Drew is here.

  My eyes widen as the horror hits me.

  Drew is here. The library is on fire and there’s lunatic with a knife.

  And my books are on fire.

  “No,” I whisper, my eyes wide as saucers.

  Just as I go to warn him, to tell him to run, she faces him, her scream so loud it echoes over the walls, over the blazing cackling of the fire.

  She charges at him and the breath in my lungs stills. The hand holding the knife rises into the air and I blink, the fear choking me. And in that blink, Drew moves, so lightning fast that I barely see it. He has the knife out of her hand and her arms wrapped around her back in a second.

  “You need to teach me that move,” I whisper in awe, and I’m not sure if he heard me.

  “Go,” he demands, jerking his head over my shoulder.

  I shake my head. I can’t leave him. I won’t. Not while he’s still in danger, not while he still has her in his clutches. He doesn’t know what she has done, what she is capable of doing. I won’t leave him alone with her.

  She struggles in his arms, her face contorted with anger and disbelief. The room suddenly feels smaller, tighter, and just when I think I won’t be able to take another breath, the place is swarming with people.

  Firefighters rush in, and one reaches under my armpits, lifting me off the floor. My dress catches, tearing at the bottom on something as he drags me out.

  I can’t look away from Drew, from the destruction around him as he follows us out, dragging Sophia with him. He reminds me of a gladiator with his hair down, the fire burning around him.

  Fresh air hits my face and I gasp in a lungful of it. My lashes flutter as the air stings my eyes.

  It all hits me. Everything at once. Scott bumping into me. Scott manipulating and gaslighting me. The night he ripped me apart.

  And after.

  My eyes close as a wave of grief hits me. The flowers, the notes, Amber, and then our car crash.

  Scott’s body being found. Me being taken in for questioning.

  My library.

  Everyone has a story to tell. Everyone has a trauma of some kind to share. This is my story. My trauma.

  And I found Drew and true love because of it.

  This woman turned her nightmare into someone else’s. She validated her actions because of it. And for that, I came face-to-face with true evil. A person who shows no remorse or sorrow for what she has done.

  For the lives that were lost.

  Even now, she fights to get out of the cuffs the police have smacked around her wrists, like she’s the victim in all of this. And at one point, she was the victim in her story. But now she is the villain.

  She twisted everything inside her head as if it somehow proved her narrative of the story was the right one. It didn’t. All it had done was make it crumble.

  And she nearly took us all with her.

  I stagger forward, squinting to take it all in around me.

  Madison is lying on a bed in the back of the ambulance, her mum and dad crowding the entrance, waiting for the paramedics to check her over.

  I blink, my eyes watering.

  Hayden is standing at the end of Lily’s drive, arguing with her dad and brother whilst her mum shakes her head.

  I blink through the haze, my attention going back to the library and the smoke bellowing from the windows.

  My breath hitches and I keep going, finding Nora safe and sound, sobbing into her father’s chest.

  I stagger again, my gaze going to the other ambulance where Olivia and Harriet are being treated.

  Then back to the woman who caused all of this.

  I push through the crowd and rush toward her. Dad, who was already storming toward me, catches me around the waist, pulling me back when he figures out what I’m going to do.

  “You crazy bitch,” I scream, shocking not only my dad, but my mother.

  “Charlotte,” he whispers.

  Drew snaps around at the sound of my voice, then says something to the police officer before rushing to my side. “She burnt my books.”

  “The firemen are dealing with it,” Dad assures me.

  Drew reaches for me, but when I once again go to make a move for her, he pulls me back. “Your head is bleeding. We need to get you looked at.”

  “She hurt my friends. My family. She burnt my books,” I choke out.

  “The crazy bitch did more than burn your books,” Hayden retorts, blocking my view from the woman in question. “She murdered her husband and other people.”

  PC Brown—Megan—stops mid-conversation at Hayden’s words. She scans us over before taking a step away from the other officer she was talking to nearby. “Do you have proof of this?”

  Hayden curls her lip. “I won’t need proof once I tell you the horror story of her youth. Fucking bitch thinks it’s a licence to kill,” she returns. “Or you could give me five minutes with the psycho and let me return the favour.” She points to her head, still furious she got hurt. “After, she’ll sing like a canary.”

  Megan scans the area, making sure no other officers can hear us. “You need to calm down. Watch what you are saying.”

  I struggle to get free from Drew, my chest rising and falling. I can hear my pulse beating wildly in my ears. “No. I won’t calm down. My books. My books are gone. She hurt Madison. She hurt Hayden. She hurt my friends. She hurt Marlene. She—"

  “Like we will lose sleep over that bitch,” Hayden interrupts.

  Drew tightens his grip on me. “Charlotte, babe, please, calm down.”

  “No,” I scream. It’s so loud, so raw, it feels like a thousand razor blades are slicing down my throat. “No.”

  I push him away again, and the hurt, the devastation on his expression as he goes to reach for me and I step back, threatens me to my knees.

  “Charlotte, please,” he pleads.

  “Baby,” Mum chokes out.

  I step away from them and they surround me like I’m a wild animal they’re about to capture. I can’t take it. None of it.

  It has all hit me.

  “I’ve been fighting for as long as I can remember to live my dream,” I whisper, then turn to my dad. “You told me to dream big.” I turn to Mum. “And you told me to follow my dreams, no matter what they were.”

  “Baby,” she whispers, stepping forward.

  I hold my hand up, stopping her, my vision blurry with tears. “And I did. And he…” I gulp around the ball in my throat. “He turned it into a nightmare. She turned it into a nightmare. They twisted my dream and made me feel like I was selfish for reaching for it. But I wasn’t being selfish.”

  “No, baby, you weren’t,” Dad replies.

  I turn to Drew, my shoulders dropping, my heart soaring. “For so long I thought my dream was having everything picture perfect. It was a job I loved doing, owning my home and having a husband with children to raise. Then you came into my life.”

  A mask drops over his expression and I can’t figure out what he’s thinking. He scans the crowd watching me, watching the spectacle I’m making of myself, but I don’t care. Each breath is sharp, heavy, and with it, so are my emotions. “Why don’t we get you looked at by a paramedic?”

  I close my eyes, savouring his voice. When I open them, more tears gather. “It hit me inside the library. It’s not about the job you have, the house you own, or the car you drive. It’s not even really about getting married and having children. Because thousands of people have those things and still aren’t happy.”

  “I don’t understand,” he replies, taking a small step toward me. I don’t stop him, not this time.

  I meet his gaze, unblinking and steady. “I was wrong about my dream. It wasn’t about the things I had, the possessions I held. It was the love of my family. The love from my friends. It was you. I can live without it all except for you and them. Never without you. It’s you who I’ve been searching for, who I felt was missing inside of me.”

  Dad coughs into his hand, glancing away. “Wrong choice of words.”

  I shake my head. “No. It’s not. I’ve felt like a part of me has always been missing. I didn’t quite fit in anywhere,” I begin, before turning my attention back to Drew. “But with you, with you, Drew, I felt whole. I fit.

  “I love you. I know you told me to wait to say it. I know you probably think I’m saying this because I have a huge heart and my emotions are heightened. But that’s not it. That’s not the reason. I’m saying it because today, I watched as my library burnt.”

  “Let’s not bring up the books again,” Hayden mutters, glancing away when everyone sends her a silent warning to be quiet.

  “And all that mattered was you. The life I have with you. I love you. I love everything about you. and I hope, so deeply hope, you love me back.” I duck my head, panting heavily. When he doesn’t speak, when my legs threaten to give out, I peek out through my lashes and lean in. I keep my voice low. “It’s okay if you don’t. I know that probably sounded way crazy and stalkerish and—"

  “Charlotte,” he croaks, before pausing, clearing his throat. I take in my surroundings and gulp. My entire family has congregated around us and are glaring at Drew, their stance ready to pounce if he doesn’t say it back. It almost makes me smile.

  “If it’s the pink or glitter, I can change it,” I ramble. “Or if the sex toys are embarrassing, we can totally give them back. I’ve never used them so I’m sure she will take them.”

  “Fucking hell,” Max groans, stepping away from the group.

  “There are some things a father doesn’t need to hear.”

  “Or cousin,” I hear muttered.

  My gaze is pleading, my heart breaking. “I can learn to cook better. I won’t practice with the poles or—”

  In one long stride, he’s standing in front of me, his fingers running through my hair until he’s cupping the back of my neck. He drops his head down, his eyes blazing as he stares at me through those thick lashes. “Never change who you are.”

  “But—”

  “I love you, Charlotte. I meant it the night under the stars and I mean it now.”

  “You do?” I whisper, my lip trembling.

  His lips tug into a small smile. “I do.”

  A laugh slips free. I can’t stop it. I don’t want to. It’s happiness bursting free. I turn to Mum and Dad. “He loves me.”

  Mum clutches Dad closer. “We heard.”

  My attention goes back to Drew as I lean up on my toes and wrap my hands around his neck. “You love me. All of me.”

  His eyes darken. “And you love me.”

  Our lips meet and he flicks his tongue against my bottom lip. White light flashes behind my eyes as everything that had hit me in full force, slowly evaporates, leaving only me and him.

  “You love me,” I whisper, the world around me spinning. My legs give out and he catches me, pulling me into his arms as we lower to the ground. “My library is or was on fire.”

  “I know.”

  My voice shakes as I continue. “She nearly killed us.”

  “I know.”

  “She killed Scott— not that it’s a loss.”

  “I know.”

  A paramedic kneels in front of me, shining a light in my eyes, and I blink away the harsh light.

  “Oh my God,” I cry out, sitting up.

  “What hurts?” the young paramedic asks.

  I turn in horror to Drew. “We need to go. Your sister is getting married.”

  Megan Brown looms above us, a notepad in her hand. “We need to get your statement before you leave.”

  I pout. “Really?”

  She chuckles, shaking her head. “Yes. You can run through it while the paramedic looks over that cut.”

  “Is it over after that? I mean, you still don’t think I killed him?”

  “I never did,” she replies softly. “But hopefully, yes, it will be.”

  I glance up at Drew. “It’s over. It’s just me and you.”

  He grins, beautiful and sexy. “Just me and you.”

  *** *** ***

  We have a bigger challenge to face than Sophia Parish, something far greater than the ramblings and actions of a crazy person.

  We have to deal with Drew’s family.

  It’s hard to believe it was only last night that I stood up to them and everything unfolded.

  Now we’re late and we look a hot mess.

  Neither of us had time to shower. My mum helped me fix my hair the best she could and reapplied some of my makeup. But with the soot and the smoke sinking into my skin and hair, there wasn’t a lot we could do. I changed my forest green dress for a simple wrap around one, and all it has done is highlight the scrapes on my legs, the bruises on my arms.

  PC Brown kept us longer than we anticipated, but I was more than happy to fill in the blanks that she had been missing. Missing pieces she needed to send Sophia to prison for a very long time. They even got word to us before we left that they found evidence of the notes and proof the flowers had come from Sophia. It was all clicking into place. For me. But not for the others. It’s too late for some of them to get justice but I hope it doesn’t stop their family from pressing charges.

  It isn’t something that will happen overnight though. We have time. Right now, it’s time to heal, to get our strength back. It’s a time for living.

  Living for a future that holds no certainties. I don’t need them. Not anymore. I don’t need everything to be in order or to fit into a neat box. What I have with Drew, what we share, it surpasses all of that. He goes beyond my wildest dreams. This is just one chapter of our story. Tomorrow, the page will turn, and we’ll start another.

  And I’m excited to see what it will bring.

  I can wait for children. I can wait for marriage. Just as long as we always feel like this toward each other while we wait.

  “Are you sure you are up for this?”

  I grip his hand over the gear stick and link our fingers together. “We’ve had a really bad day. I don’t want to make it worse for you.”

  “Alison would understand,” he assures me. He said the same thing outside the library.

  “Maybe, but I don’t want to be the reason you don’t turn up to your sister’s wedding.”

  “I love you,” he tells me as he pulls up outside the church. “Remember that.”

  I gulp. “I love you too.”

  He puts the car into park and neither of us waste time gathering ourselves before we slide out, rushing up to the church. Alison steps out of a door located at the side of the entrance, her bridesmaids, Natalie and a girl I don’t recognise, following behind her.

  Her eyes widen as she takes us in. “Drew, what on earth?”

  “We aren’t late,” I breathe, sagging with relief.

  Her attention cuts to me, running her gaze over the cuts and bruises and probably the soot I couldn’t wipe off my skin. “We had a delay,” she murmurs.

  Drew bends down, kissing her on the cheek. “You look so beautiful,” he tells her. “We really are sorry. It’s a long story, and one we will tell you after you’ve gotten hitched. We just couldn’t miss your special day.”

  His mum steps out, and the anger radiates off her. In fact, I’m pretty sure every time I’ve had the pleasure of being in her presence, she’s been angry over something.

  “You know, masturbation is known to be one of the best stress relievers. It releases endorphins and—”

  “Charlotte,” Drew muses, pressing his fist over his mouth.

  My eyes widen as I take in her flushed face. I was only trying to help. She might smile a little more.

  “It’s been a really long day,” I rush out. “Please, forget you heard that.”

  Drew chuckles. “Charlotte.”

  “Actually, forget you even saw us.”

  “Or smelled you,” Natalie sniggers.

  “We will make it up to you,” Drew promises.

  His mother sighs. “Get inside before I have a mind to send you home.”

  He grins and slips his fingers through mine. We push through the first door, ignoring the stares from their guests. “Together,” he whispers.

  I beam, my heart beating rapidly. “Together.”

  EPILOGUE

  CHARLOTTE

  Eight weeks later

  My life changed the night Scott hurt me. I had been a plate smashed into a wall and all that was left were all these tiny broken pieces. I observed and criticised every single one, every part of me, wondering if that was the piece that was needed or if it could be left and forgotten.

  I had put it together without filling in the cracks, without healing the very fracture that made it shatter. And I did it because I needed everything to be okay. I wanted to be smiles and happiness once more.

  Somewhere along the way, I became someone more. The fractured pieces of me healed, but what melded those pieces together gave me strength, courage and self-worth. It brought me into the real world with wide, open eyes. Instead of it being clouded by what happened, the skies opened, and what I felt was beautiful prior to Scott, blossomed and glowed in a way it hadn’t before, in a way I could appreciate since I had tasted darkness and knew what that light truly meant.

  Sophia will never again walk the streets. She is currently in a facility where she will be held until her sentencing. After her mental evaluation is done, they’ll go forward with the sentencing. I’m not sure what happens to mentally unstable prisoners. Is there a place they currently go or are they thrown into a cell with everyone else? I don’t know. A part of me doesn’t care as long as she remains locked up.

  My new security system my uncle Liam had installed at the library managed to record her confession. It helped cement our case against her and make it rock solid. She tried to claim she had done it under duress, that she wasn’t well in herself. But watching that video play back in court, there was no way she could deny she was lucid during crucial moments. She knew exactly what she had done to me and to all those other women.

  My only regret is Scott wasn’t standing next to her. He should have been up there. His crimes were just as heinous as hers.