“You bastard!” I screamed as tears of happiness filled my eyes. “I thought you were dead.” I pounded my fists into his chest, and he let me before eventually taking hold of my wrists.
“Estella,” he said, and I swore I’d never heard a sweeter sound than my name on his lips.
“I thought you were dead,” I repeated, this time weepy as I pressed my face into his neck and inhaled.
“I’m not dead,” he whispered. “Is this enough of a miracle for you?”
I frowned and drew away. “What?”
“You said only a miracle could prove you weren’t cursed. Now you’ve seen a miracle.”
I stared at him, gobsmacked. I didn’t know if I should kiss him or punch him in the face. Anger and fury mixed with exhilarated happiness until I was fit to explode.
“You did this on purpose?”
“Not intentionally. Not at first.”
“Then what?” I demanded.
He ran a hand over the stubble on his jaw. “When I saw you and Vee were safe, I knew this was my opportunity to disappear. I destroyed several people’s reputations in a single night, and they weren’t going to let me get away with it without a fight. I was prepared for that, but I hate them. I’d rather them believe me dead than have to look at a single one of their faces ever again.”
I understood his reasoning, but I was still mad. Mad and hurt and outraged and deliriously, exhilaratingly happy. It was hard to express all the things I felt seeing him in front of me, full of life. “I grieved for you,” I accused, tears streaming down my cheeks.
He gazed down at me, his face etched with remorse. “You have no idea how sorry I am for that.”
I pushed at his chest again. “I hate you.”
“Understandable.”
Now I growled. “But I love you, too.”
His lips curved in the barest hint of a smile. “Love and hate, poles apart, yet so intricately intertwined.”
“Don’t get poetic with me, Noah. You faked your death. That’s seriously fucked up.”
“I told you I was malformed.”
“There’s malformed, and then there’s insanity. This … this was pure insanity.” I trailed off, suddenly realising he didn’t know about Sylvia. My hand went to my mouth.
Noah frowned. “What? What’s wrong?”
“Sylvia killed herself,” I stated flatly.
Noah stilled, a multitude of emotions flashing in his eyes. Then, finally, he replied, “Good.”
I turned away, wrapping my arms around myself. I struggled to contain everything I was feeling right then. A moment passed. I sensed his eyes on my back and strong arms wrapped around me
“I love you,” he whispered into my hair.
All the air left my lungs as those three little words sank in. I couldn’t even respond, still too shell-shocked by the knowledge he was alive. I’d thought his death was confirmation the curse was real, but it wasn’t. His reappearance was proof it wasn’t, because Noah was right. Him being alive was the opposite of a curse. It was a miracle.
I turned in his arms, all my insides feeling lighter as I stared into his eyes.
“Where have you been?” I asked, breathless. “We held a funeral for you. At the church, no less.” I knew by the crooked slant to his mouth that he found it just as ironic as I had. “I tried calling you so many times, but you never answered.”
“My phone was in my pocket when I went into the water after you. It got destroyed. I …” he faltered, looking away. When his eyes found mine again, they were fierce. “I truly am sorry I put you through this. My family has brought you suffering, and if I were any kind of man, I’d have stayed away, but I couldn’t do it. I have to be selfish because I love you, Estella. I need you. I’m sorry I made you believe I’d drowned, and I don’t even know where to begin in gaining your forgiveness, but please, come with me. We can go wherever you want to go. Do whatever you want to do. If that means college, or travelling the world, then I’ll make it happen.”
His words lit a spark in me, the hope I’d felt when I heard his engine expanded until my chest was in danger of bursting with it. “Yes,” I breathed. “I’ll go with you.”
Sister Dorothy had been right. The life of a nun wasn’t the right path for me, not if it meant being without Noah. The grief I’d gone through when I thought he was dead was proof of that. Now that I knew what it felt like to be without him, I’d never let him go again.
The smile that lit up his face was magnificent. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my temple. The feel of his lips on my skin made me tremble.
“You better start packing,” he urged affectionately.
“I’ve already packed,” I replied, just as a voice whispered, “Noah?”