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There aren’t many people who I genuinely hate with every fiber of my being — in fact, my list is comprised of only one name: Zane Windsor.
Zane Windsor is the bane of my existence,
“It just feels ominous that the first event I’m attending now that I’m back is one hosted by Zane’s family.”
“You, my darling, are pure magic. The way everything you envision comes to life truly is magical, so do all of that visualization stuff that you love so much and envision the path that lies ahead of you —
Every thought fades away until there’s nothing left but her — my Celestial. She’s back.
“Because I missed you, my beautiful Celestial. I missed that soft huff that escapes your lips when I annoy you, the way your eyes flash when I outdo you, the way you challenge me to do better.”
It hurts to know she regrets the one night that meant everything to me. Nonetheless, I smile, the way she expects of me. “I’ll remember those words fondly the next time I’m pushing my cock deep into you, Celeste. When I’ve got you on the brink of an orgasm, my name on your lips, I’ll make you eat those words before I make you beg for more. And you will. You’ll beg, just like you did that night.”
She’s right to say we’re playing a game, the way we always have. What my beautiful Celestial hasn’t quite figured out is that this time, I’m playing for keeps.
“I would never work there,” she snaps. “That bag of dicks bullied you for years.
“I thought we agreed we’d forget it happened,” she murmurs, her gaze darting around us like she’s scared to be seen with me. “I don’t recall agreeing to that particular demand of yours, my sweet Celestial. How could I possibly forget my first time—”
“You… you were a virgin too?” she whispers, pure shock transforming her face. “Wasn’t that obvious? You were my first, and you ruined me for everyone else.”
“I don’t remember a time you weren’t the center of my universe, Celeste. When we were kids, you were my rival, my nemesis — someone I’d been told I could never be friends with, couldn’t trust. The warnings just intrigued me further, and the more I learned about you, the more interested I became. You were always one of the few people who could actually compete with me and win more than half of the time.
All I know is that I don’t remember a version of me without you. I realized I had feelings for you when we were sixteen, but by then, the dynamics of our relationship had been set in stone, and I’d given you too many reasons to hate me. I didn’t know how to undo the damage I’d done, and each time I tried, it’d backfire and you misunderstood.
“What do you see when you look into my eyes now?” I whisper. His lashes flutter, and my heart begins to race when his lips form a sexy smirk. “Something that gives me hope, Celestial.”
He looks at me like I truly am a goddess, and I can’t get enough of it.
I’ll be whatever you want me to be, Celestial, so long as you let me be yours.”
“You took my first kiss and my first time, and now you’re my first girlfriend. How many more firsts will you take? I’ll give them all to you if you want them.”
“I’m madly in love with Zane, and we’ve been in a formal relationship for a little over seven months.”
“Celeste Harrison, I love you with all my heart, and I always will — against all odds, regardless of what anyone might say or think.
“I love you, and someday, I’m going to make you my wife. That’s a vow, Celeste.”
“I vow to take great care of your heart, Zane. It’s mine now, isn’t it? I’ll keep it always.”
“I’m sorry, Grandma. I know it sounds like I’m asking for permission to marry her, but I’m not. One way or another, I’ll make Celeste my wife. I’d rather do it with your blessing, not just because it’d kill me to let you down, but also because I know it’d destroy Celeste if I go against your wishes.
she’s got the biggest heart and the kindest soul. If being with her ends up costing me, she’ll never forgive herself, and I love her too much to do that to her if I can help it.”
“You don’t get to be happy, Celeste. Not after what you did to me.”
“Run,” he’d warned. “Get the fuck out of my sight and don’t come back. Leave, and I’ll spare your family. Stay, and it’s your brother you’ll put behind bars next. The choice is yours.”
“You once begged me to marry her, didn’t you? So you will marry her. Her family are among the best hoteliers in the world — there’s no way we can sit back and let them join hands with the Emersons.”
My need to hurt Zane is insatiable and all-consuming.
“Celeste, I’m merging the company with Windsor Hotels.”
“I won’t. There isn’t much I won’t do to save the company, but not this. There’s a lot I never told you about the reasons we broke up, but trust me when I tell you there’s no coming
back from what happened. If this is some misguided attempt at pushing me toward happiness, please stop. I won’t find it with him.”
“You’ll find that Anne Windsor is perfectly capable of keeping her grandchildren in line.
The Harrisons and Windsors are stronger together, and it’s time we acknowledge that.”
“If you truly still want to hurt him, why not do it from the position closest to him, as his wife?”
I can still hear Zane’s voice like he spoke the words yesterday. “I love you, and someday, I’m going to make you my wife. That’s a vow, Celeste.”
“I hate you with every fiber of my being,” he whispers,
“I’m going to destroy you, Celeste. Everything you put me through will look like child’s play compared to the way I’ll make you suffer.”
The torment in her eyes takes me back five years ago when she first asked me to admit that I’d cheated on her with Lily.
“It’s always you, crazy girl,” I whisper. “It’s always been you.”
“The day Celeste introduced you as her boyfriend, we took you out to the garden,” Archer says, his tone flat. “Do you remember what you promised us then?”
“Each time we see you, we’ll share a glass. By the time this bottle is empty, you’ll need to have fulfilled your promise, or I’ll do what my sister doesn’t have the heart to — I’ll fucking annihilate you, consequences be damned.”
My Celestial. She’s like a vision from my wildest dreams, the ones where I get to live in the past just a little longer, and looking at her hurts. That fucking dress. It kills me to know she’d wanted to wear it for Clifton, and had planned to let him take it off her.
“Do you, Zane Windsor, take Celeste Harrison as your wife? Do you vow to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, and forsaking all others, be faithful only to her, for as long as you both shall live?”
“I won’t cheat on you,” he tells me, his tone conveying his sincerity. “I never have, and I never will. The fact you won’t believe me is what tore us apart in the first place.
“It’s been five years since my best friend took her own life after begging me to forgive her for being with you. The very least you could do to honor her memory is be honest.
“You hurt my siblings more than you could possibly know. I never told the boys what you did to me, Celeste, because I didn’t think they could take it. They loved you with all they had, and you abandoned them. I get why, but they don’t.
I’ve never been filled with this many doubts or this much regret. I’m tired of hurting, of hurting the people around me in return.
“I’m just tired of being unhappy,” I whisper as a way to explain my actions just now. The edges of his lips turn up into a bittersweet smile, and he leans in, his mouth hovering over mine. “Then let’s stop, Celestial. Let’s stop being unhappy.”
“You’re so fucking beautiful right now. You have no idea what you look like, do you? Fucking ethereal. You’re my every dream come true, Celestial.”
I miss him, the real him, the version of him that used to be mine. I want the man who never would’ve forgotten what day it is today.
“I love you, Zane. Despite everything, after all we’ve been through, I love you. I’ve fought it, hated myself for it, but I can’t change it. I love you, and I know I will until I take my last breath.”
