Page 190 of Hunter's Revenge

Does he have the divorce papers with him?

I expected them to come in a biggish envelope with some sort of seal, but maybe I’m wrong. Maybe it’s a slip of paper.

I look him over, quickly scanning what he’s wearing. He doesn’t have a jacket on, only a black button-down shirt and black slacks. I suppose if it is a slip of paper, he could fit it in his pocket.

“I didn’t know her illness was so bad.” His voice breaks into my thoughts. I was so deep in concentration that I have to think for a few seconds about what he’s talking about.

“Yes,” I answer. “She doesn’t remember me at all, so that was a good moment. Most of her long-term memories from before I was born are still there, but they’re fading. Thank you for doing what you did.”

“I’m glad I helped. I didn’t know what to do, so I just went with it.”

“That’s okay.”

He stares at me with those compelling magnetic eyes that I want to get lost in, but I get a grip of my thoughts so I can stop myself from falling for this man all over again.

“Why are you here, Malik? I never expected to see you again.” I blow out a ragged breath and try to relax my tense shoulders before they snap. “I thought we might just do the divorce documents by post or whatever. You didn’t have to come.”

His expression becomes more open and there’s something that looks like desperation in his eyes that I recognize, because I feel it too.

“I’m not here for that.”

I give him a narrowed look. “Then why are you here?”

“For you.” The low tenor of his voice is like a gentle caress on my heart.

His words fill me with the hope I’ve been trying so hard to push away all these months of not seeing him and trying to accept that this was going to be my new normal.

“Me?” The word barely comes out of my mouth.

“You.”

“But you said this was best.”

“Was it best for you?” The intensity of his gaze ensnares me, anchoring me to the question.

“No,” I rasp out. There’s nothing to think about.

“Me neither. The divorce papers came and I couldn’t sign them. I couldn’t do it because it felt wrong. But I realizedeverythingI did felt wrong because it was. So I thought I’d do something right for a change and start over.”

“Start over?” I search his eyes.

“Right from the beginning, except this part could be the beginning. Right here and now, where you are my wife and I am your husband. And we stay that way.”

“Really? So no divorce?” I step closer and he brushes a finger over my cheek.

“No divorce. Instead, I tell you I love you with my entire soul and I promise to spend the rest of my life protecting you and being the kind of man you deserve. I couldn’t stop being selfish when it came to you, Gwen, because I want you in my life always. I can’t let you go and I can’t stand by and watch you be with someone else who’s not me.”

Emotion overwhelms me and I lift my trembling hand up to my cheeks. “Oh, Malik… do you mean that?”

“I’ve never been more serious. You are life, Gwen. My life. When I found you, I found life and love and all the things I didn’t know I could have, but wanted. If you give me another chance, I’ll prove every single promise to you and make you love me again. Can you give me that chance?”

My heart explodes with the deepest joy and I fly straight into his arms, wrapping mine around his neck, and he holds me.

“Yes. Yes, a million times, yes. I never stopped loving you, Malik Volkova.”

He presses his lips to my ear. “And I loved you at hello.”

Epilogue

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