Yours Completely(63)

Love did nothing but cause heartache. That's what his father always said, and he was right. Crying and moping over something as simple as a three day fling would accomplish nothing. Instead, Jace squared his shoulders, promised himself that his heart wouldn't hurt so much in a few days, and headed out to the car to go to the airport.

As the car pulled away, he looked sadly at the inn.

Ella...





Chapter Twenty-Eight


Ella pounded on the cellar door. Her hands ached from the repeated blows on the door that clearly wasn't moving. She'd tried screaming, but she knew that no one would hear her. Just last week, one of the kitchen staff had been stuck in here for hours before someone came to look for her.

Except no one was coming to look for Ella. The only person who would notice she was missing was probably on a plane back to his real life already.

She couldn't believe Delores would do this to her.

A sob choked Ella's throat and made it hard to breathe. Her knees buckled as she checked her watch and knew he was gone. She had wanted to say goodbye. She had wanted to see him one more time, to tell him how she felt and that she couldn't wait to see him again.

But now she couldn't.

She tried banging on a different wall, but the sturdy ancient cellar walls absorbed everything. She was trapped and had no way to tell Jace goodbye. No way to tell him that he was all she thought about all night.

Despite spending the night trapped down here, she had hoped she'd figure out a way to escape by now. This was her last chance to see him. She could only imagine the things Delores had told him about her with her trapped.

She'd beaten at the walls for hours, yet all she had to show for it was dirty hands.

The numbers on her watch changed to the hour and Ella knew he was gone. He couldn't have waited for her this long. Her heart stopped and her knees gave out. She didn't remember sinking to the floor, didn't remember starting to cry, or hanging her head as sobs racked her body.

Jace was gone.

What would Jace think? He had to think that she didn't meet him for a reason. If Delores had her way, she would tell him that Ella wasn't interested and to never come back. If her daughter couldn't have him, then no one could. Especially not Ella.

Regret spilled out of her like water from a faucet. She should have told him how she felt, how he lit up her gray world and made her feel special. When he smiled at her, she felt like things would work out. How she wished she could just see that smile again.

But he was gone. Gone, and probably angry with her for having stood him up. Her eyes welled up with fresh tears and her lungs ached for more oxygen. No one could hear her cry down here anyway.

She was alone and there was nothing she could do.



Ella wasn't sure how much time had passed. There were no windows in the cellar, and she'd given up checking her watch. It didn't matter anyway. An hour or a week, Jace was still gone.

The door handle squeaked as someone attempted to open it. Ella scrubbed her face, finding it crunchy with dried tears. She was fairly sure that no matter what she did short of a shower, it was going to be obvious she'd been crying. Ella just hoped it wasn't Delores opening the door. She could handle just about anyone else right now, just not Delores.

“There you are!” Allison's voice was full of relief. “I've been looking everywhere.”

“Allison?” Ella was expecting one of the kitchen staff, not her step-sister. “What are you doing down here?”

“Rescuing you,” Allison replied. She pushed the door open as far as it would go and kicked the door stop firmly under it.

“Thank you,” Ella said, but it sounded full of despair even to her own ears. The tears were threatening to come back now that she was free. She could escape the cellar now, but Jace was long gone.

“Wow, don't sound so grateful.” Allison leaned against the open door. “I might get the wrong idea and think you liked it down here.”

“Sorry, I really am glad you came,” Ella said. Her shoulders slumped. “It's just... he's gone. And I didn't get to say goodbye.”

“I figured as much.” Allison crossed her arms. “I've actually been looking for you for the past two hours. No one knew where you went.”

“You were looking for me?” Ella looked up from the floor in surprise. Why in the world would Allison look for her?

“I saw Mom with your phone. I also saw Jace leave in an angry huff. Since you weren't there, and you aren't the type to let a guest leave in a huff, especially one you like...” Allison shrugged. “I figured it was bad. And since you two looked awful cozy and happy yesterday, I figured that it wasn't a planned thing.”

“He must hate me. I can only imagine what Delores said to him.” Ella wished she could just go back to bed. Maybe she'd wake up in a little bit and find this was all just a bad dream.