THE WARD

" I know it's not worth much at this point, but I'm sorry for all of it. For how everything went down between us," He smiles bitterly," I'm sorry for keeping you in the dark. It wasn't because I had a hidden agenda. It was out of the desire to protect you at all costs. I'm not my father. I know is not much of a revelation to you, but I hope that you will understand that much. Yes, I've lied to you, and deceived you but never with malicious intentions. Everything, I confessed and professed is a true and irrefutable fact just like gravity and the concept of time," He says calmly but at the same time, the pathos behind his proclamation has me on the verge of falling at his feet. Mason is a master when comes to wielding words as a weapon, and he does it masterfully. He knows me far too well and uses that to his advantage.

Sadly for him at this point, silence is all I have to offer, but that doesn't deter him from continuing, filling the ever-expanding silence with more declarations aimed to shatter the wall I've firmly built in order to keep myself from falling apart.

" I hope you find in yourself the strength to forgive me," I don't think I can anymore.

He swallows thickly, and I trace that motion with my eyes. My eyes land on the pulse beating beneath his skin, the line of his jaw dusted with a darker stubble than the color of his hair. The sensual line of his lips moves in time with each word he speaks. The candid look in his eyes as he gazes into mine. I love the way his brows furrow when he is worried, and the way his eyes crinkle when he smiles down on me. Missing him will be gut-wrenching but a necessary evil. I can't find it in myself to forgive him. They say forgive and forget, but what if I can't?

" You're giving me that look again," His voice holds a hint of amusement as he pushes himself off the wall.

I clear my throat," What look?" My voice comes out breathless and raspy.

" The same way you look at cake," He smiles and his eyes crinkle. I love cake. Usually doesn't stay very long on the plate. I swallow at that thought and look away because he has won the battle, but I'm not ready to capitulate. Maybe, I'll never be.

In the end, he always wins. I want to punch myself for being so powerless to his charms. Damn it, Lily. Get it together.

I can't believe that I'm so powerless to his imposing presence.

" What can I say, I have my weaknesses. And cake is one of them...," I cut myself off before adding him to my list of weaknesses. He smiles, leans forward, and brushes his lips over my cheek. That little motion sets every nerve in my body on fire. He draws a deep breath and takes a step back.

" You're glowing," I turn to look in the mirror and I see ourselves bathed in a soft white light. The pulse that beats in time with my heart returns and I know that I will level Northenhay and everything around it for miles.

" Ayatollah alizzee erithermenit," I know those words from my mother's journal. It is to slow the flow of energy I'm drawing from around me.

" Vidris asmerat, " I whisper and the room lights up with the little filaments of light flowing from me to him. He is struggling with the amount he is absorbing and flowing through him. I might take the brunt of it all, but I know he won't last very long. I'm hurting him even though that's the last thing I want to do.

Closing my eyes I focus on the second pulse beating in my chest, open the palm of my hand, and turn to the window. In one breath I release it and the window shatters and then returns to normal once the pulse has moved past it.

Mason is bracing himself on the vanity, leaning over me, taking measured breaths and I see the relief washing over him when the flow of energy flowing through him eases. My mother said that the bond she has put on us will dissolve, but when? It has been over twenty years. It seems stronger than ever before. I guess we are stuck with each other until the cycle ends. Probably that's what she meant.

The feel of his hand on my cheek drags me back to him," I love you, Canim," He presses his forehead on mine, " Please believe me," He whispers against my lips, and the feel of his tongue slipping between my lips makes weak in the knees. His body presses on mine, and I'm acutely aware of every ridge, of every tensing muscle, every lock of hair that brushes against my skin. How his lips move over mine, the intense warmth blossoming within my chest, a twin heartbeat beating frantically. It is his, I can feel his heart, beating in time with mine, calling for each other to be reunited. If he is stupidly in love with me. I'm a hopelessly lost cause. He has had me from the moment he put his hand on my shoulder in Mr Perry's office. I've been with him ever since.

When he pulls away, struggling for air, I open my eyes, our gazes lock and I'm lost in the endless sea of ice that can make me rise but it will also be my downfall. Heaven and hell. Bliss and sorrow. He is my ruin and I will let him ruin me in ways that I didn't think it was possible.

But I'm not stupid...

" Give me time to think," I say breathlessly, with absolutely no intention of doing so," What you're asking," I swallow and he closes his eyes, " You deceived me in the name of saving me. It will take a little more than just 'I'm sorry' to make up for it. I think we are done," His expression clouds at my words, and I know this will haunt us. Ava, Micah, the lies, the betrayal, all of it. The foundation of our relationship is built of bricks of mistrust, deception, false promises, and games of who can outdo the other.

His head drops, a few locks of hair slowly slide over to curtain over his forehead and for some reason, I'm completely hypnotized by it. I'll never have another chance to be this close to him.

I'm renouncing my right to be called his wife to be his anything.

With a deep breath, I clutch my hands to my chest, slip the ring off my finger, and slide it over the vanity. His head whips up when he sees it, disbelief along with hurt settles over his handsome features and I swallow the boulder that's sitting in my throat.

" Goodbye Mason," I say before I slip under his arms and leave the bathroom, the house, and his life. I don't know where I'm going but I just need to go. That's all I know.