Page 123 of The Forever Rule

“Aston…” she began, but I took a step back, handing over the letter that ruined everything.

“Read this.”

She gave me a strange look before taking the letter in hand and began to read. Color dotted her cheeks as she continued, and I cleared my throat.

“I don’t want to take you for granted. And I feel like I do. I want to show you how much I care about you, howmuch I fucking love you. But I don’t want to become my father, so I hurt people along the way.”

Her eyes widened even more, and I realized that I’d just blurted that I loved her.

“You are not your father. Your father would never say that he loved you. You told me that. You love me though?” Her voice broke, and I sucked in a breath.

I nodded, moving my hands back to her face. “I do. I didn’t fucking realize it because I didn’t know what I was looking for. But I do. And I want to believe that I’m not my father. But sometimes I get so focused on making sure that this family and this legacy isn’t what he made it, that I lose track.” I had let my hands fall, and nearly began to pace. But I didn’t want to lose her gaze.

“That is not what your father tried to do. I don’t know what his end goal was, but you’re trying to protect your family, and yourself. You just have to stop pushing me away when you get scared. Because I love you too, you asshole.”

A smile slid over my face, even as my heart raced. “You love me?”

“Of course I do. Everything wouldn’t hurt this bad if it wasn’t love. I’ve never been in love before, so I didn’t realize it either, but I do love you. So, don’t push me away when you get angry. Whenever your father does something to annoy you, even from the grave, talk to me about it. But the next time you do anything close to what you did, I’m done. I love you, but I also love myself.”

I moved forward and cupped her face once morebefore bringing my lips down to hers. I tasted the salt of her tears and nearly fell to my knees.

I had hurt her, the person that I loved, and I hadn’t even realized how I was doing it until it was almost too late. And when I pressed my forehead to hers, I let out the breath I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding. “I love you.”

“I really like when you say that. But you can’t use it to grovel the next time.”

“I’m not going to need to grovel.”

“Oh you will. Because we’re both going to make mistakes. That’s part of the rules.”

I leaned back, tilted my head. “Rules?”

“Of being in a relationship. You’re going to make mistakes, but you figure out how to fix them without hurting the other person. I’ve watched my parents navigate two careers that take up so much space in their lives that it sometimes felt that there wasn’t enough space for each other or me. But they made it through. And we can too. As long as you talk to me.”

I stared at her, my heart racing. “Okay. I promise. I’ll do better. I won’t be the asshole that I know I’m being.”

“Good. And I’m really delighted that you came here because we have that gala this weekend, and I really don’t want to go alone again.”

This time my smile widened even further. “I met you the last time. You know, I think we should make sure this gala ends a little bit better than the last time.”

Her smile softened as she wrapped her arms around me.

“Good. Because I want to enjoy myself with you, and not be worried that I’m going to ruin everything.”

“No, and I’ll do my best not to ruin it either.”

I slid my fingers down her bare arm, and she raised a brow.

“Is there something you would like?” she teased.

And as I gently pulled down the straps of her dress, she rolled her eyes, before I took her lips with mine.

“Oh, I think there’s something that we could both want.”

“Why doesthis feel different and yet the exact same,” Blakely asked as we walked inside the large ballroom. Everyone wore tuxes and ballgowns, with far too many diamonds and jewels. What a pretentious way to donate money for a reputable cause. But others wanted to be in their finery, and we let them. It wasn’t the same organization as before, but we Cages needed to show face, and donate. And Blakely was here as my date.

“Well, this time I get to monopolize all of your dances, and not have to worry if I’m going to scare you away.”

“I think after meeting your entire family, I’m not going to be that scared.”

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