Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 156392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 782(@200wpm)___ 626(@250wpm)___ 521(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 156392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 782(@200wpm)___ 626(@250wpm)___ 521(@300wpm)
“There’s no need to wait.” He strokes my cheek and my skin ignites at the contact. “You have already captured my heart, body, and soul, Ava. I have no clue when it started, but at some point, my possessiveness and obsessiveness with you turned into this inferno of emotions where I was prepared to lose you if it meant protecting you. That’s when I realized I was in love with everything about you, whether it’s your obsession with pink, candy floss, or cheesy books and films. The lack of you has stripped my world of color and made me realize you’re my sole light in the darkness. It’s why I killed for you and would do it again in a heartbeat. I’d kill everyone if it meant I’d get to keep you. Perhaps that’s not the healthiest form of love, but it’s all I have. The heart you slowly awakened is entirely yours to do with as you please.”
I stare at him through blurry vision as tears well up in my eyes.
Eli loves me.
All this time, he’s been in love with me. The truth is, I’ve suspected it since I learned about all he did for me, but I didn’t dare hope. Now, however, all my little girl dreams are bursting at the seams.
“What if I break your heart?” I whisper in a brittle voice.
“You already did, five months ago when you said you’d rather die than be with me, but by all means. If you wish to do it again for when I broke yours all those years ago, this is the time to go for it.”
I shake my head frantically. “I’m done carrying pain and heartbreak. I want a clean slate and a new start. Besides, I never meant to hurt you or cause you pain. Yes, I did think about revenge at one point, but I never got to the point of executing it. I couldn’t bear it. The reason I came undone that day was because I didn’t know about your sacrifices for me and was terrified that all your actions in recent months were a lie or that you were pitying me.”
He wipes a tear that falls down my cheek. “I never pitied you. I might have hidden things from you, but that was because I refused the very notion of triggering you or pushing you toward the very episodes you were experiencing before falling down the stairs. I was sincere in everything we did together.”
“I know that now.” I reach my hand out and palm his face. “I’m sorry I stabbed you.”
“You didn’t mean to.”
“I still stabbed you and it hurt me as much as it hurt you, if not more. So I couldn’t see you unless I made sure I’d never cause you pain again, whether consciously or unconsciously.”
“I’m proud of you, beautiful. I know these past five months were hard, but you did so well.”
A rush of endorphins flows through me, but I force it and the flood of tears down. “I did it for me, but also for you. For us. Thank you for being there every night. For being so supportive even when I pushed you away. It means so…so much to me.”
“I’ll always be there.” He strokes my cheek, my nose, the corner of my mouth, wiping all my tears with eyes so soft and loving, I want to drown in them.
“Even if I get worse?”
“Especially if you get worse.”
“Even if I don’t want you?”
“Even then. Though you wanted me since you were a kid. I doubt that will ever change.”
“That’s true.” I chuckle through my tears before it slowly dies out. “I’m sorry I threatened you with committing suicide. It’ll never happen again.”
He nods, a flash of pain passing behind his eyes.
And this is when I know I hurt him so deeply, probably as much as he hurt me in the past.
The Tin Man feels, and it’s because of me.
“I love you, Eli. I’ve been in love with you since I was a clueless little girl. What started as a naive crush deepened into this uncontrollable love where I’d do anything for you. Including forgetting about all the pain in the past.”
“You’d do that?” he murmurs.
“In a heartbeat. We’ve been apart for far too long. We misunderstood each other for such a long time, too. I think it’s time for us to start a new life together.”
“Together,” he echoes, and then his lips brush against mine.
It’s a sweet kiss in the beginning, but then he deepens it, stealing my breath and my future.
The love of my life might not be conventional, but he’s all mine.
44
AVA
My moans echo in the hall as Eli carries me into our bedroom while his lips devour mine.
I should probably tone it down, especially since Sam and Leo were grinning and clearing their throats as we passed by the entrance hall. But honestly, I’m too happy. And turned on.