Page 193 of In Love with a Ruthless Man

She screamed.

His lips moved to the scar below her right eye.

“Nooooo—-”

And still he kissed her, every damn scar, and she screamed until she had no voice left.

When his lips finally left hers, she could only look at him, her eyes filled with self-revulsion, and his heart splintered at the sight of it.

“Oh God, Fawn—-”

“I’mugly.” Her hands crept up to her face, and the tears started to spill again as she felt the mass of flesh under her fingers. “I’m ugly!” She wanted to tear the flesh from her own face, wanted everything to be new again. “I can’t stand this—-”

“I love you.”The prince caught her hands before her nails could dig into her own skin, forcing them down. “I love you.” His voice was fierce, his words a promise that the prince’s emerald green eyes willed her to believe. “I love you.”

Releasing her hands, he cupped her face.

“I love you.”

And then he was kissing her.

“Always, angel,” he whispered against her trembling lips. “Always.”

Their tears mingled.

Her pain was his pain.

And slowly, her arms went around his neck.

Dio.

He kissed her harder, his arms nearly crushing her in his embrace.

She never said the words back, but it was enough.

All he had wanted was a chance to love her again.

Epilogue

ONE YEAR LATER

Fawn and the prince had just taken their seats on one of the tables in the café’s alfresco area when a mom with two young children paused in front of them, browsing the café’s menu on display.

Today wasFamily Day,a special school holiday that the university’s vice chairman Derek Christopoulos had established in order to encourage deeper bonds between students and their families. Among other things, the holiday allowed parents to explore the entire university while also doubling as a school fair, with student groups competing with each other to have the most profitable activity booth.

When Fawn noticed the little girl staring at her, she smiled, and the little girl said loudly, “Mommy, look.” Her mother glanced down at her, and the little girl pointed at the scar on Fawn’s forehead. “She looks like Harry Potter.”

Her older brother, who looked about ten, snorted. “No, dummy.” He pointed to the scar on Fawn’s cheek. “She looks more like Samurai X—-”

Turning red in mortification, the mother sent Fawn a look of apology before hurriedly dragging them away, whispering furiously to her children.

Fawn grimaced, and as soon as the family was out of earshot, the sound of the prince’s low, dark laugh filled the air. “You do look like both.”

She made a face. “You’re evil.” But the soft tender light in her brown eyes belied her words.It hadn’t been easy at all,she mused,to get to this point.

The first few months they had been together, she had barely been able to sleep, and there was rarely a night that she hadn’t woken up screaming, crying, her body bathed in cold sweat, her mind trapped in memories of her ordeal.

But always, the prince had been there, wiping her tears, and he would whisper to her over and over that he loved her until she would finally succumb to an exhausted sleep.

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