“So, how was your day together?” Jacob asked at the dinner table.

Cole shrugged. He didn’t reveal a smile or anything. He had the best poker face in the world. I tried my best not to show how happy I was.

“I cleaned as much as I could,” I said.

“Well, you didn’t need to. You should be resting still,” Jacob said. He wasn’t acting honestly, however. There was still that horrible gleam in his eyes that told me he wanted the worst for me. Once Cole would leave, I’d be subject to his every whim.

I knew that Cole had to go back to the city. It was the only way that this would work. I also knew that I was pregnant. I just felt it. We had the most passionate sex of our lives. There was no way it wouldn’t bring a child into this world.

“Thank you, Jacob,” I said. I didn’t mean my words either. This house was built on lies, so nothing we ever said was real.

“I only want the best for you,” Jacob added.

“That’s very sweet of you,” Cole said with a tinge of anger. Jacob smiled, satisfied that he was the king of the household. If only he knew my plans.

Later that evening, I brought fresh bed sheets to Cole’s room. Jacob was in the shower, getting ready for bed. It was our last time to talk before he left.

“Are you sure you want me to leave?” Cole asked in a heavy whisper. “If you want, I’ll stay.”

“No,” I said. “We have to do this right. The town will come against us with everything they have if we don’t. They have lawyers. They have the town police. They’ll use them to take our baby.”

Cole’s eyes shifted around the room, thinking this through. “I’ll come back for you. Please don’t think that I won’t,” he said.

“I know you will,” I whispered. “Text me. Jacob will be at work at noon. We can figure out our plans then. I’ll take every precaution.”

“I know two people. I don’t have a whole town on my side, but I have my determination. I’ll hire a lawyer, and I’ll find a driver. I have friends that can help us, Dylan and Kinnat. They’ll know what to do. They’ve been through this before,” Cole said.

“They have?” I asked.

“My books are about you, but you won’t believe the emails I get, Piper. I’ve made a lot of friends through my writing. There are people all over the world who have fled towns like ours,” Cole said.

It blew my mind that other alphas and omegas were in the same situation as me, but it made sense. The world was so much bigger than I knew. While I was sad that I didn’t have the privilege to experience it, I was excited to see it someday.

I took his hand and kissed him before letting go. “Okay,” I said. “Then, hopefully, we can start our lives.”

“You’re pregnant,” Cole said. “You have to be, right?”

I sucked in both of my lips and nodded, excitedly terrified. “Yes. I think so. But I can’t be certain,” I said.

“Then, I’ll have to act quick. Otherwise, Jacob will know. In a few months time, your baby bump will show through,” Cole said.

I smiled, really big. My nerves were a wreck, but the thought of carrying Cole’s baby made me so incredibly happy. If this worked, it would be a miracle I would always talk about with pride.

Our baby, once in the world, would be able to do anything. He’d be able to see the world, and we’d never tell him what he could do or become. We’d be tolerant parents because that would nourish his spirit.

He squeezed my hand three times. “I love you.” I squeezed his four times. “I love you too.”

I quickly walked back upstairs, just in time to get in bed before Jacob stepped out of the shower. When he did, he came out of the bathroom, wearing his pajamas. I had never seen him naked, which was a good thing, but the modesty now seemed a bit unnatural. Luckily, it was permanently forbidden to touch your partner in a sexual manner.

“Cole’s leaving in the morning,” Jacob said.

I avoided eye contact and turned off the bedroom light. “Yes, I know,” I said.

“How do you feel about it?” Jacob asked.

I shrugged and acted naturally. “I don’t really feel anything about it. It’s a good thing, though. Right? Our community seems chaotic right now,” I said, knowing this would calm him down.

“Yes, thank God. I just want it to be how it had been. Without any outside influence, we can do what we want,” Jacob said. He meant that he could do what he wanted.

“Of course,” I said.

I had been through the worst time of my life, but Cole made it all better. I had suffered my whole existence, but there was finally some hope I could latch onto. I could get out of this place and be free.

“Yes. Thank God,” I said, smiling.

* * *

In the morning, I felt a little differently. I was depressed beyond belief. I couldn’t eat breakfast. I could barely even get out of bed. Cole was leaving, and my chest slumped with a massive depression.

“Well, it was nice while it lasted,” Jacob said. “And, again, I am very sorry for your loss. We all were so close to your father.”

“Yeah. It’s awful. But at least…” Cole’s voice trailed off. He shook his head and looked at a loss for words. There was no silver lining except for the hope that I could get away from this place. That was the only thing I kept my mind fixed toward.

“Goodbye, Jacob,” Cole said. Then, he looked at me with earnest eyes. His voice quivered when he said the next words, “Goodbye, Piper. Please be safe.”

Jacob walked into the other room. It wasn’t to give us space. He was tired of our antics, granted, but couldn’t he see what he was doing to me? He had already made my life so difficult. Worst of all, he had hurt me. I didn’t want to be with Jacob, so why couldn’t set me free?

Before Cole pulled away from me, I whispered, “Please, stay in touch. I’ll miss you every second.”

Cole’s eyes did not waver. He whispered, “I’ll come back for you.”

I watched as Cole stepped into the cab. He placed his palm against the glass of the window, a single tear falling from his eyes. I had to fight to hold back my emotion, and once Jacob’s footsteps became present behind me, I had to suck it up.

“Finally,” Jacob said.

“Yeah.” I straightened my back and smiled. “Finally.”

Jacob looked at me with anger in his eyes, but it wasn’t the type of outright frustration that I saw the other night. It was the type of contempt a partner holds for another after ten years of being wrong to each other.

I had tried to give him everything he wanted. Even though I didn’t love him, I tried to be the man he had hoped for. People can’t hide the truth forever. At a certain point in time, it comes out. And once it does, all hell breaks loose.

“I’m going to work,” Jacob said. “I’ll see you at dinner tonight.”

I nodded my head, but I remained silent. I had plans for myself that couldn’t be broken. At least, I prayed as hard as I could that they wouldn’t be.

This was the first time I felt some semblance of strength. Maybe that was pathetic. I’m sure people in other areas of the world would have looked at me and screamed, “Why the hell didn’t he just leave?” But it’s never that easy.

I left the house fifteen minutes after Jacob had gone to work. I combed through the old neighborhoods, crying my damn eyes out. Finally, I got to Cole’s old house. This time, it wasn’t as hard to walk through the front door.

The old wood creaked under my feet, and the smell of dust filled my nostrils. As I walked toward Cole’s old blue door, I paused, but only for a brief second. I closed my hand around the doorknob and sighed. “Well, here goes nothing,” I whispered.

I opened the door and felt a wave of nostalgia hit me. There it was, Cole’s old room. Sure, it was just another room, but for me, it was so much more. This was the room I fell in love with Cole inside. It was the room I lost my virginity inside. It was my second home in so many ways.

I stepped inside, palms shaking against my jeans. I swiveled my fingers into my pockets before sitting down on Cole’s bed. The mattress still smelled like him.

“Even if you don’t come back for me,” I whispered, “I’ll come here and remember you.”

And if the town bulldozed or sold the house, I would go to the other places we shared our love inside. Nothing ever died in the world. The idea that things went away forever was a falsehood I couldn’t subscribe to anymore.

We’d always have each other. No matter what. That idea was something I had to hold onto.