Page 51 of Wanted

“I want you to take the ocean with you and that every time you listen to it, you think of me because without a doubt, every time I see the ocean from my window, I will be thinking of you. Legends say that the ocean’s spirit is trapped in these,” he says, putting a shell in my hands. Of course, I had seen one before, I don’t live under a rock, but I had never stopped to listen to it, much less had an idea of the existence of a legend. “Now you can take it wherever you go.”

A lump of tears tighten in my throat, I’m about to break.

What I heard was the sound of the waves, what I had read is true.

Magic exists, and I have it here, very close, so much so that I can touch it.

But more than that, I have to take the steps.

I’m the one who should do it.

I’ve never felt so powerful and so scared, all at the same time. Emotions aren’t logical, it’s about feelings. You don’t have to look for an explanation because there isn’t one.

The heart doesn’t understand schedules or deadlines on the calendar.

Love does. And in a different way, I feel it right now.

It’s new and flimsy, sprouting from the ground like a seed. We are both going to need to take care of it, I think we can do it.

Because we both want it to work.

“Lionel,” I call his name as I turn to face him.

When the chocolate in his eyes locks on the gray of mine, I feel the world disappear. The sky and the ocean don’t matter.

The vastness has become insignificant.

“Lionel, I don’t want to go,” I say quietly, I’m surprised that he heard me. I’m sure he has, because his eyes widen.

“Then don’t go,” he replies.

“You want me to stay?” Like I said before, we need to make this decision together.

“I’ve been asking you to stay since I woke up.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

His eyes fill with humor and he smiles a little. “Of course, I want you to stay. I would never say something so important just because I have to.”

We aren’t touching. We aren’t as close as I would like us to be, yet his presence fills everything.

I’m drowning in it.

“Why do you want to stay, Stella?” Now it’s he who is asking the questions.

My heart is pounding, I can hear my heartbeat in my ears. I can barely hear my voice when I say, “To be your wife.”

“Thank fuck,” he says before his lips rest on mine and I forget even my name.

The lion and the lamb are becoming friends—more than that. They are planning a life together.

But some things have changed, the lion knows that it can lose its crown and the lamb has gained ammunition to defend itself.

Putting my hands on his strong chest I move away from him a little to look at those dark and warm eyes, lifting my chin up a little. The bruise on his face has faded, it’s now a yellow stain, but it’s still a reminder that life passes quickly and that tomorrow is not promised.

And yet the same questions keep popping in my head, am I ready for this?

Am I ready to trust he won’t break my heart again?

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