Page 46 of These Jagged Edges

My heart aches for him, feeling the weight of his sadness and the depth of his struggle. “Then I’ll shine some light in there, so you don’t feel so alone.”

Maddox's breath mingles with mine as his forehead rests against my own, a tender yet intense connection that sends a shiver down my spine. I brace myself, knowing that the words he's about to speak will shatter the fragile balance I've been clinging to. "I made you take those classes with me because I was so damn jealous of my brother getting all your smiles and laughs. You were never unwanted. I knew you were the most precious treasure I'd ever fucking set eyes on the minute I saw you dancing with Vic's old ass in the yard on his birthday. The love on your face for him was so pure, it felt like an undeserved blessing, as if God had finally granted me a mercy I hadn't earned. I couldn’t fathom why He would place an angel so close to someone as unworthy as me."

I had no idea he had seen that. The hardest day of the year forVic was his birthday, his wife Mabel had always baked his favorite cake and then they danced under the carport light for hours and hours. After everything Vic had done for me since moving to Thunder Ridge, I knocked on his door with a vanilla sheet cake and asked for a dance. I'll never forget the way his eyes misted over before he told me I better not have two left feet. We danced, ate cake, and Vic made sure to tell me it didn't hold a candle to his Mabel, but I knew how much he appreciated it all the same.

Maddox didn't forget a word I had told him in that storeroom, but I’m not surprised.

"Tell me how angry you are. Shout at me, hit me again if you have to, just don’t let this be the end.” His finger ghost the side of my face.

"I’m not angry with you, I’m disappointed in you.” I swallow down the emotion clawing up my throat before continuing, “Youhurtme Maddox.” He briefly closes his eyes as I place my hand on my heart. “Maddox, I’ve already lived that life, and I refuse to do it again. I deserve so much more than that."

Hurt reflects in his green eyes. "You think I don’t know that, Evie?”

"It’s not about what you think. It’s about what IdeserveMaddox.” I square my chin and tell him without hesitation, "I deserve a love that fills me up completely, one that makes me forget every time I felt like I didn’t measure up. I’m not looking for perfection; I want the messy stuff. You know, the kind of messy that turns every fight into something that only makes us love each other more. I want someone whose broken pieces fit seamlessly with mine so that both of us finally feel whole."

Maddox opens his mouth to speak, and I cut him off, “What I don’t deserve is someone using my trauma against me to hurt me, intentional or not.”

Maddox’s face reflects so much shame, the weight of it etched into every feature. He avoids my gaze, staring at the floor as if it holds the answers to questions he can’t bring himselfto ask. As he swallows hard, I can almost hear the silent apology in his heart, the unspoken words that linger in the air between us.

“You made me break my promise.”

His brows scrunch in confusion. “Promise?”

“I promised myself I would never let another man see me vulnerable again. I swore off all men for good, but then you came barreling into my life with your big, growly charm, and that commitment I made to myself went flying out the damn window.”

He slowly caresses the side of my face. “What are you saying?” His voice is barely a whisper.

I place my hand on his as he cups my cheek. “You should have told me when you first realized you were falling in love with me.”

Maddox smirks down at me. "It would be a little creepy to tell a stranger you fell for her after she screamed fuck you in your face. Or after she shoved fried chicken in your chest because she felt guilty she didn't invite you to dinner, even though she sent your brother over with all the leftovers a couple nights before."

“You’ve lost your damned mind,” I mutter beneath my breath.

"I couldn't tell a woman who just begged me not to beat her with a goddamn belt I was falling for her and just wanted to hold her and keep her safe from all that haunts her."

Maddox leans closer his nose brushing mine. "I couldn't tell a woman who showed me all her scars how much she was becoming my everything because she finally started to believe she wasworthyof everything.”

He places my hand on his racing heart. "You want messy? I’ll be the messiest motherfucker in Thunder Ridge. You want fights? I’ll fight with you as long as we make up twice as hard. We can argue over breakfast, and fuck over lunch. You want my broken pieces? Already yours. I’m going to spend every day loving all those jagged edges you feel define you until you love them just as much as I do.”

I can’t seem to form a single word, my eyes blur, and tears threaten to fall. Maddox takes a deep breath and rests his foreheadagainst mine. “I swear I’ll never threaten you again and I’ll dedicate every damn day being worthy of messy.”

Jesus Christ. Nobody can ever say Maddox Wilder is a man who lacks depth. Maddox Wilder is carved from the deepest part of the most heartbroken places. He makes friends with suffering, loss, and despair better than anyone else. He’s walking devastation; I knew it the night he stood on my porch returning my dog.

Blowing out a rough breath I think logically. I know Maddox would never hurt me physically. It’s something I just feel deep down to be true. There's no excuse for his behavior that day, but I know him well enough to know he has done nothing but let it eat at him. Rotting him from the inside.

Maddox isn’t a man who loves you loudly, he’s a man that loves you quietly. Quiet and unmoving, his love feels like a strong presence that always stays with you. Putting back together the pieces you thought were lost forever and gently healing parts of you that you thought were forever damaged.

"You have to promise me..."

"Done."

I press my hand over his mouth, silencing him. “Shut up and listen to me. If I decide this is something we can work through, understand that it’s the only second chance you’ll ever get with me, Maddox Cole Wilder. I don’t care if it’s ten years from now and we have two more kids; there’s nothing on God’s good green earth that you can do to win me back. I have survived being beaten, raped, and tortured by a monster, and I will not settle for anything less than what I deserve. Do you understand?”

My voice trembles with intensity, each word heavy with the weight of my past and the resolve of my future.

Maddox gives me a curt nod, his understanding clear. I gradually remove my hand, locking my gaze onto his. “And if you ever threaten me again, a black eye will be the least of your worries.”

The weight of my words hangs in the air, an unspoken promise that I won’t hesitate to protect myself, no matter the cost.

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