How Our Hearts Break: A Novel, page 23
Warm, white light almost blinded me, and I closed my eyes, trying to adjust to the invasion. I slowly opened them up again, squinting against the light, and when I finally adjusted, I realized that I wasn’t in my room at all.
And it wasn’t ordinary light blinding me—it was the sun.
I slowly pulled myself up, my eyes widening at the sight in front of me.
A meadow was in front of me—a meadow I knew very well—and when I turned around, the breath I was about to take got stuck in my lungs, rendering me speechless.
A weeping willow stood proudly in front of the pond where I fell in love with her—with Sophie. On shaky legs, I pulled myself up and when I looked at my hands, they weren’t wrinkly and old anymore.
“What the fuck?”
Birds sang somewhere in the distance, while my mind tried to comprehend what was happening. I haven’t had a dream like this one in a very long time.
I looked to my right, then to my left, trying to see if anybody else was here, but there was nothing. Crickets chirped and I ran toward the pond, the morning mist on the grass caressing my bare feet.
“What in the fucking—” I stared at myself in the water, but it wasn’t me. At least it wasn’t me anymore.
Like looking at an old picture, eighteen-year-old me stared back through the reflection. There were no wrinkles, no gray hair or slumped posture—I looked the same as I did so many years ago.
I pinched myself, trying to wake up from this dream, but I still stayed rooted to the same spot. I tried closing and opening my eyes, but nothing worked.
“Wake up, Noah. Wake the fuck up.”
When my eyes opened for the last time, a silhouette walking toward me from the direction of the weeping willow caught my attention.
“No.” I shook my head. “It can’t be.”
“Hello, Noah.”
Her voice sounded the same. Her face still looked the same even after so many years. She was still standing there, right in front of me. An angel and a nightmare, because no matter what, I knew I would have to wake up from this.
“Sophie.” Her name was like a prayer on my lips. Her smile illuminated her entire face, and as I took a step forward, I suddenly stopped myself. “Is this a dream?” I asked her. “Because if it is, I don’t want to wake up.”
She shook her head. “No.” Closing the distance between the two of us before I could, she kept on smiling as if this wouldn’t break my heart all over again. “This isn’t a dream.”
“You’re just saying that because you’re a figment of my imagination, and I wouldn’t want to hurt myself.”
“Always the cynic, aren’t you?” She took my hands in hers. “This is not a dream, darling.”
“Then how is this possible?”
She kept looking at me, those eyes that always saw more than I sometimes wanted them to see, staring straight to my soul. “What do you think, Noah? How would it be possible for you to see me?”
And it dawned on me. “Am I… Am I dead?”
“I’m sorry, darling.”
“Oh.” I took a step back. “Wow.” I bent down and placed my hands on my knees, inhaling through my nose and exhaling through my mouth.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I almost squealed. “Just…” I trailed off and stood up, smiling brighter than I did in the past sixty or so years. “I’m finally with you.” I turned toward her. “It’s really you.” I came closer to her and without waiting for another second to pass, I placed my hands on her cheeks and pulled her to me, pressing my lips to hers. Her arms wrapped around my neck, holding me close to her.
She still smelled the same—like vanilla and cinnamon. She still felt the same—all mine.
“I’ve missed you so much,” I murmured between kisses. “I’ve spent a lifetime missing you.”
“I’ve been waiting for you, you know?” She smiled and pressed her forehead to mine.
“Sorry I’m late. I just had some things I needed to finish.” I laughed. “It just took me a bit longer to get back to you.”
“It really did, but it’s okay.” She took a hold of my hand and pulled me down as she sat on the ground. “I’m glad you had Ember in your life.”
I went down with her and placed my arm around her shoulders. “You saw her?”
“Oh yeah. She looks exactly like—”
“You,” I cut her off. “She looks like a pure replica of you. For a moment, I thought it was you, just in a different life.”
“It almost was, but I wasn’t ready to go. Not without you. Never without you.”
My fingers tangled in her hair felt like the sweetest heaven. “And what now?”
“Now.” She bit her lower lip and leaned into me. “Now we do everything we couldn’t do before. Now we live, Noah. Now we love each other.”
I nodded. “I’m fine with that.” I placed my hand on the back of her neck and pulled her closer. “Always and forever?”
“Always and forever, darling.”
THE END
ALSO BY L.K. REID
THE RAPTURE SERIES
Ricochet
Equilibrium
Oblivion
SECRETS OF WINWORTH
Apathy
Temptation
STANDALONES
Lacrimosa
NOVELLAS
Serendipity
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
I told you at the very beginning of this book that it doesn’t have a guaranteed HEA—and it doesn’t. At least not in the traditional way.
I am someone who believes that there is a person for every single one of us, living their life, maybe waiting for us as well. I believe that when two people are meant to be together, they end up together—one way or another.
Noah and Sophie are based on some very real people in my life. They are based on me, on a boy I once loved, on every single person this terrible disease that Sophie was fighting took away from me, and on every single person that’s still fighting to stay alive. I was in a very bad mental state at the end of 2021, and on some days, I felt as if I should stop writing altogether because it seemed as if I couldn’t anymore.
I was trying to write Temptation, the second book in the Secrets of Winworth series, and I just couldn’t. Every word felt strained. Every single time I would sit down to write, it felt as if I was failing without even starting.
Then Sophie and Noah came. The two characters I never expected. The story that’s unlike anything I’ve written so far.
I was trying to put myself in a box. I tried doing things how others were doing them, but I was so, so wrong to even try. Because art, no matter what it is, cannot be placed in a box. Every single author out there is creating something special, and I am thankful to these two characters for bringing me out of my funk.
Maybe it isn’t dark romance. Maybe it isn’t conventional or the best book that’s ever been written, but it’s mine. It’s a story that made me cry almost every single time I sat down to write. I felt that it is a story about something that could happen to every single one of us.
The message I wanted to give you with this is not to waste time. Go and do things you love. Take risks, fail, and then get up and try again. Time is a precious gift, and we often forget that it moves faster than we would like.
Go and tell that person that you love them. Apply for that job. Move to a different country—hell, a different continent.
I also wanted to thank some special people for believing in me.
To my Stephanie, who’s always there for me and who’s always believed in me.
To Julia—thank you for loving them as much as I did.
To Brianna, Zoe and Meredith—without you I wouldn’t be able to shape this book into what it is today.
To my absolutely amazing editor, Mary—I promise I’ll be sending you fewer books with cliffhangers (in maybe five years).
My amazing Street and ARC Teams—a simple thank-you is truly not enough to express how much I appreciate you all.
My author friends—and you know who you are—I’m so glad I got to meet you on this crazy journey.
My mom and my brother, who I don’t get to see as much as I would like—thank you for believing in me.
And last but not least: to the readers. Thank you so much for taking a chance on me and for reading this story. I hope you truly enjoyed it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
L.K. Reid is a dark romance author who hates slow walkers and people being mean for no reason. She lives with her two cats, Freya and Athena, and she’s still figuring out the whole “adult” thingy.
In her opinion, Halloween should be a public holiday, and she also has a small obsession with all things historical—especially Greek mythology. During high school, she wanted to be an archaeologist, and ended up studying law, but obviously neither one of those professions worked out.
If she isn’t writing, she’s most probably watching horror movies, listening to music, reading, or plotting upcoming books.
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L.K. Reid, How Our Hearts Break: A Novel
