Into the Light (University of Isles #2)

21. Chapter 21

Chapter twenty-one

I bought another house. I suppose when I said I should focus on schoolwork this week, it didn’t also mean to buy a house in the countryside outside of Dansport, but that is what I fucking did. At twenty-two, the last thing I imagined was owning a hunting cabin, buying Ember’s house with Ash’s money, and now a place out in the countryside. I was on my way to show Ember the house . . . hopefully, our house.

Instead of taking the exit into the city, I veered right onto the smaller highway leading to the countryside. We were secured by a few bodyguards trailing behind us.

After an hour of driving, Ember finally broke her silence, asking, “Wait . . . where are we going?” During the entire drive, she hadn’t uttered a word, rendering this whole attempt to make it up to her quite challenging. I might be a writer, but I was terrible with words in situations like this.

“I told you, it’s a surprise,” I reassured her, giving her thigh a gentle squeeze. My hand had remained on her the entire time; I didn’t want to let her go.

“How much longer?” she inquired.

“About an hour,” I replied, and for a moment, it seemed like we’d turned a new leaf because she didn’t argue with me.

When we finally turned onto the long driveway, the house I had recently purchased came into view. It was a modest farmhouse-style home with a spacious wraparound porch. What made it special was the breathtaking view, especially at sunset when the rocking chairs on the porch provided the perfect vantage point. The house sat in a clearing, surrounded by farmland on the left, apple orchards on the right, and the characteristic pine trees of the area at the back of the property.

Inside, the house had been recently renovated, but the previous owners had preserved its old-world vintage charm. The interior felt cozy, and the best part was that I had bought it with all the furniture included.

As we continued down the driveway toward the property, with our bodyguards following, we slowly approached the guesthouse at the front of the estate. The guards pulled in toward the guesthouse and I continued forward toward the main house.

Ember turned around, noticing their departure.

“This is it?” she asked, and I came to a complete stop in front of the house, and her door opened.

“What is this?” she asked as the gravel crunched underneath her feet. I slowly climbed out of the car and went to the other side of the Jeep.

“A house.” I shrugged and grabbed her bag from the passenger side before I walked toward the house.

Ember was chasing behind me, yelling and flailing her arms around.

“I can clearly see that, Rain. What are we doing here? Whose house is this? Is this like a vacation rental?”

I chuckled and used the key to open the door, holding it open for her.

“It’s not a vacation rental, mi pareja. It’s yours.”

“What?!” she exclaimed, stepping into the foyer of the house. The wooden floors creaked but were still in pristine condition, and the furniture exuded a welcoming and brand-new look, styled for selling the house.

“This must be a joke. I have a house in the city,” she said in awe, continuing down the narrow hallway leading to the family room where the housekeeper had added a roaring fire in the fireplace that morning. On the other side of the room sat the small, but modern kitchen.

“Are those apples?” she asked, making her way toward the window.

“Yeah, orchards,” I confirmed.

“What on earth is this place?” She turned to look at me just as the sunset was about to grace the scene.

“Come here . . . Hurry.”

I grabbed her hand, and we walked out the back door to the porch where I sat in one of the oversized rocking chairs, lifting her by her hips and placing her on my lap. Just then the sky exploded in a hue of purples, yellows, pinks, and blues.

I wrapped my hands around her hips as she leaned her head back against my chest, staring out into the sky.

We were silent for a while before the sky finally settled into dusk and the darkness took over.

“I can see why you bought this house now,” she whispered, and I nuzzled my head into her long black hair.

“I bought it because you encouraged me to.” She turned so she was facing me. “You told me that I should follow my dreams. This place? When I saw it this week, I realized that this is my dream. Living in a small place like this, with these sunsets, raising kids . . .with you?”

As if the words finally registered in her mind, she jumped off my lap.

“I don’t want kids.” She crossed her arms and looked around as the night settled in around us. “I didn’t ask to be here.”

She walked inside as I jumped out of my chair to chase after her. With how she emphasized only a portion of what I told her, I could feel something was fucking wrong.

“I thought this would make up for treating you like shit last weekend.” I trailed after her as she grabbed her bag and headed upstairs. So much for giving her a tour.

She was huffing and refusing to let me in. I needed for her to tell me what was wrong, but she kept stomping around upstairs until she reached the long hallway of doors.

“What did I do wrong?” I demanded as she slammed open the first door she saw, which was one of the hall bathrooms. Not a peep from her, and it was now starting to get under my skin.

“Nothing.” She huffed, but didn’t give me a single glance back. Well, good. I was glad she was talking to me at least.

She shoved the second door and third door before settling on the smaller guestroom in the back corner. Damn. I wasn’t expecting her to fall at my knees again and say what she did, but this wasn’t the reaction I was expecting, especially after she’d been so hot and cold all day.

I needed her to talk to me. I needed her to let me in.

Why wasn’t she letting me in? I was becoming frantic.

“I don’t get this,” I practically screamed at her from the hallway as she shoved her bag on the bed.

“Get what?” She shuffled around inside her bag, trying to make herself look busy.

“You told me that you were fucking falling in love—”

“I did not.” She crossed her arms over her chest, and I leaned against the doorframe, watching her. My eyes narrowing at her because she confessed it in front of the whole fucking class.

“Ugh.” She threw her hands up in the air before falling to her knees and burying her head into her hands. I rushed to where she’d fallen, dropping down to reach her level.

“I didn’t mean that . . .” I said before her hiccups and sobs carried through the room. There was a painful ache inside my chest because I didn’t want to be the one to hurt her, but I didn’t understand what was happening either.

“It wasn’t . . . You wouldn’t understand.” Her sobs slowed. “This is so beautiful. It was a precious moment earlier and I completely ruined it.”

“You didn’t ruin anything, Ember.”

“I always ruin everything,” she mumbled, and the wails began again. I held her as she rocked in my arms, letting her warm body fold around my hands.