Page 26

Chapter 26

Fantasia

M y wish came true. I wanted out. I wanted to be alone. To find my own way. I wanted Piers gone. And now… I have exactly that.

For the first time in my life, I’m truly alone.

Not at Wesley Hall, where even in the worst moments, I had my brother, the staff, enemies at the very least. I should be pleased I got what I wanted. But here- on this half-empty bus, the road stretching into nothing- I feel it. The emptiness.

I don’t know if anyone’s coming for me, but for now, no one knows where I am.

No one except the small, fragile life growing inside me.

My hand drifts to my stomach, fingers curling over the fabric of my shirt. It’s still too early to feel anything, but I know.

Because I’m never late.

Not once, not even under stress. My cycle has always been predictable, as steady as the ticking of a clock. And yet, days have passed- days that should’ve brought the usual signs, the usual pain- but there’s nothing. Just an aching awareness settling deep in my bones, a quiet certainty I can’t ignore.

I close my eyes, pressing my forehead against the cool window, but it doesn’t help. The thoughts still come, as relentless as the rumbling of the bus beneath me as we wind through dark mountain roads.. I'm numb. Empty. The world outside the window blurs past in streaks of shadow and streetlight, but I can't focus on any of it.

I left him.

I left Piers.

I left him unconscious in the hands of strangers- his family. A brother who told me to run.

And I did.

Not because I wanted to. Not because I stopped wanting him.

But because if I stayed, I would’ve dragged him down. I would’ve been the weight around his neck, the weakness that could be exploited.

I told myself I was doing it for him.

But that was a lie.

I wasn’t just running to protect him. I was running to protect myself.

Because what if it worked?

Nothing in my life had ever worked out. Nothing had ever been safe, or certain, or real. And if I let myself believe this could be different- if I let myself hope- what would happen when it all fell apart?

I left because I was scared. Scared that if I stayed, I’d finally have something to lose.

The bus stops. I don’t even know where I am anymore. People get on and off, but I stay in my seat, staring blankly ahead. I lost track of the stops hours ago, moving through states, through unfamiliar cities, through the haze of exhaustion and nausea that’s been creeping in more and more.

I could keep going.

Keep riding this bus until I disappear completely. Until I stop thinking about what I’ve done.

But I can’t.

Because it’s not just me anymore.

I straighten, pushing back against the fog in my mind. I can feel the exhaustion in my bones, the lingering ache of everything I’ve lost, but I push through it. I have to.

Someone else is relying on me now.

This child, whether I wanted it or not, deserves a chance. Deserves more than a mother too lost in her own pain to think straight.

At the next stop, I force myself to move. To think. To plan.

I hope the bank account Achilles set up for me still works.

I don’t hesitate.

I step off the bus, pulling my hood up against the cold night air. The gas station ATM is empty except for a bored clerk behind the counter. My pulse pounds as I punch in the numbers, bracing for the worst.

The screen blinks. Then, the cash slot whirs to life.

Relief rushes through me as I grab the bills.

I shove the money into my pocket and move on.

And I keep moving.

Bus after bus. Stop after stop.

At every chance I get, I take out more.

I know I’m leaving a trace at every ATM, but by the time I empty the account completely, I have a bag full of cash and no digital footprint to follow.

Eventually, Achilles will notice. He'll freeze the account. But by then, I'll be gone.

Really gone.

No credit cards. No phone. No paper trail.

Just me and this baby and whatever future we can scrape together.

I tell myself it's better this way. That Piers deserves his freedom, his chance at the life he was meant to have. That this child deserves better than being born into our world of violence and vengeance.

That I can be strong enough to do this alone.

But in the quiet moments, when the bus rocks me almost to sleep, I remember:

The warmth of his arms around me.

The sound of his laugh.

The way he looked at me like I was something precious.

The future he thought we could have.

And I wonder if I made the right choice after all.

But then I think of all the people I've destroyed. My father. My brother. Everyone who ever tried to love me. And I know- I know- that someday, Piers would have ended up hating me too.

Better to leave now, while I still have the strength.

Fantasia Warwick-Ashwood doesn’t exist anymore.

And neither does the woman who loved Piers Warwick.

I can’t let her exist.

Not if I want to survive.

“It's just us now, little one,” I whisper, so quietly no one else can hear. “But I promise- I'll do better for you. I'll be better.”

I have to be.

Because this time, I'm not just running from something.

I'm running toward something too.