Page 74 of Captive Heart

"Melody, you said something yesterday and I need to know… did you mean it? Or was it just gratitude in the heat of the moment, when you probably felt as if I'd saved your life."

"You did save my life, Micah," she replied seriously, and he felt a pang in his heart at her words, but he still needed her to tell him, out loud, if her words had merely been motivated by thankfulness.

"You said?—"

"That I love you," Melody finished for him. "Yes, and I meant it from the depths of my soul, Micah. When I thought that my time had come, my one regret was that I'd never had the chance to tell you how I felt. For you to understand the difference you've made to my life and how the beauty and the pleasure you showed me warmed my soul and led me to a place of peace, so I was ready to let go and die happy in the knowledge that I’d known joy and felt cherished. That I had loved."

Micah swallowed, his eyes burning and his throat aching at the passion behind her words as she continued.

"When I saw you in the aftermath, I just needed you to know. I needed to say the words. And it doesn't matter if you don't say it back, if you don't feel it. It's like a gift. You can accept it, without having to give one back. I'm just glad I got the chance to tell you. To explain how profound your influence has been on my life."

The pressure behind Micah's eyeballs was making his nose itch. What the hell had he done to deserve this amazing woman, and why the hell did she look so damn sad and yet lit from within at the very same time? He was going to spend the remainder of his days making sure she felt just like that for the rest of her life and was never sad again.

She looked away from him, pulling back slightly, and it dragged Micah out of his internal musings. Fuck, this was the time when he was supposed to be telling her that, not grappling with his inner machismo to stop himself from crying, in case he seemed less of a man. Jeez! Listen to himself.

Micah burst out laughing, joy filling his soul, and he sprang to his feet, pulling Melody with him. He swung her around, making her squeal in surprise followed by a laugh that filled his heart with the beautiful sound, and Micah let the tears flow along with his happiness.

When he set Melody down, he kissed her soundly while she brushed away the wetness on his cheeks with her gentle, caring hands. When they were both out of breath, he clutched her to him, letting her feel the stark evidence of his need.

His heart felt light for the first time in years, and sucking in some much-needed air, he scooped her up and started for their makeshift bedroom, so he could show her just how beloved she was.

And, on the way there, he repaid her gift with his own and said the words she'd told him she didn't need, with all of the emotion that was bursting out of his heart.

"I love you, too, Melody. And I'm going to spend the rest of my life making sure you understand just how much."

EPILOGUE

Had it only been eight weeks? It seemed like a lifetime since Melody had escaped her previous life and found Micah.

Her saviour and her soul mate. It might sound corny, but that’s exactly how she thought of him, even though she knew he wouldn’t appreciate it… well the saviour part anyway.

He’d insisted on counselling sessions - not with him, sadly - to help her reacclimatise to this different life. Melody wasn’t convinced she needed it, but she’d agreed.

As far as she was concerned, everything that had gone before was just simply the past. It had happened, it had changed, she’d moved on.

People might like to think she was in denial or something, but for her it really was that simple. Why would she want to waste this new life worrying about the old one and risk destroying her newfound happiness in the process?

No, that wasn’t fair. There were things that occupied her mind and made her feel guilty. Things like the miscarriage and the icky feeling she got knowing that daddy really had been her daddy, if not in blood, despite the relationship they shared to the contrary. It helped to talk about those.

It also helped that Micah had insisted on a very thorough medical. She’d been poked, prodded and tested. Had her insides and her bones x-rayed, plus blood-work and ultrasound scans.

She was still on a course of vitamins, but the most surprising news was that no conclusive proof that she couldn’t bear children had been found. Of course, there was nothing to say she could, either, but so far Melody had been told that an inadequate diet could disrupt physiological reproductive function… something that may or may not lead to outright infertility.

She wasn’t sure the non-answer, which just left a massive question mark swinging above her head, was a good or a bad thing.

She’d accepted that she wouldn’t have children. Been glad for it while she was incarcerated. Now she’d been offered hope, and sometimes that was all the more cruel. Because she would have liked children - one day. Not right now. Not even soon. But the thought of carrying Micah’s baby was an alluring one.

To be given hope that might still be snatched away was maybe worse than accepting it would never happen.

“Hey, what’s gotten you so pensive?” Micah asked, flashing the oh-so-sexy smile that lit up his face. Something he did a lot more in the month since Vinny Sutton had been arrested.

“Just thinking,” Melody replied, keeping her voice light.

“Well, I hope I’ve got something to put a smile back on your face,” he said with a wink. He’d been acting all mysterious for the past few days, insisting she go out and buy her own bedding, which Melody appreciated, but which also seemed pretty pointless since they were still using a bed in one of the playrooms.

“What is it?” she asked, playing along.

Micah took her hand. “Come on, I’ll show you.”

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