Page 69 of Blackmailed to the Altar

“How did you—” I swallowed hard, trying to piece together what my foggy brain couldn’t understand. “You can’t be here. He never… How did you find me?”

He didn’t answer right away, just reached out, his hand hovering inches from my cheek, and I flinched again. I couldn’t let myself believe it was him. Not after everything. Not after I’d been tortured by false hope again and again, only for Arjun to rip it away, reminding me that no one was coming. No one cared enough to save me.

“Mya,” Sebastian said, his voice breaking, and he finally touched me, his scarred thumb brushing against my cheek, wiping away a tear I didn’t realize had fallen. The warmth of his touch was like a jolt, sending sparks of life through my numb body. I gasped, my eyes snapping to his.

He looked at me, and God, it was like he’d been searching for me for years. Like he was seeing me for the first time, and it tore something open inside of me. But I still couldn’t let myself believe it. Not fully.

“Please tell me this isn’t another trick,” I choked out, my voice cracking under the weight of everything I’d endured. “I can’t take it anymore, Sebastian. I can’t…” He gripped my face between his hands, firm but gentle, forcing me to look at him, really look at him. His eyes were filled with a pain that mirrored my own, his breaths ragged and uneven. “It’s not a trick,” he said fiercely, his voice breaking as he leaned closer, his forehead nearly touching mine. “I swear to you, Mya. I’m here. And I’m never letting you go again.”

I stared at him, my chest heaving, torn between the urge to scream, and the desperate need to believe. The rational part of me screamed that it wasn’t possible, that Arjun had broken me too deeply for me to trust what was in front of me. But the way Sebastian held me, the way his hands shook as he touched me… It was real. He was real.

I let out a sob, my fingers clutching at his sleeves, holding on like he was the only solid thing in this nightmare. I didn’t careif this was just another hallucination. I needed this moment, needed him, even if it was only for a fleeting second.

“Don’t leave me,” I whispered, my voice shaking as I buried my face against his chest, inhaling the familiar scent of him; cologne, and something distinctly Sebastian. The tears flowed freely now, and I couldn’t hold back the sobs wracking my body. “Please… don’t ever leave me again.”

“I won’t,” he murmured, pulling me closer, his grip unyielding as though he was afraid I’d slip away. “I’m here, Mya. I’m here.”

“I have to say this before I lose my mind entirely,” I whispered.

Sebastian leaned forward and whispered, “What?”

“I’m pregnant,” I drew in a bigger breath, praying for courage. “And the only thing that got me through this entire ordeal is that I wanted to tell you I love you.” I grasped his hand in mine, shakily. “Both of you. All of you.”

Sebastian searched my eyes for a long moment, almost as if he was searching for the truth. He placed a light kiss on my lips, and leaned his forehead against mine, breathing the same air with me for several moments. “I love you too, little mouse. I fucking love you too.” He kissed me passionately, holding me tight like he didn’t want to let me go ever again.

I gasped, pushing him away only slightly when I remembered where we were. “Sebastian, we have to leave before he comes back. We have to go, right now.” I groaned as I felt my stitches pull, but I wanted out of this bed.

“No, Mya. I got you away from Arjun. You’re safe. Everything is fine,” Sebastian soothed. He pushed me back down on the bed, easing the covers back over my naked body.

Trusting Sebastian, I laid back and allowed him to fuss over the pillows. “Who’s Arjun?”

“Amelia Keiser’s brother,” Sebastian said.

“Amelia, your dead fiancée?”

“Ex,” Sebastian barked out. He cleared his throat, looking apologetic. “I’m sorry. It’s just, you’ve been out for almost a week, and I’m on edge. I didn’t think you were ever going to wake up again. Seeing you hurt…” he trailed off. I knew what he meant, though.

“Sebastian, I thought I’d never see you again. I didn’t get to tell you sorry.” My eyes filled with tears.

“I know,” he said simply. “What happened?”

I took a deep breath. It takes a big man to give you time to explain yourself. Something Sebastian didn’t have to do. I opened my mouth to tell him everything.

“This Arjun guy took me right out of your yard. I didn’t know where I was for the longest time. But you somehow found me. How did you find me?” I finished up.

After a long pause, Sebastian changed the topic. “Did I ever tell you about my sister?” he said out of the blue.

I shook my head no. “I didn’t know you even had a sister.”

He looked at me, chagrined. “I never spoke about her. It’s a big point of contention with my family. She tried to take her own life after being violated by a man in college.”

I gasped. My hand reached for Sebastian’s before I could stop it.

“Now you understand why I couldn’t allow Arjun to get away with what he’s done to you.” Sebastian’s eyes flashed, and his entire demeanor changed. Standing before me was Riccardo, and he was piping mad.

“That Albanian fuck is going to pay for what he did to you, and I want you to watch as you receive your justice.” Riccardo swung me, ever so carefully into his arms and held me close. He breathed me in with a sigh. “It’s good to have you awake in my arms again.”

He carried me through the villa, muttering to himself about how much weight I’d lost during my recovery. I couldn’t help the secret smile that was on my face. He was adorable at the moment.

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