Page 213 of Poison Vows

“And second, I needed to make sure that I never see you regretful, broken, and burdened with grief ever again because in that moment, the look in your eyes resembled what I had seen before in my mother’s eyes, and I failed her.”

Jesus Christ.

“My mother grieved for me day in, and day out. She knew my days were numbered. She knew I was dying, and she fought like hell to find me all the doctors that I watched her wane from a vibrant, powerful woman to a shell of a person. I didn’t want that for you.”

I’m breathing erratically.

Emmett is watching me steadily, confessing words that I have never thought but also a dredge of panic starts rising up in me.

“It was too late, though. I was already in love, but when faced with two decisions in life, to be your someone or to protect you, one will always outweigh the other and when it comes to you, the second was more important to me, so I sacrificed my love for you, buried it deep, cast it away so far to the ends of the earth that I denied its existence.

“I denied the hold you have over my heart. I chose to go to war with myself every single day in order to honor the second demand of protecting you, but in doing so, I hurt you.”

At this point, I’m beyond crying… I’m downright sobbing.

Fast, hot torrents of tears fall down my cheeks relentlessly.

My throat is burning and itchy.

My palms are sweaty.

Every inch of me is misaligned and out of sorts because I had no defense for this. I wasn’t ready for this.

Emmett hugs me to him. We’re both in hospital gowns, the perfect picture of unfit and unsuitable.

Unrequited love is a mess. I don’t recommend it.

But it’s even worse to be a coward that never confesses how they feel, even if it’s love.

Keeping your pain inside, suffering alone is not a warrior mentality. It’s a broken soul mentality.

So what if you don’t have friends? Go pay a freaking therapist and talk.

So what if you have anxiety? Close your door and pour out you heart to God.

Unrequited anything sucks, yes, but being a coward sucks worse!

Emmett picks up my left hand and then he gently starts sliding my ring back.

“Ivy Marie Easton, there are going to be horrible days ahead, there are going to beautiful days like a dream, but through the extremes, the in-betweens and anything else, I’ll spend the rest of my life with you,” he says seriously. “I know I did you so much harm, but I just can’t let you go. I love you and I love our baby. I want this baby. Actually, I already love him or her. I want to give life a chance for real this time. I want to be real and open. If you’ll have me, I would love to be part of your lives without bulldozing my way in because I will, Angel, if you don’t answer me.”

“Hmm, how about we first see how good you are at making me fall in love with you first?” I ask slyly. “I want yearning, I want drama. I want courtship.”

“I’m yearning right now!”

“More, please!”

He looks at me suspiciously. “What are those fictional men you love so much in those books doing now?!”

I throw my head back and laugh but he swoops down and kisses ne gently, heart-wrenchingly, flipping me back to my senses.

Emmett swoops in and kisses me hard, his tongue sliding into my mouth.

“God, I love it when you laugh,” he says huskily, then he leans back, holding my gaze. “Anything you want, I’ll do it. I can’t deny you anything, Mrs. Easton. I’ll yearn, I’ll beg, I’ll seduce, I’ll cherish, and I’ll love you for as long as I’m able. Even beyond that because these heartbeats are powered by you.”

Epilogue

EMMETT

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