Page 71 of Beautiful Beast

“You’re nothing like him, Adam. You have self-awareness and free will. You can be whoever you choose to be.”

And my insides melt at the thought of a bare-chested Adam doing skin-to-skin with a tiny newborn baby.

“Turning into my father is something I fear most in the world, and I just told you like it was nothing. You make it way too easy to be vulnerable, Belle.”

It’s by far the most romantic and intimate thing anyone has ever said to me, and he’s looking at me like I’m a sacred treasure he’s afraid to break.

“I want to be your safe place,” I whisper.

“You are, princess. You are.”

“How did your Uncle Dennis save your birthday?” I ask, returning Adam back to the story.

“He brought me to Disneyland for two weeks. I’m sure my father was happy to get rid of me for a while, not that he was ever home or even looked at me unless it was to yell or hit me. My nanny and uncle raised me.”

Growing up dirt poor, I often dreamed about being rich. I wondered how people in the expensive buildings lived and what their lives were like.

But the same sins hide inside the walls of penthouses and the projects.

“I’ve never been to Disneyland. Never got to dress up as a princess.”

“I’ll take you.”

He says it without hesitation, and the thought of going anywhere with him makes me do mental cartwheels, let alone to the happiest place on earth.

“When we first met, you basically slammed the door in my face,” I remind him.

“That’s because I was scared to show such a beautiful woman my new face.”

Tears burn my eyes, and I lean in to gently press my lips against his scar. “You had nothing to be afraid of.”

“That’s because you’re the most incredible human being I’ve ever met.”

“I never had a birthday party,” I admit. “My mother hated and resented me from the moment she got pregnant. My father was bad news, a junkie and a wife-beater, which is why my grandmother told my mother to make a choice. And she chose him. Then when she got pregnant, my father came in and out of our lives. It was both better and worse when he was around.”

“Tell me why.”

“Better because my mom was happy and left me alone, and worse because he didn’t.”

“What did he do to you?”

My teeth grind together so hard that I wince. “He said the cruelest things that I internalized for years. And he hit me everywhere the bruises wouldn’t show.”

“I can’t believe all the things you went through.”

“You went through the same things.”

“But you came out of it a good person.”

Tears spill down my cheeks and I squeeze his hand. “Adam, you’re a good person, too.”

It must have been easy for Adam to hide behind a façade when he was traditionally sexy and everyone wanted a piece of him. Now he’s lost such an important part of his identity – his mask – and the real demons are no longer contained.

He’s facing a lot of painful truths, battles that I’ve already won after years in therapy. I hope he’ll let me be there for him while he finds his way because it sure won’t be easy.

“What is your dream birthday celebration?” he asks softly.

And I already know he’s going to give me whatever I ask for whether I say a diamond necklace or a trip around the world.

---