Page 144 of Outcast’s Vow

Can I trust him? Is he truly the man I thought he was?

Baptiste leans back and lets out a long sigh. It’s like he doesn’t know what to say. It’s so unlike him.

“Are you okay?” I ask him.

There’s a brief pause, and then he leans back forward and reaches for my hand.

“Yes, I’m okay. Are you?”

I swallow.

“Yes.”

“Good,” he replies.

“What you did today... going there for me... offering yourself...”

Baptiste swallows.

“Sylvie, there is something I need to say.”

“We don’t have to say a thing,” I tell him. “We can just let this process.”

“No, there’s something I need to say right now. To you. Before you say another word.”

I blink.

“What is it?”

Baptiste’s hands stiffen.

“I’m sorry,” he says, his voice raw.

“For what?”

“For being an asshole. For disappearing on you. I thought it would make things better if I simply left. I thought they wouldn’t punish you. I was wrong.”

I let his apology sink in.

Again, he’s telling the truth. I see it in his eyes. He is genuinely remorseful, and he is so desperate to let me know. A man like Baptiste doesn’t say sorry. But here he is. Unguarded. Vulnerable. Exposing himself totally to me.

“Don’t ever disappear on me again,” I whisper. “Not to protect me. Not ever.”

Baptiste shakes his head.

“I won’t.”

We sit in silence for a very long time, hands still tightly clasped.

Eventually, I take in a breath.

“Let me ask you something, Baptiste.”

“Anything.”

My heartbeat quickens.

“If we turned back time, would you still take part in the Chase? If it happened again tomorrow, would you still chase me through that rainforest?”