Within seconds, Rebecca was safe on solid ground. She moved to throw herself into his arms—but he pushed her aside and stretched his hand toward me.
"Chloe. Give me your hand."
"You don't get to die without my permission."
I stared at that hand. At those long, elegant fingers I'd once memorized.
I laughed.
And then the tears came, sliding down my cheeks even as I kept laughing.
When I didn't reach for him, something flickered in Mason's eyes—panic, raw and real. His voice turned urgent.
"Chloe. Give me your hand. Don't make me say it again."
But I just looked at him. Quietly. Calmly.
"Mason. You said my family owes you a debt we could never repay in this lifetime."
I smiled.
"Then take my life. Consider it settled."
His pupils dilated. Horror flooded his face.
"And in the next life," I whispered, "I pray we never meet."
I let go.
The wind rushed past me. In that single suspended moment, I raised my hand and waved at him.
Mason. The knot between us—it's finally undone.
