ever done was be a total bitch to him?

As I stared after the closed door where I’d seen him give me the last glimpse of farewell, I knew there was no way I would ever forget him. He’d dismissed me when I was ready to open up to him again, which had only left me hanging with my thoughts, needs, regrets, and unfulfilled longing that he roused within me. It was buried deep within, but I knew it thrived, waiting to be unleashed.

As farewells went, Hugo Xavier did know how to make an impression, making sure I had been taught a lesson.

A lesson that I’d know inside out soon—that being left behind when things felt unfinished between two people would have its own demons to contend with. Haunting dreams would soon make me question everything I had once believed.