Page 347 of Legacy
She nods again.
“I snapped his neck.”
Silence.
The buzzing fluorescent light hums above us. The world seems to narrow to the fire in her eyes.
My heart thunders.
She was alone. Caged. And she still fought like hell.
That’s who she is.
And I let it happen.
Her jaw flexes, rage flashing across her face, her fingers digging into the blanket, pulling it taut across her lap.
“I wanted him tofeelit,” she spits out, voice sharp, shaking. “I wanted him toknowit was me.”
Her eyes cut to mine, hard, daring me to flinch, to pity her.
I don’t.
Because God, I’ve never loved her more than in this moment.
“I don’t regret it,” she says, her voice low, steady. “I’d do it again.”
Her breath shudders, her shoulders trembling with the effort to keep it together, but her chin stays high.
“You hear me?”she demands, her glare cutting into me. “I’d do it again!”
My eyes burn, but I swallow it down, giving her what she needs.
I reach for her, cupping her face in my hands, letting my thumbs brush over the tension in her jaw.
“I know,” I rasp. “Of course you would.”
I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry. I’ll say it for the rest of my life if she lets me stay hers.
I press my forehead to hers, breathing her in, letting her feel that she’s not alone.
“Do you want to go home?” I whisper.
She exhales, a ragged, defiant breath, and nods.
“Take me home.”
“I will,” I promise, pulling back to meet her eyes, letting her see it. “No one will touch you. Ever again. I swear it.”
Her eyes close, her hands unclenching just slightly in her lap.
And for the first time all day, I feel her let go.
Not in surrender.
But in trust.
Enough to hope.
