I Faked My Death, But He Never Let Go

Chapter 4

Emrys's voice was as soft and warm as ever, wrapping around anyone who heard it like a gentle spring breeze.

"Aren't I supposed to go the extra mile for the person I love?" he replied.

The four words "the person I love" felt like a sharp, thin needle driving hard into Calista's heart.

Her footing wavered, and she couldn't bring herself to take another step forward.

She stared at the entire room full of roses laid out for a proposal, her throat tight and scratchy, burning with a raw, dry ache.

As if acting on sheer self-preservation instinct, Calista squeezed the food box in her hand tighter, ready to spin around and bolt.

But then Emrys's familiar voice drifted out from behind her. "Calista."

It was like someone had cast a freeze spell on her. She couldn't move her feet an inch.

She stayed frozen in place until Emrys walked up in front of her and asked, "What are you doing here?"

A storm of emotions raged inside Calista, wild and overwhelming. But all she could force onto her face was a wobbly, strained smile.

"I wanted to have dinner with you, Uncle Emrys. I went by your office, but you weren't in, so your secretary said I could find you here," she explained.

Emrys glanced briefly at the food box in her hand and gave a small nod. "Alright, let's head home to eat," he said.

With that, he turned and started walking toward the exit. Calista followed behind him, her gaze dim and heavy as she stared at his broad, firm shoulders.

When they were in the car heading home, scenery flashed past the window in a blur, and Calista's heart felt like it was being pulled and twisted in a thousand directions, unable to settle for even a second.

Finally, she couldn't hold the question in any longer. "Are you going to propose to Elara?" she asked.

Emrys nodded lightly. "Mm," he replied.

A sour, bitter ache seeped through Calista's chest. Refusing to accept this, she pressed on.

"You've only known each other three months. You're already sure she's the one you want to spend the rest of your life with?" she pressed, her voice rushed and tinged with obvious disapproval.

Emrys replied calmly, "Calista, when you meet the right person, you'll realize that how long you've known each other is totally worthless."

Worthless. The courage Calista had worked so hard to summon shattered into a million pieces with that single line.

She didn't even dare glance at Emrys anymore, terrified she'd catch the deep, burning love he held for another woman shining in his eyes.

Just the thought of it made her feel like a total fool for being reborn and wanting to be with him.

Silence descended on the car, thicker and more suffocating than it had ever been before.

Calista was so sure she would suffocate right there, die in this car.

The next moment, the car rolled to a stop.

Confused, Calista lifted her head, only to see Emrys pick up his phone and answer a call.

The gentle tone he used with her was gone, replaced by a soft lilt thick with warm, besotted affection.

"Elara, what's wrong?" he asked.

Oh. Of course it was Elara.

Calista's fingers curled so tight around her seatbelt that her knuckles went white. She stared at Emrys unblinkingly.

His eyebrows furrowed sharply. "Okay, wait for me. I'm on my way right now," he said into the phone.

Those familiar words hit her like a freight train, dragging her straight back into old memories.

When she was 16 or 17, some kids from a neighboring school had picked on her. She'd called Emrys, and he'd said the exact same thing, voice tight with urgency: "Okay, wait for me. I'm on my way right now."

But now, he was saying those exact words to another woman.

Memories gnawed at her, and she felt like her heart was being ripped clean in half.

Just then, Emrys turned to look at her. "Calista, I have something urgent to take care of. Grab a taxi home and eat without me, okay?" he said.

As soon as the words left his mouth, he unlocked the car doors.

For the first time ever, Calista was so mortified and humiliated that she wanted to die.

She had no memory of how she stumbled out of the car. All she could focus on was the taillights of Emrys's car as it sped away into the distance.

They glowed such a harsh, vivid red, just like her own shattered, bleeding heart...

Emrys never came home that night. Calista waited all night for nothing.

Right around the same time, someone leaked the news that Emrys was planning to propose to Elara. The news blew up everywhere, flooding every corner of the internet.

Calista sat huddled on the couch, scrolling through the endless stream of new reports popping up on her phone.

They were packed with photos of Emrys and Elara attending events side by side over the past three months.

The pair looked perfect together; he was handsome, she was stunning, a match made in heaven.

The longer she stared, the more bitter and aching her chest grew.

Maybe she'd misheard him back then, she thought. Maybe he'd never liked her the way she'd thought he did. It had all been one big, stupid misunderstanding on her part.

All the kindness he'd shown her, all the times he'd said he cared about her—those had only ever been the affection of an elder for a junior, nothing more.

She pushed that narrative hard, doing her best to buy into it.

As she pushed herself up to stand, her foot knocked into the lower shelf of the coffee table.

A small ring box dropped to the floor with a clatter right along with it.

Was this the proposal ring Emrys had gotten for Elara?

She meant to tuck it back where it belonged, but her hand moved on its own, flipping the lid open before she could think better of it.

Inside lay a simple platinum band, set with a single small blue diamond at its center.

Would someone as flashy and bold as Elara even like such an understated, plain ring?

Confused, she turned the ring over to examine it more closely. That was when she spotted the one tiny word etched into the inner band—Callie.

That was... her childhood nickname!