Page 58 of Princess Bride Swap

He had said that. Plainly and simply. In the midst of a very loud scene. Where he had yelled and not cared who heard.

“You really love me?” she asked on a whisper. “Even with...”

“I am here,tesoruccia. I told Mother to handle the dinner. I do not intend to make it back in time. I intend to make everything right. So that we can build a life together. One of balance and stability...but not...sacrificing ourselves on the altar of our images. Our people should know thatweare people. Love. Soft spots. Anxieties.”

It sounded too good to be true. And yet...

She thought of what Zia had said. About give-and-take. She had given, and she had taken—when he’d offered comfort, when he’d been kind. But only rarely had theydiscussedwhatthey were doing, and so perhaps they hadn’t had a chance to understand one another. Their gives and takes were careful, shrouded, because they had both been burned by people who should have loved them, but had only taken instead.

So much of him she understood—what had shaped him, why he felt the way he did even if she didn’t agree, but she could admit now that she was perhaps not the best judge of understanding him when it came toher.

Because she had her own baggage clouding her judgment. But he was helping her see past that. Love had done that.

And when his baggage had clouded his judgment, he had used his words. He had told her about his legacy. About what he felt he had to do to pay that debt he thought he owed. Maybe he’d been wrong, but he’d never run away. He had been honest.

She had not been.

“I am sorry.”

“You are?”

“I...jumped to conclusions. Based on my own issues. I was so...unhappy. But you said I made you happy and I wanted to. I wanted to do anything I could to make you happy. Because I love you, Lyon. Your kindness. That desire within you to do what is right. But I cannot be that thing you need. I cannot pretend as well as I wanted to. I don’t wish to...sleep in the same bed every night so far apart. I don’t think I am capable of being the robot you wanted. I—”

He squeezed her hands together. “It was wrong. Or at least, misguided. But we are learning. We will forge a new path. It will be...a challenge. We have the country’s baggage stacked against us, but if we have learned to carry our own, if we help each other unpack our own, perhaps we can do the same as royals.”

It sounded like a dream, but also...possible. And she wondered why it hadn’t occurred to her. Why her own response to everything was all or nothing. Misery or run away. “I suppose we both need to work on our compromising.”

His mouth curved, and she started to allow herself to hope...to really hope.

“I am quite sure my mother will come around eventually, but it will take time. Parliament might not care for it or me, but the citizens of Divio will. I believe they will. I cannot be perfect for them, or for you, though I will still try. But what I know I can be is there. I can find balance. If you’ll share a life with me, Beau. I think we can accomplish anything.”

Anything.

It was such a big promise, such a hopeful future. It made her realize how small her dreams had always been. Because she had never dreamed of a love that might not be concerned with her panic. She had not allowed herself to dream of...anythingexcept the bare minimum.

“When I was a very little girl, the only thing I ever dreamed about was my own little place. Hidden away from my father. Just me and Zia. Lots of animals, but never people. I never truly believed anyone but Zia could see me for who I was.”

He touched her cheek.“Tesoruccia...”

“You made an effort. To know me, to love me. You call me a treasure, and I have never felt like one until you. I’m sorry I didn’t know how to make an effort back, to...believe you’d see something lovable. But I will learn. I promise to learn how to stay instead of run, to reach out instead of hide.”

“Come home with me. Be my wife. My princess. Let us figure it all out, always together.”

She pulled her hands from his, but only so she could wrap them around his neck. And he held on, even as her tears spilled over. He whispered endearments, words of love, rubbed her back. He gave her so much she’d never had, because though Zia had tried to be there for her, so much of their relationship was Zia acting as barrier between Father and her, not actually being able tocomfort.

And it was scary, really, to believe that she might have something so beautiful, so wonderful, when she had spent so much of her life being told she wasn’t good enough for it. When she hadn’t realized how deep those scars went.

Until someone new had tried to love her. And it hadn’t always been right or good. Because they were both flawed, in their own ways. But there was nothing inherentlywrongwith that. Not if you tried, not if you talked, not if you loved.

“You must only promise to never run away again,” he murmured against her hair.

She nodded, still holding on to him. “I do. I promise. To work everything out, no matter how ridiculous either of us are being. I will not run away again, but you must promise the same.”

He pulled away slightly, frowning down at her. “I never ran away.”

“You did. You pulled away from me, hid yourself away from me. Perhaps it is not exactly the same, but it felt the same. Like a limb had been lost.”

He nodded slowly. “Yes, exactly that. Then I promise,amore mio. With all that I am. I love you, Beau. I will always find a way to come back to that.”

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