You’re scaring me, Jinx.

What did you do?

“I keep wondering if I’ve gone too far, but...I did it because it was the right thing to do. And something tells me...you were ready to do the right thing.”

Tell me.

She paused and darkness crept from the shadows. Cloying and deleting, blackness came for me.

Speak, Eleanor!

Keep me with you.

“I went through your emails.” She stopped for a moment before continuing, “I cleared out anything that could be read as suspicious and saved correspondence from your company. Cal has been in contact with Peter Beck and your scientists are working as normal. And as far as your corporate life is concerned, your requests to your lawyer were wise. Cal is aware you’ve left Sinclair and Sinclair Group to him—not that he’s accepted that you’re gone, of course—but he is looking after your investments.”

She saw.

She knows I bequeathed—

“You gave me Goddess Isles.” Her voice cracked with tears. “You gave me Pika and Skittles.” Something thumped against my chest. A feminine fist. A bite of pain. “You chased after me all while knowing you wouldn’t come home, and I hate you for that. I curse you for putting me first because it was never meant to be that way. We were equals, Sully. You are not my master with the obligation to keep me safe. You are not my husband with vows to protect me in sickness and in health. You were meant to stay alive so we could be happy!”

Christ, Eleanor.

My beating heart splintered down the middle. Her sadness kept me shackled, not allowing the blackness to claim me.

“Anyway.” She sniffed back tears and kept going, “The police came back two days ago with a search warrant.”

What?

“Cal and I gave them free access to your databases, your laptop, and your office. They swarmed the island from the guest villas to the goddess villas and every pool and restaurant in between.”

Holy shit.

I would wake—if I could wake—in handcuffs.

What was the fucking point in leaving one jail for another—

“They left with a profuse apology. They wished you a speedy recovery and are satisfied that Goddess Isles is a simple respite for married couples who come for some sexual counselling and relationship advice. That was my idea, by the way.”

Her soft laughter undid me.

“I could wipe your emails clean and destroy any files that might have hinted at purchased goddesses, but I couldn’t hide the abundance of accommodation and the aura of paradise and perversions.”

Her lips pressed against my ear. “I stayed with the police as they did their tour. I grew wet as I led them through my villa and looked at the sink where you took me. I wanted to touch myself as we walked on the beach where you fucked me on all fours in the shallows. I answered their questions as we stood in the same place I watched you appear from the sea and strode half-naked toward goddesses who wanted you. I escorted them around the restaurant and onto the terrace and recalled every vicious thing I said to you after you made me sit on your fingers. So many places you’ve corrupted me, Sully, and now, all those sins are washed away. They found nothing incriminating because there is nothing. Not anymore. A fresh start.”

How?

How did she hide the goddesses? Were they still on Lebah? What about the girls’ files and their real names and—

“Cal burned almost every piece of paperwork in your office, and together, we sent the goddesses home. I memorised the files before they went up in smoke. Sailor, Trinity, Jewel, Diamond, and Blossom, also known as Danielle Scott, Selena Narce, Baylee Sharp, Alana Black, and Ashlee Colt. All five girls are free. They’re being watched, don’t worry, and they were paid their usual fee, but they are no longer prisoners, and you no longer have the curse of being a procurer of women.”

I hung in the darkness.

I couldn’t process.

I couldn’t reply.

I was blind to the ever-lightening grey around me.

“So you see, Sully? You can wake up because you’re no longer that man. You might have done things, you might have hurt people, but...I know in my heart that you aren’t that person anymore. You honour all life, not just wildlife. You love me, and by loving me, you can’t hurt humans because we are human. I have to believe that, and if you believe that too, then...you don’t need to be afraid of waking up anymore.”

I was dizzy.

Drowning.

Things swirled and collided, bouncing me around in the grey.

“While I’m confessing, I might as well tell you everything.”

Another slice of sleety blueberry on my bottom lip.

“You told Cal to burn the Euphoria villa, but I stopped him. The animals that survived on Serigala have been relocated here. They’re currently housed in Euphoria’s villa and being tended to by the two vets you’d sent for—one large animal and one small—along with Etti and Johan, who survived the bombing. The shipment of cows and donkeys that you agreed to take on is due to dock next week. I’ve contacted your usual feed suppliers and took the liberty of asking Peter Beck to replace the medical equipment and drugs that were lost in the bombing of Serigala. A clinic is due to be built when locals can source building materials.”

I couldn’t breathe anymore.

I couldn’t cling to one thing because she’d given me everything.

The greyness kept swirling, pinpricks of light spearing through the shadows.

Something warm spread along my side as if she’d lay down beside me. Another lash of blueberry before her sweet, liberating voice murmured, “Oh, one last thing.”

She yawned as if her confessions had drained her into slumber.

“I gave the order to kill Drake. He lasted three days in his illusion before a bullet was lodged into his brain. He’s gone. I watched it with my own eyes because I wanted to be able to tell you, with all the conviction in my heart, that he can no longer touch you, touch me, touch your animals, touch anyone or anything you care about. Everything you’ve been fighting, everything you wish you could undo is undone. His body is in pieces and buried...just like I buried you...Sullivan Sinclair. The man you used to be is dead.”

I faded.

The greyness blended with darkness, threading with splashes of reds and blues.

“If you do wake up, Sully...you won’t wake up as you.” Her soft lips pressed against my cheek, her voice slipping into sleep. “You’ll wake up as no one. You don’t have to be who you were. If you choose to come back to me...you can choose to be whoever you want to be because...you’re free.”

Chapter Thirty-Four

EXHAUSTION FROM BLIND HOPE and bedside devotion finally knocked me out.

Three days since I’d been on Lebah.

Three days since I’d left Sully’s side.

With his goddesses gone, emails dealt with, animals tended, police mollified, Cal and Jess healing, and Pika and Skittles healthy, I had nothing else to occupy my torment.

I found no enjoyment on the island. I had no desire to go swimming in the warm tide or dive into refreshing Nirvana. Walks beneath palm trees and sitting in crystal sand held no appeal. I wanted nothing to do with paradise—even if that paradise had been bequeathed to me.

It was a forgery—just like Sully had said when I’d first arrived. Every perfect thing was fake because nothing had the power to bring him back.