Page 28 of The Founder's Power

“I don’t expect you to listen,” I start, “but I need to say it anyway.”

She glances away, but at least she hasn’t walked off.

So I keep going even though my voice is shaking. My walls are gone. This is what she wanted, and I’m doing my best to give it to her.

“I was wrong,” I murmur, “about everything.” I move a step closer, my chest even tighter now. “You asked me to meet you in the truth, and I failed. I chose control over courage. I chose silence over you.”

Her jaw tightens, but she doesn’t speak.

“I thought I was protecting myself, but really, I was protecting the part of me that was too afraid to admit how much I need you.” I swallow hard. “I let the empire come first. I let him get into my head. I let fear decide how I treated the one person who ever saw me. Not the name. Not the wealth. Just… me.”

She blinks but still says nothing.

I drop my gaze to the floor. “I hate what I became. I hate that I let you walk away thinking you didn’t matter. You’re not just the woman I love, Isabelle. You’re the only thing that ever made this life feel worth anything.”

Silence.

“I don’t know how to be enough for you, but I’ll spend every day trying if you let me,” I add quietly, barely above a whisper.

Finally, her eyes soften just slightly. Her throat moves as she swallows. “Damian…”

“I’m sorry, Isabelle. I… I don’t want a second chance at business,” I say, voice breaking. “I want a second chance at you, and if I’ve already lost that… then please… just know I’m sorry. For every time I held back. For not choosing you when it mattered most.”

And then I do something I’ve never done before. Not in love. Not in life.

I drop to my knees right there in the dirt and sunlight and paint-splattered beauty of her world.

If groveling is what it takes to show her that she’s everything, I’ll stay on the ground until she forgives me.

Or walks away for good.

CHAPTER15

ISABELLE

He’s on his knees.

Damian Kincaid. Billionaire. Strategist. Master of composure.

Kneeling in dirt and sunlight with his heart in his hands.

I’m not sure whether to cry or run. He’s done this to me twice now, picking business over me, but what he’s saying right now… it’s everything I ever wanted. He’s finally being vulnerable. Of course part of me still aches. I have doubts, and I can’t help but wonder if this is just another one of his well-timed moves. In the time we’ve spent apart, I’ve done what I can to distance myself from Vincent, too, because there’s some kind of power struggle between the two of them, and I will not be a pawn in their schemes.

But this doesn’t seem like a scheme on Damian’s account, and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to truly quit him.

He’s my muse. Even all that time we spent apart, he inspired me. Whether as a source of love… passion… rage… anger… hatred…

Right now, what do I feel for him?

What do I want to feel?

I step closer, my fingers curling at my sides. “You say you’re sorry,” I whisper, “and I believe that you mean it. Right now. In this moment.”

He lifts his head. The pain in his eyes is real. So is the fear.

Damian’s afraid of me. That’s new, and I certainly don’t know what to think about that.

I suppress the urge to wring my hands. “But what about everything before this?” I ask, my voice trembling. “What about the woman Vincent told me about? The one you left behind to secure a deal? The people you used to climb your way to the top? Were those mistakes too?”

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