Burning Your Lies (King and Queen Duet #2)

51

Savannah

The air is still clammy despite the sun disappearing over the horizon.

“Pen! Let’s go, mummy.”

She abandons the sea, and her little legs carry her right into my arms.

“I’m hungry.”

I hold her hand in mine as we walk back to our home. I press my finger against the handle and wait for my fingerprint to register. When it does, the door unlocks, and we are embraced by the warm scent of dinner.

“We’re home!”

“Perfect timing,”

Huxley smiles.

“Dinner is just about to be served.”

Walking in step with Elise, I join him in the kitchen.

“Smells delicious.”

He ignores me, instead stooping to her level.

“I fixed your dollhouse.”

Forgetting all about her hunger, she skips away to her play room to inspect her reformed toy.

I wrap my arms around his waist and rest my cheek against his back.

“Any updates?”

“They have officially ruled it as a murder-suicide. Francesca’s story corroborated the evidence we planted. Nobody is looking for you.”

“What about you?”

“Rowan held up his end of the bargain. They found a mutilated body that resembles me. It matches the fingerprints I doctored in the system. My dad…”

He lets out a deep breath.

“He claimed the body.”

His shoulders deflate and he stops moving.

I purse my lips. “Hux…”

There’s a coldness in his voice.

“I’m not Hux. Rhys Knight – that is who I am now.”

I release him from my hold. I lean against the counter and watch his blank expression as he goes back to the task at hand.

“What if we told them the truth? They would never—”

“Never what, Vanessa? Huxley Ray died. Their eldest son is dead. Hadley is an only child now. The only way Rhys, Vanessa, and Penelope survive is by letting everyone believe that.”

He pauses for a moment. When he speaks again, it’s in his usual indifferent tone.

“They will cry for some time and then they will get over it.”

Taking his hand in mine, I give it a squeeze.

“What about you? You love them.”

His hazel eyes meet mine.

“And I love you. This is our chance to be free from the past and our sins. I knew what I was giving up when we devised this plan.”

“What if something happens to them? Don’t you want to…”

I shake my head, unable to verbalise my thoughts and worries.

Rejection takes a hold of him and his arms tense.

“Do you not want this life anymore?”

“Of course I do! I just don’t want you to have regrets. You didn’t have to give up your life. I would have built a life with Elise.”

He holds my face in his hands and kisses me slow.

“There is no life without you. I love you, whether that is as Savannah or Vanessa or whatever the hell your name is. I am in this, sweetheart. Are you?”

Mirroring him, I cup his face before running my hands through his short hair.

“I love you too, sunshine.”

He smiles at me.

“Good. Now let’s eat dinner, put our daughter to bed so we can have some sex on our balcony, and watch the waves crash until we fall asleep.”

Grabbing an empty plate, I put Elise’s plate together.

“I miss your long hair. I miss tugging on it while you fuck me.”

Huxley laughs.

“I might be tempted to grow it back, Mrs Knight.”

“Have you heard from Brynn?”

“She bolted before Rowan could get his hands on her.”

I carry our plates to the table.

“Do you think she will ever come looking for us?”

Huxley shakes his head as he places our drinking glasses down.

“She’s got her money. And anyway, she doesn’t know our new identities.”

“Pen! Dinner time!”

I look at Huxley.

“What do you mean?”

“When I met with her to trade my life for yours, I made it clear to her to get you out of the country if something were to happen to me. She knew where I stored our new identities. But she didn’t know I had a contingency in case she switched sides.”

I pull Elise onto the seat next to me and watch as she digs into her meal.

“You never trusted her?”

He waves me off.

“In a game of poker, you can’t trust anyone. It’s why I never told her that Eliana was alive.”

A chill runs down my spine.

“I wonder what Rowan did when he stole her back. Do you think she’s still alive?”

Huxley shrugs.

“That’s the thing, sweetheart. Love is so much bigger than betrayal. Rowan has spent the last eighteen months looking for her because he wanted her back. I don’t think he held out hope only to kill her.”

He jabs his fork into food.

“She may be his physical prisoner, but ultimately he is her prisoner because he can’t let go. And this is a man that is notorious for putting a bullet in someone with no remorse. But I think she is his bullet, and she is lodged deep inside his chest, whether or not he cares to admit it.”

My teeth clamp down on my lip as I try to imagine being locked inside Rowan’s empire, surrounded by his men watching my every move in case I try to escape him again. Knowing Rowan, he probably has her chained to him wherever he goes.

“She’s his bullet of love.”

Huxley isn’t listening to me anymore. His gaze lingers on Elise.

“Do you think she thinks of him?”

I tuck her hair behind her ear.

“Most definitely.”

“Will she forget about him?”

“I hope so.”

I press my lips against her temple.

“I’m just worried she’s going to tell everyone her name is Ellie.”

“That’s why we named her Penelope. If anybody asks, Ellie is her nickname.”

We fall into a comfortable silence. For the first time in my life, there is no screaming and chaos. There’s a serenity I have craved. My days are filled with mindless walks on the beach watching the waves crash. My afternoons are spent in the comfort of Elise’s laugh and Huxley’s arms. My evenings are spent around the table with my family.

This is not how I wanted the game to end. I hoped that Mia and Jordan would fill the empty seats around the table. I wished to hold on to the first sense of family I got from Huxley’s family. I wanted to bask in Isabella and Malcolm’s joy when we eventually told them they were going to be grandparents. I looked forward to girls’ night with Mia and Hadley. I wanted to visit my mum whenever I missed her so much all I could do was cry. And perhaps it was foolish of me to wish for the impossible to have Emery’s help in raising our daughter.

I never expected the high cost of victory. And it would be a lie to say I haven’t questioned if it was all worth it. But then I look at Huxley and Elise and know it was. Not just for us, but also for Xavier’s victims. His legacy was burned along with his empire. His company was dissolved, and the proceeds went to the families of his victims. It doesn’t bring them back, but at least he was forced to face death, too.

Huxley’s worried gaze is on me.

“What’s wrong?”

I shake my head. “Nothing,”

I whisper.

With no words, he understands why I look like I am about to cry. He lifts his glass.

“To a new beginning and a fresh start. To a normal life free of games and torment. To happiness; till death do us part.”

I clink my glass against his.

“No more lies.”

THE END.