Ascend by Amanda Hocking Read Free Book Online

handle that,” I said, but I wasn’t sure that
I could.
    “Are you alright by yourself, Aurora?” Willa asked as we
headed to the door.
    “I’m just finishing a few things up,” Aurora said without
looking up from the papers she was going over. “Thank you, though.”
    “Thanks,” I said. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
    “Sleep well, Princess.” Aurora glanced up to smile at me.
    Duncan and I walked Willa out, and she kept trying to
convince me tomorrow would be fun. At the front door, she hugged me tightly and
promised me everything would work out the way it was meant to.
    I don’t know why that was supposed to be comforting. What if
everything was meant to be a disaster? Knowing that it was meant to be horrible
wouldn’t make it any better.
    “Do you want me to go in with you?” Duncan asked when we got
to my bedroom.
    “Not tonight.” I shook my head. “I think I need some time to
myself.”
    “I understand.” He smiled reassuringly at me. “I’ll see you
in the morning then.”
    “Thank you.”
    I shut the door behind me and flicked on my light, and I
stared down at the giant ring on my finger. It signified that I belonged to
Tove, to somebody I didn’t love. I went over to my dresser to take off my
jewelry, but I kept staring at the ring.
    I couldn’t help myself, and I pulled it off. It was really
beautiful, and when Tove gave it to me it had been so sweet. But I’d begun to
hate that band.
    When I took it off, I glanced into the mirror on the back of
the dresser, and I nearly screamed when I saw the reflection. Finn was sitting
behind me on the bed. His eyes, dark as night, met mine in the mirror, and I
could hardly breathe.
    “Finn!” I gasped and whirled around
to look at him. “What are you doing here?”
    “I missed your birthday,” he said,
as if that answered my question. He lowered his eyes, looking at a small box he
had in his hands. “I got you something.”
    “You got me something?” I leaned
back on the dresser behind me, gripping it.
    “Yeah,” he nodded, still staring
down at the box. “I picked it up outside of Portland two weeks ago. I meant to
get back in time to give it to you on your birthday.” He chewed the inside of
his cheek. “But now that I’m here, I’m not sure I should give it to you at
all.”
    “What you are talking about?” I
asked
    “It doesn’t feel right.” Finn
rubbed his face. “I don’t even know what I’m doing here.”
    “Neither do I ,”
I said. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy to see you. I just… I don’t understand.”
    “I know,” he sighed. “It’s a ring.
What I got you.” His gaze moved from me to the engagement ring sitting the
dresser beside me. “And you already have one.”
    “Why did you get me a ring?” I
asked tentatively, and my heart beat erratically in my chest. I didn’t know
what Finn was saying or doing.
    “I’m not proposing to you, if
that’s what you’re asking.” He shook his head. “I saw it and thought of you.
But now it seems like poor taste. And here I am, the night before your wedding,
sneaking in to give you a ring.”
    “Why did you sneak in?” I asked.
    “I don’t know.” He looked away and
laughed darkly. “That’s a lie. I know exactly what I’m doing, but I have no
idea why I’m doing it.”
    “What are you doing?” I asked
quietly.
    “I…” Finn stared off for a moment,
then turned back to me and stood up. “I don’t want you to marry him.”
    “Finn, I-” I began, but he held up
his hand, stopping me.
    “No, I’m not asking you not to,”
he said. “You need to do this. We both know that. But I don’t want you to.”
    All I’d ever wanted from him is
for him to admit how he felt about me, and he’d waited until the day before my
wedding. It was too late to change anything, to take anything back. Not that I
could have, even if I wanted to.
    “Why are you telling me
this?” I asked with tears swimming in my eyes.