Believe Me (Shatter Me, #6.5)

by Tahereh Mafi

Castle will show you exactly where to stand—” I turn sharply to face him. “You’re not coming with me?” Kenji goes stock-still at that, his mouth slightly agape. I realize, a moment too late, exactly what I’ve just suggested— and still I can’t bring myself to retract the question, and I can’t explain why.

Kenji, to his credit, does not laugh in my face. Instead, his expression relaxes by micrometers, his dark eyes assessing me in that careful way I detest. “Yeah,” he says finally. “Of course I’m coming with you.”

I can’t see her at all. And then, suddenly, I do. Relief hits me like a gust, leaving me so suddenly unsteady I worry, for a moment, that I might not make it.

She does not look like she belongs in this world, or in this dingy backyard, or in this dilapidated neighborhood, or on this crumbling planet. She is above it. Above us all. A spark of light separated from the sun.

“I told you it was a nice dress,” Kenji whispers. “Kenji.” “Yes?” “Thank you,” I say, still staring at Ella. “For everything.” “Anytime,” he says, his voice more subdued than before. “This is the beginning of a new chapter for all of us, man. For the whole world. This wedding is making history right now. You know that, right? Nothing is ever going to be the same.”

I’m smiling now, smiling like the most ordinary of men, staring at the most extraordinary woman I’ve ever known.

“Believe me,” I whisper. “I do.”