The Light Within by Annie Reynolds

Author:Annie Reynolds [Reynolds, Annie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Skye High Publishing
Published: 2023-06-22T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Three

Alina

“What are you talking about? What promise did you make to her, Callum?” Panic filled my voice as fear gripped me, and I pulled my hands back from his.

“I told her I would always protect and keep you safe, Alina.”

“When?” I whispered, but before he could answer, my hand flew to my mouth. I already knew the answer. “She came to see you the night she killed him, didn’t she? Didn’t she?”

It was no longer a question. Callum’s affirmation was merely a formality.

A sound had awakened me, I no longer remembered what it was, but I’d searched the house looking for her, calling for her. I’d even run out into the field to the wisteria tree and searched the outbuildings, but it had been fruitless. I’d lain awake for hours with the worst scenarios filtering through as my senses strained in the darkness. I thought she’d wandered off into the dark night and had no idea if she’d come back.

Eventually, after lying awake for hours, I heard her come home. Relief had washed over me as she’d crept up the stairs and back to her bedroom. Sleep continued to evade me as her soft snores carried through to the early dawn.

“I didn’t know what she was going to do. If I had known, I wouldn’t have let her leave. I could’ve done something more to stop her. I think about that every day.”

“What did she say to you?”

Were there signs of the choice she was about to make, any clue at all that of what she was thinking? Something I missed?

“Alina, what difference does it make now?”

I recoiled as if he’d slapped me with his words. It made so much difference he couldn’t possibly imagine. Otherwise, he wouldn’t even have asked. I needed to move. Pushing up, I paced the room. Callum’s eyes were on me as I made my way around the room, scattered steps without any back and forth.

“It matters because I need to know why I couldn’t have helped her. Why couldn’t she talk to me about what she was thinking? Can you imagine what she must have been going through to think that killing someone was the answer? I could have gotten her help, and things would have ended up differently for her. For all of us.”

Callum stood, casting a shadow from the glow of the still-blazing fire. He followed my progression until I was within reach, pulling me roughly into his arms. I felt caged and, for the first time, resented the strength of the man in front of me.

“I’ve rehashed that night over and over, sweetheart. There is no way any of us could’ve known what she had planned. There is no comfort in overanalyzing the past, only in her actions that she did it to protect you. She had come to me asking me to take care of you and make sure no one could hurt you.”

“You hurt me,” I squeaked out, my face buried in his chest, muffling my words.

“I know. And that is the hardest thing to seek forgiveness for.

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