Unveiled (Torn #6)(3)

“You see mirrors of me—the good, the bad, and the ugly—and still you love me unconditionally.” The words barely escaped me, choked by everything I was feeling. “Thank you for simply being the kind of man you are.”

He held me awhile, as if the rest of the world didn’t exist, as if it was only he and I that mattered. “You’re like a diamond with inclusions. Perfect on the outside, but once you look closer, specks of imperfection are evident. But, even with those imperfections, it’s still beautiful. It just takes a special kind of person to appreciate such beauty.” He pulled away, inches from my face. Bright blue eyes penetrated my dark ones, searing me into his soul. “Never thank me for loving you, Lindsey. You’re meant to be mine. It’s kismet, destiny that’s half yours and half mine. It’ll only be completed once those halves make as one—a whole. You’re here—with me—because this is what’s meant to be, so don’t ever thank me for that.”

“You just say the best things sometimes. It never fails to make me cry,” I said in mock accusation, which made us share a good laugh. “God, what am I going to do with you?”

He closed the gap once more before bestowing a kiss on my forehead. “Just keep loving me, that’s all.”

The power of my love for him petrified me to the point where, sometimes, I questioned if it was right to feel such a potent emotion towards one person alone. It was so consuming most times I had considered it unhealthy at one point, and although I had acknowledged that, it still hadn’t stopped me from falling ceaselessly into the dark abyss of love.

Knowing he truly felt deeply for me, I had no doubt in my mind I was the only one for him. I let the article slip in the back recess of my mind, hoping I might not have to question his love and loyalty someday. For now, I trusted him with my life, and that was all that mattered.





Chapter 2


Lindsey


A couple of days later, after celebrating Bass’s birthday with Emma surprising him in the best illicit possible way a woman could—by flaunting her assets as she came out of his birthday cake—Dimitris and I were having an argument in regards to where we’d spend our holidays together.

Originally, the plan was for us to leave LA and fly over to Athens, but things had changed, and I had been forced to alter my plans to look out for my brother. This alteration didn’t occur until after he had called while I was getting ready to meet Emma and the gang at her surprise party for Bass. Not only had he not sounded the same on the phone, but with his drunken voice, the profound sadness that had lingered with every word he had said, as if the world was on his shoulders due to the immense pain that he was in, I had known I just couldn’t leave him behind to celebrate the holidays with Dimitris and his family. I mean, I loved Dimitris to heaven and back, but this was my brother—my one and only. I was all he had, and I simply couldn’t give him up like Emma had. He needed me more than ever, though he didn’t know it yet.

“Lindsey, our deal was for me to come here then for you to come and spend Christmas and the New Years with me and my family in Athens. You can’t change your mind at the last minute. That’s just unacceptable.” Dimitris looked like he was about to combust, while I felt truly torn between the love of my life and my poor brother.

“I can’t leave Carter alone, especially not like this.”

For the first time that I could recall, my brother didn’t seem like himself. I had never once worried about his welfare. He was always incredibly confident and never wavered, even when the going got tough. However, this time around, I knew things had definitely altered for him the second Emma had left him, for good that time.

“He’s the only family I’ve got. I can’t just abandon him, Dimi. I love you, and I would do anything to make you happy, but this … this will eat me alive if I leave him this way. He’s my only brother, and even though we don’t get along most of the time, when push comes to shove, we always have each other’s back.”

He groaned. “Well, why can’t you bring him along? I’m sure he’d appreciate a break, especially at this delicate time.” He paused, sending me a peculiar look. “I gather that he doesn’t know yet?”

Like I’d be the one come bearing bad news that would most likely put Carter in a much darker place than he was already living. f*uk. I didn’t understand why he wasn’t even trying to get out of his funk. I hated seeing him this way. It wasn’t natural for him not to act like his old self. I was deeply worried for him, especially since Emma was pregnant again.

“No, of course not. No one has the heart to break it to him.” Emma had secretly shared the news about her impending pregnancy, and as much as I loved seeing my best friend happy and living the love-filled life she had once fought so hard for, I couldn’t help feeling the sadness that came with it. Because we all knew that her happiness had come at a massive price.

Carter.

The arrogant man who thought the world revolved around him was devastatingly struck with love and left immobilized by the inevitable pain that went hand in hand with it once the flame burnt out. He gave her everything—things that seemed a little crazy to comprehend even to myself, a woman whose second nature was being crazy and recklessly wild, although I couldn’t picture myself enduring the kind of bloodshed he had withstood simply by loving Emma Anderson alone. He just stood by and watched his heart being ripped apart, howling the shattering hurt that lashed at him, until he was spent and had nothing left to fight for. It was as if he had died, dismembered and eviscerated, yet remained with the living, still managing to breathe, getting up as if alive but dead inside.