Page 111 of Undone

After a moment, he rolled over and we lay there, tangled in the sheets. Our bodies were slick with sweat, our heavy breathing the only sound filling the room.

The room still felt charged, both of us caught in the intensity of the moment, but there was comfort, too—an unspoken understanding.

Dorian’s hand moved absentmindedly, tracing lazy patterns along my spine, his touch soothing. I shifted slightly, my gaze meeting his, and I could sense his walls finally fall.

It wasn’t lust or desire or need anymore. There was something deeper.

His lips curved into that half-smile I’d come to know so well, but there was a softness in it that made my heart flutter.

“What?” I whispered, still dazed from everything.

“You’re right,” he said, his tone almost hesitant, like he was working through something he’d been carrying for far too long.

I tilted my head, unsure of where this was going. “I know, but about what?” I teased.

He paused, his eyes dropping for a moment, gathering his thoughts. Then, with a small sigh, he began again, his words deliberate and heavy with meaning. “I got back home, put Gracie to bed, but when I sat down after, all I could think about was you. Everything you said, it kept replaying in my mind, and you were right. I don’t want to look back on my life when I’m old, wishing I’d taken the risk. I don’t want to lie there on my deathbed, thinking about the one that got away—the one with curly hair, striking eyes, and a heart of pure fucking gold. I don’t want that. I want you. I want to take the risk.”

My breath caught, a surge of emotion flooding through me as I watched him confront his fears. The raw vulnerability of it pulled something tight inside me.

He was offering me something I knew wasn’t easy for him. “I want that too,” I admitted.

He moved closer, his hand gently cupping my face, his thumb grazing across my cheek with a tenderness that made my heart ache. “I want to grow old with you. I want to go with you to Gracie’s graduation, thinking to myself, damn, where did the time go? I want to make pancakes on weekends, get another dog, and do all those silly, mundane things that we always think are so small, but with you… they’re never mundane. They’re everything.”

His words warmed me from the inside out.

This was it. This was the kind of love I never thought I deserved, settling for so much less, and yet here it was—offered to me. The fear that once held me back faded.

And for the first time in a long time, I felt it. Hope.

Hope that I could be happy and loved and still have the life that seemed impossible the day I learned the truth about John.

I leaned in, my forehead resting against his, our breaths mingling in the space between us. “We have all the time in the world,” I whispered, a sense of peace washing over me.

FORTY-ONE

Dorian - November

THIS LOVE (TAYLOR’S VERSION) - TAYLOR SWIFT

As I satin the driver’s seat, the familiar scent of Noah’s shampoo invaded my senses, reminding me of everything from the last week. We agreed to do this, to see where this would go between the two of us.

Except I already knew.

I was a fucking idiot to pretend I didn’t know it before. Every time she laughed, every time she looked at me like I was worth something—I felt it. And now, I was sure I’d never let her go.

I don’t even know why I was such a dumbass denying it for so long. She was so clearly it for me.

I looked in the rearview mirror, taking in her dark curly hair, loose and falling over her shoulders. She looked so fucking pretty, her makeup all done up in glitters and sparkles for the concert. She wore some ridiculous fringy outfit, but I loved it.

I lovedher.

I wasn’t sure about coming to this concert. I’d hesitated, asking Noah if coming was a good idea with John’s recent escalation, but Noah insisted it would be fine.

Dorian, it’ll be fine. There are security guards everywhere, and it’s a concert. John isn’t ballsy enough to even find women in public, resorting to the internet to find his victims. I am done letting him control my life.

Her confidence settled some of my nerves, but the gnawing feeling in my gut lingered. I wanted to enjoy the night, but I also couldn’t shake the fear entirely. But right now, I needed to push those thoughts aside and focus on Noah and Gracie.

The happiness that bubbled within me was strong enough to overshadow the worry, at least for now.

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