“As long as it takes for the city to calm down over this.” I shrug.
“What about your work?”
“How am I supposed to do any work with that going on? My clients will be harassed. No one will be getting a fair trial if I represent them. My boss suggested I take some time off. My family, my work, the city—they’re all against me.” The tears well in my eyes as I speak.
“I’m so sorry, Chels. I just hope things will sort itself out.” Logan hugs me.
“I’m going to miss you.” I hold her tight.
“Nah, you won’t. You’ll be having plenty of fun with your lover boy. It’s going to be a trip of a lifetime.”
I look at her face and smile. It feels like a last goodbye, but I know it won’t be long before I’ll see her again.
“There’s one last thing I need you to do,” I say as I grab a file from my kitchen table. “Could you please deliver these to Lou at the café? They’re the documents for the trust that has been drawn up for his café. I’ve left enough money that any displaced person can have a bacon and egg roll at his café for free. He wasn’t impressed with the idea, but the money is more than he’d ever earn in a decade.”
Logan shakes her head but smiles. “You have always been a Mother Teresa. You’ve always had to help people, ever since we were kids. Please don’t ever change. No matter what.”
“I couldn’t if I tried,” I say with a grin.
***
The Lady Maria. She is a beautiful boat, as I imagined she would be. The interior is rich with woods and navy blue fabrics. The furniture is really tasteful, and not an Italian designer in sight. In fact my Dad’s boat is very similar and ironically, this is also berthed in the same marina as my Dad’s, here in Rushcutters Bay.
The cameras followed us from my terrace to Pacer’s house, then down as far as they could get at the Cruising Yacht Club. Thank Christ this is a restricted area, but I know the paparazzi’s lenses are powerful enough to zoom right in on everything we’re doing. I can feel them everywhere. I’ve never felt so suffocated. I feel as if we can’t go anywhere or do anything. My parents are going to see all of this, and be hurt by it. They’ll see me leaving with Pacer and know the decision I’ve made.
I shake my head, reminding myself that they’re the ones who don’t want to accept this. They gave me the ultimatum. If I weren’t pushed away, I wouldn’t be going. I almost don’t want to come back. This isn’t any kind of life to live—filled with cameras and judgment.
“Please look after each other.” Pacer’s Mum holds my hands tight as Logan helps Pacer load my suitcases aboard. “You have both been through so much. Just be there for each other.”
I smile. “I couldn’t imagine going through this with anyone else.”
“Okay.” Pacer comes up the stairs from the bedrooms on the lower level. “I think we have loaded your thousand suitcases now, and we’re set to go.”
Looking at Logan, I feel the tears building again. As much as I wish things were different, deep down I have the sinking feeling that this is just how it’s going to be forever. I am no longer part of my own family. From this time on, I only have Pacer’s family and Logan.
“If they put pressure on you, I understand if you can’t be part of my life anymore. This is my choice and my burden to carry, not yours.” The tears overflow and roll down my cheek.
Logan smiles. “That’s never going to happen. I won’t let it.” She hugs me tight again.
“Make sure you send postcards of all the places you go.” His ma points her finger between the two of us.
Nodding, I answer, “Of course.”
We all say our final goodbyes and prepare to launch. As we pull away from the berth, I stand at the rear and wave at Logan and Ma Fratelli on the pontoon.
***
Cruising through the headlands of Sydney harbour, the waves pick up and the boat rocks over the rolling ocean. The last of the boats filled with photographers dwindle off as we head farther out into the open ocean.
I join Pacer up at the control bridge and sink into his outstretched arm. One last glance out the back of the boat and I see the tall cliff tops that line Sydney become a small thin line. Looking ahead, there is nothing but the ocean, and our future together.
Reflecting back on our whirlwind romance that began just over a month ago, I find it so hard to believe just how far we’ve come in that short time. Under the circumstances that we were given, we had little choice in taking things slowly.
I never would’ve dreamed of doing the things I’ve done during the past month. I was raised on the values of having strong ethics, but Pacer’s world has shown me that ethics are subjective to each individual. Pacer was right—the only way to deal with someone like Jackson Reed was to fight fire with fire.
The moment I made a deal with the detectives to destroy evidence against Pacer, I knew I had crossed a line that I could never come back from—I had entered their world.
Even if I knew my parents weren’t going to accept Pacer and I no matter what I did, I would do it all over again.
It’s not just love; it’s the whole package. Security, self-worth and understanding—it’s what I feel every time I look at Pacer. There was no other choice in this. I had no alternative—love found me in the most unique of situations, and I accepted it with open arms. Maybe we were drawn to one another for a reason.
Our destination may be unknown, but as long as Pacer is beside me I don’t care where we land. Pacer is my island and his love is my life-vest.
EPILOGUE
The badly-damaged and capsized boat, Lady Maria, was located off the coast of the Cook Islands by the coast guard today. It is believed that the vessel met with rough seas a month after it set sail from Sydney Harbour. An extensive operation has spent the past two days salvaging the wreckage, which is believed to have spread across 100 metres of the South Pacific Ocean. There are no confirmed survivors of the wreckage. Dive teams have searched the waters for its occupants, but the bodies of Pacer Fratelli and Chelsea Tanner are yet to be recovered.
A nation watched on in wonder as both Fratelli and Tanner left aboard the vessel days after Fratelli was cleared of a charge of murder. The pair captured the interest of the country with their Shakespearean-style love story. True to a story that Shakespeare himself would have written, art has imitated life, and this too has resulted in a tragic outcome for a romance that embroiled two of the city’s most powerful families on opposing sides of the law.
Representatives from the Legano family—the prominent crime family that Pacer Fratelli was linked to—have requested that the public please respect the privacy of the Fratelli family while they grieve for the loss of their much-loved family member. This is the second tragedy for Maria Fratelli, after the death of her husband in 2010 while he was serving his prison sentence at Silverwater Correctional Facility.
The high-profile Tanner family has refused to make a public statement about the incident, but sources close to the family say they are understandably devastated about the news of their daughter.
EXTENDED EPILOGUE
Picking out a new postcard, I choose one with palm trees overlooking the white sands of Bahia Beach in Costa Rica. We have decided to stay here for the next few months. Chelsea comes out of the drug store with her purchase, wrapped in a paper bag.
Giving me a quick kiss on the cheek as she passes, she keeps on walking. “I just need to get back to the villa and change into something a little more appropriate than a bikini and a sarong. I told Lenni I’d help him sort out the trouble he’s having with his assault charge.”
I shake my head. I can’t help but love her that little bit more. “We’re meant to blend in, remember?”