Page 84 of Shattered Hope
I covered his lips with my fingers. “I never knew him. I fell in love with the heroic image he projected. He did his best not to let me know his true self before we were married because he knew I would run away,” I explained.
“Why did you stay for so long?” he asked as if this had been tormenting him for a while.
I sighed, sad. “I had never been with a man before him. My experience was summed up by cuddling in the back seat of a car or in a dark movie theater. When things went south on our wedding night, he blamed me, and I believed him,” I explained. “He was an experienced man, I had no reason to believe he was lying to me, especially when he kept telling me how much he loved me, despite my flaws.”
“Bastard!” he grumbled.
“It took me a while to wake up and see things couldn’t be just my fault. I tried talking to my mother about it, but she dismissed my concerns and told me to stop acting like a brat,” I continued. “By then, I had no friends of my own, no one I could confide in… he did a good job isolating me from the people I cared about.”
He caressed my cheek, and I leaned my head against his hand, closing my eyes for a moment, his touch comforting me more than anything ever had.
“Things never got better. No matter what I did, how hard I tried, nothing ever pleased him. When my mother died, I stopped trying and realized I had to escape,” I told him, my eyes clouded with tears. “I was foolish enough to tell him I wanted the divorce, right after my mother’s funeral. He beat me so badly I thought I would die that night. The following morning, he reminded me we were married, till death did us part, and that I should get used to it because he would never let me go.”
“You must have been terrified,” he pointed out, his eyes dark with the pain and rage he felt for me.
“I was… but that terror fueled me. I escaped that same day. I was long gone when he came back home that night,” I explained. “And I never stopped running.”
He cradled my face. “Will you stop now?”
I looked up at his gray eyes, clouded by his intense feelings. “Do you want me to?” I asked, in a low tone, still afraid of believing.
“Woman… I’ve spent hours telling you exactly how much I love you. Which part wasn’t clear enough?” he asked in a firm tone.
I gasped, and my eyes filled with tears. “You never said the words,” I pointed out, struggling with the huge knot on my throat to speak.
“I didn’t?” he asked, surprised. “Well, yes, I guess I didn’t. So, I’m doing it now – I love you.”
I sobbed. “You don’t believe in love,” I reminded him, as the first tears rolled down my cheeks.
He wiped the tears with sweet kisses. “I didn’t… not until you came along. Now, I know it’s real and that I will follow you to the end of the world, just for a chance to be with you.”
I sobbed louder. “I’m an emotional train wreck… with a lot of dark baggage,” I warned him.
“I’m strong enough to carry that for you,” he assured me, caressing my cheeks, his forehead resting on mine. “All I want in return is a chance to make you fall for me. I know you’ve been through a lot, and that might take time, but I’m willing to wait… if you let me.”
I covered his hands with mine and looked him in the eyes. “You don’t have to wait. Your eyes captured my soul from day one,” I assured him.
He leaned forward and claimed a passionate kiss from my lips, showing me, this time with actions and not words, how much he loved me and that nothing would ever change that.
“I love you,” I said when he released my lips for a moment.
“Will you let me take care of you? Love you?”
“Just love me… I’m stronger than you think. No need to take care of me,” I assured him.
He chuckled. “Sweetie, you’re the strongest woman I’ve ever met,” he assured me before he kissed me again. “So… Christmas is coming. Did you write your list for Santa?” he teased me, combining his words with kisses.
“I don’t have to. I already have all I could possibly wish for,” I assured him, pulling him closer, deepening his kisses.
Someone cleared their throat behind them. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but Ailani needs to take her meds,” Susan said, in an amused tone. “You do remember she just came out of the hospital, right?” she added, in a scolding tone.
Jayden let himself sit on the floor and turned to look at the woman standing at the kitchen door. “Susan… what would we do without you?” he asked, in a teasing tone.
“Foolish things, I'm sure, that would put her back into a hospital bed,” she replied, without mincing words.
We chuckled, and Susan crossed the room to give me the pills and some water.
“You should get some rest. Those ribs need rest to heal,” she told me, and I nodded.
