Page 100 of Corrupt Me

This is the moment of truth that will inevitably lead to a monumental shift. The seed of us was planted when our eyes clashed that very first time, but the ground was too rough for it to grow. Despite all the adversity, it blossomed.

I palm his cheeks, risking it all in my need to make sure he knows what I feel for him. “I love you, Hunter. Please, let me love you for who you truly are. All of you, even the parts you think do not deserve love.”

His eyes glisten, blinking away the tears, but they still slide down his cheeks. I have never seen him so raw. I hug him, wanting to embed all my love into him so that he accepts I’ll always be there for him. His heart pounds a merciless beat, and I kiss his chest, wanting to soothe him.

“You can’t take that back.”

“I promise I won’t. Give me the chance to prove that you’re safe with me. I’d rather die than hurt you.”

“Don’t leave me. Swear you won’t leave me.” His choked voice twists my insides.

Tears blur my vision. His confession will shred me apart. The desire to avenge him, kill whoever hurt him so badly, sparks to life.

“I don’t want to make you cry. Don’t cry for me, angel.”

“Of course I’d cry for you. I love you and your pain is my pain.”

“You broke every defensive wall in me. I am bare to my soul in front of you.”

I look up at him to show him all the emotions written on my face. “Me too. You said I am beautiful. Well, you’re beautiful to me too. You brighten my life. There’s nothing that could change that.”

“I need a drink for this. Make it a bottle.” He turns around, but I climb on his back, holding onto him. It’s the nerves talking and while I understand that, he doesn’t need to numb himself. What he does need is to finally face what has been tormenting him.

“No, you don’t. Don’t let those demons win. Fight back.”

He casts a dejected look my way, shutting his eyes for a moment. “What do you think I have been doing for years?”

“So you channeled your fighting so you can—” I can’t even say the word, but he does.

“To survive.”

The first fracture rips through my heart as if it’s weathered glass. His silver eyes lock on mine, pleading. For the first time, I want to tell him to keep it inside, but he won’t get better if he does.

Sliding down his back, I move in front of him and take his hands in mine. “I’m here. I won’t leave. I love you with all of me.”

“You better because I am splaying myself open for you.”

He loves me, too, and his next words confirm it.

He brings our hands to his chest, resting my palm on his beating heart with his on top of mine. “I love you, Bailey. But my love is the mad, obsessive kind. You can’t leave me. This is for life. Tell me you accept that. I am already yours, and I am a selfish asshole who wants you just for myself.”

For life. I can’t believe I finally got what I have been longing for my entire life, even when I denied it for so long because I was afraid it’d never become reality. It’s easier to vocalize that you don’t want something, too afraid you’ll never get it than to do everything it takes to make that seemingly impossible dream come true.

“For life. I want nothing less with you than that.”

“And what if there is more afterward?”

“You’ll have me even then. I won’t leave you, not even when we’re nothing but dust carried by the unforgiving wind of time. I need you too. Mad together.”

“Mad together. I love that.”

I pull him toward the bed, and we both sit face-to-face on the edge.

He opens his mouth, and my chest splinters in that one second, full of despair.

“I was raped.”

I never thought I’d say those words out loud. The chains around my chest unshackle, freeing something in me.

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