Page 81 of Always Been You
My throat tightens. I swallow against the lump forming there.
“I need space,” I whisper.
Eddie flinches. His hands drop to my waist, holding me like he’s afraid I’ll disappear if he lets go.
“No,” he says immediately. “Lynx, no. We can be happy. We are happy.”
“Were,” I correct, stepping back.
His grip tightens for a second, but he lets me go. Barely.
His chest rises and falls, too controlled, like he’s trying not to break. Then, suddenly, he exhales a short, humorless laugh, shaking his head.
“I should have known you’d react this way,” he murmurs, more to himself than to me.
Something in my stomach twists.
“How the hell else was I supposed to react, Edmund?” My voice is sharp, edged with betrayal. “You looked me in the face and lied to me. You proposed to me knowing damn well we were already married. Do I look like a joke to you? Do you find my life funny?”
“No,” he says instantly, shaking his head. “No, my love.”
“Don’t call me that.”
He closes his eyes for half a second, like the words physically hurt him. When he opens them again, his jaw is tight, and his voice steadier.
“You think marriage is a joke to me?” He exhales, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “Lynx, I’ve always wanted you, Lawliss. So when I saw you that night at the bar, talking about reckless decisions, I thought... this is it.” He looks at me, eyes burning. “Do you know how long I’ve had those papers, just waiting? That’s how much I wanted you to be mine.”
His words hit like a slap and my heart stumbles over itself.
“You’ve loved me that long?” I whisper, the realization knocking the breath out of me.
He nods, stepping forward again. “Since the first day I laid eyes on you.”
I feel dizzy. Unsteady. All this time?
All those years I spent having a crush and loving him in secret, thinking he never saw me the same way? He did and yet, this is how he chose to claim me?
I shake my head, stepping back again, but he follows.
“Please,” he says, voice softer now. “Please don’t leave me. I’m not above begging.” He cups my face again, tilting it up. “And while we’re at it..." His lips twitch just slightly, like he’s hoping this will lighten the mood. “The penthouse? Its mine.”
I blink. “What?”
He sighs like he’s confessing to something ridiculous. “I bought it because I knew you wanted it.”
My jaw drops. “You—what?”
“And the plumbing?” he continues, voice almost sheepish now. “I, uh… may have asked them to slow down the work so you’d have to stay longer. So I could—” He takes a slow breath, watching me carefully. “Win you over.”
My brain shortcircuits.
I stare at him, lips parted, words failing me.
“You’re insane.”
Eddie shrugs. “Yes,” he agrees, unbothered. “I’m madly in love with you.”
I should be furious.
