Jose nodded. “Of course, Mr. O’Shea. Tyler is in safe hands. There is a bit of a storm forecast in the Med, but I will do my best to avoid passing through that. We will be fine.” Jose nodded again, but turned to get back to work and leave us to say our goodbyes.
“Jose has someone waiting for you when you get to Spain. He will sort out all the documentation by the time you arrive. I’ll make sure of it.”
I smiled at my father, grateful at the knowledge he was sticking his neck out for me. “I can’t thank you enough.”
My mother tut-tutted her disapproval. “Tyler, you know we have always been eager to help you whenever we can. Our aim has, and will always be, to do whatever we can to keep you safe and happy.”
With my murmurs of thanks, and several hugs goodbye, I was ready to go. But not before I gave my mother the letter. “Oh, Mum. Could you please post this for me as soon as you get back?” My mother nodded as I handed her the letter.
With a turn of their heels, my mother and father climbed off the yacht and waved goodbye.
Now was the start of my new life. A life without my Dean.
Chapter 45
Dean
An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.
Mahatma Gandhi
In my hand, I clutched the newspaper article containing Tyler’s letter she sneakily asked Louisa to post in the next available print. Unfolding the piece of paper, I stared at the letter and read her words again, just to twist the knife in deeper. I deserved it after everything I put her through.
Lotus,
I know who you are, so no introductions are necessary now. You were a part of my life for so long, yet you were never truly there for me. You thought I had betrayed you in unimaginable ways, but you never thought to ask. You never once thought to question that young girl whose window you used to climb into and dote on all those years ago for a simple explanation. That’s all it would have taken. Just one single question and a chance to explain myself. But no, you chose the route that led only to destruction. Well, mission accomplished.
You destroyed me.
The only person that betrayed you—and me—in the end was the one we both thought was our best friend. Yes, that’s right. It was him pulling the strings all along. It was him who sent that letter which destroyed your life and, in turn, ended up destroying mine. Not me. Him.
I don’t know whether you will believe this now, but I will tell you one thing before I close this letter and say my final goodbye.
I will miss you, Lotus. I will miss my stranger who came to visit me in my room. I will miss his voice, the smoothness of his skin, and the musky smell that always made me feel like the safest woman on earth. I will miss him because I love him. I have always loved him.
I will always love him.
I truly hope that you can move on from this. Stop living in the past and move on with your future. You have so much more to give than you know. There is no need for hatred, bitterness, and revenge. It’s a path you chose and it ended badly. But, no matter what has happened to me, I could never wish ill on you.
Take this letter, burn it, destroy it. Then go live your life. Go find someone who will bring joy to you, instead of feeding off your desire for revenge.
Be happy, my precious flower.
T
Sighing, I picked up this morning’s paper, reading it again for the hundredth time. Seeing that picture that will forever be etched into my brain…a picture of a boat wreck in the Mediterranean, the distinct lettering of Sea Trials written on the side of it as it bobbed out in the water. Tyler was missing, presumed drowned as they searched the waters for either her or her body. It was hard watching it on the news or listening to it on the radio. I had to know. I had to see if they were going to find her. I had to know so I could begin my life begging her forgiveness. She would never escape me because I would never let her. She was mine and always would be. No matter what.
My heart thrummed at the knowledge it was Ian all along. The dirty, lying scumbag was pulling all the strings and, because I was so focused on Tyler, I never even noticed it.
It was just as well that his remains were fed to the pigs. After what he was about to do to Tyler, he deserved everything he got. After knowing what I know now, it was just a pity I didn’t take my time torturing him before his death. If I could, I would go back to show Ian the consequences of thinking he could touch Tyler the way he did. He would have been sorry he ever laid a finger on her. I would have made sure of that right before I took his life.
In the end, nothing mattered. I’d lost Tyler now. I destroyed her, just like she had destroyed me. In trying to make her see there was no one else, I ultimately paid the price of her handing it right back to me. Cause-and-effect was definitely playing its role now. What went around came back around to bite me in the ass. I now knew my tattoo of a lotus flower represented more to me than it ever did.