1.1 ʟᴏᴠɪɴɢ ᴍᴀʏʜᴇᴍ | ✓

63 | to dust and to gold

S I X T Y - T H R E E | to dust and to gold--

C A P R I C E

I said it.

I had complicated feelings towards my grandmother. Since then, I was tiptoeing the line between respect and fear. And a part of me longed to be loved by her.

I had accepted that the latter was an impossible wish. Still...

"This world revolves on give and take. You gave me nothing."

"Don't forget that I gave you a chance, Caprice," he replied.

"See you soon, Father."

The call dropped and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. Would I regret turning down his offer?

I knew that the path of power and riches wasn't sunshine and rainbows. I knew what kind of suffering I would face. I knew them by heart.

"Priz?" Indy's soft voice coaxed me out of my spiralling thoughts. "You good?"

I nodded and tossed him the phone. "This is useless now."

"You expected this, didn't you? What's wrong?" he asked.

"I don't know. I guess... I thought he would explain at least..." I shoved a hand through my hair before catching sight of Katya's dead gaze. I clutched a hand against my chest, ignoring the uncomfortable sight. "I'm being silly. I'm okay."

"Hey! You!" Indy shouted next to me. He marched forward and I looked to see him going towards Colt and the others. They seemed to be in an argument and with Indiana in the mix, the fight escalated.

I did a ten-second breathing exercise before going to the forming crowd. Indy stood before Colt. His silver gaze challenging.

"Get out of my way," Colt demanded with his own ferocious stare.

They were of the same height but Indy had a more solid build. He had been training since he was kid while Colt was molded by his experiences. I wonder who would win if they fight.

I cleared my throat, rolling my eyes at my ridiculous thoughts.

I approached the group but neither men looked at me. Taylor and the others were ushered towards the medics. None of them acknowledged my presence except Taylor and Aiscelle. The old man shot me an apologetic look while Aiscelle let out a small encouraging smile.

"Not yet," Indy spoke. "No one leaves here."

"Oh, really? On whose authority?"

"Mine."

Colt smirked, making Indy's mouth twitched in irritation. "You say that as if I know you."

I shut my eyes close, feeling the start of a migraine as their egos continued to clash. I took another deep breath. "Indy, let him go."

"What?" he growled in response, not taking his eyes off Colt.

I focused on Colt, knowing full well the simmer of anger on his golden skin. "I will wait at the bar until you're ready to talk. Okay?"

For the first time since we got here, I saw a conflicted expression on his face.

What was that?

I reached out, pulling Colt towards me in a crushing hug. He winced and I remembered how much he fought earlier. Shit. I let him go.

But Colt embraced me tighter.

He buried his face on my neck, his arms around my waist. He didn't speak for a long time.

"Colt?"

He kissed me, short and sweet like the tender drops of summer rain before he cupped my cheek. His lips traced the line of my jaw, stopping to whisper on my ear.

I thought that nothing in this world could ever break me.

Not my grandmother's iron rule.

Not my father's abandonment.

But now...

"I'm sorry, Caprice," he said.

Tears blurred my vision as I watched him walk away. His words rang on my head.

Anger, disappointment, pain.

"Priz, what's wrong?" Indy wiped my wet cheeks to no avail. "Priz?"

I cried harder.

It was me.

I killed your best friend.

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Thank you so much for reading up on this part! Especially to my awesome readers and to uxecila who didn't get tired of voting and leaving me inspiring comments. 💓

I am so, so happy to mark this complete! I thought I would regret editing this book but it turned out better than I expected.

I will work on the sequel but still depends on my motivation.

See you next time!