Page 107 of The Marine

“Good, because Kael is my date today, so please...just, please don’t...”

She’s scared.

I try to remember that as jealousy rears its ugly head inside me.

“What? Look at you like I haven’t fucked you until you screamed? Pretend I haven’t loved you for ten years.”

She stands with the door open, and all her walls and barriers vanish for a moment. It's just her and me, as she gazes back at me after my love confession. Not that she hadn’t heard it before.

“Aidan,” Briar whispers, and I feel her heart connect with mine.

Fuck, I want to fly across the inside of the Porsche and run away with her. But she’s given me nothing verbally to make me believe there’s a chance.

My insecurities flare and I say, “At least tell me you still love me. A little bit.”

Her eyes drop and shoulders sag as she shakes her head. It’s almost imperceptible, but I see it. “Aidan.”

I wait for what feels like a lifetime. But when she lifts her gaze, the walls are back, and a chill smacks me in the face.

Gripping the steering wheel, I glance away. “I’ll behave. Go get ready.”

“I—” she starts, but it's too late.

“Go, Briar.” I growl and glare back at her.

As she closes the door and I watch her walk inside the double doors, I wonder if this is history repeating itself.

Me believing that this woman will love me despite her family keeping us apart. Her mother. Now her husband.

She might not know the truth about Kael yet, but is she really choosing a man who abuses her over me?

God fucking damn it. What is wrong with her?

Is it time I faced the fact this woman is broken and can never love me back?

I stare into space and let that thought simmer. Realizing that on some level, I have always been waiting for her. Never truly allowing myself to be with anyone else.

All the dates and nights of seduction.

They were just fillers.

“Fuck it.” I slam my fist on the steering wheel.

I’ve wasted ten fucking years of my life on a woman who married a guy who picked up where her father left off.

Instead of coming back to me, a man who loved her and protected her.

I was right.

She’s stuck in a loop.

Abuse is what she knows. It might not be what she wants, but it's familiar, and she doesn’t have the ability to recognize a healthy relationship when it's being handed to her on a silver fucking platter.

Emotion rips through me and for the first time in a long fucking time, I feel tears pool in my eyes.

I curse and slam my hand down on the steering wheel again.

I’m stronger than this.

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