Page 64 of Bullied Pregnant Mate

Every day of her young life, I’m there, making fun of her. Hurtful words, nasty pranks. It’s like I never left her alone.

“I’m so sorry,” I whisper. “Please, Alisa, please forgive me.”

“I have,” she says. “Can you see that?”

We turn to face each other, and she opens her heart even more. I take her hand and put it on my chest, right over my heart.

“See into me,” I almost beg her. “See how much I’ve hated myself for this.”

She closes her eyes, nodding slowly. I open my heart as much as I can, showing her all the vulnerable parts of myself I’ve always had to hide. I’ve never felt so much of her pain before, and I can see for the first time just how badly I broke her.

She changed herself for me… she became something else entirely, just to escape my wrath. And even then, it didn’t work.

And the worst thing is, I’d murder anyone who dared to do the same!

“I can see, Jenks,” she says. “I really can. I know how sorry you are.”

“Good, because I honestly don’t know how to explain it to you,” I almost stutter. “I don’t deserve your forgiveness.”

She smiles, and it’s a beautiful, patient expression. “It made me a stronger person, that’s for sure. Most of the resilience—okay, stubbornness—I have now comes from those days.”

“That doesn’t make it any better,” I counter.

“Maybe, but I’m grateful for everything that’s happened, Jenks. And I do mean everything. All of it led me here… to you. I wouldn’t change a single moment.”

Her words strike through me like arrows. There is pain in them, but also love.

More love than I’ve ever known. How can she accept me, when she knows what I am?

I accept you, because I know what you are.

I wrap my arms around her, hugging her tightly. “I’ll never let any harm come to you, ever again,” I whisper in her ear.

“I know, Jenks. I know.”

We stay wrapped together under the cold sky for some time, immersed in each other’s emotions, healing all the scars from our past with each other’s love.

Chapter 21 - Alisa

When we return from the hike, I feel shaky and on edge, but it’s not entirely a bad feeling. I know it’s because I’ve exposed the deepest part of myself, and now Jenks fully understands my pain.

And I can’t help feeling like I’m about to get shot down.

I guard my thoughts carefully. Even though it seems like I can shield my mind against Jenks pretty well, I still don’t want my fears to show. We’ve come this far, learning to trust each other. The last thing I want is to take a step back.

When we get back to the room, it’s warm and bright inside, with the sun just beginning to sink behind the mountains. The sky is lit with neon orange, pink, and dark purple, and the snow-capped peaks glitter like diamonds.

It’s so beautiful here, I almost don’t want to go back.

“I was thinking the same thing this morning,” Jenks says, answering my thought. “It’s been so good with just the two of us.”

“I agree,” I say, going over to wrap my arms around his waist. “I think we both needed this, so that we can really get to know each other without anyone else in the way.”

A sudden clash of images cascades through Jenks’s mind. It’s Bae, the big black wolf that is his brother, Brad, and horrifying images of my body broken and bloodied in his backyard.

“Jenks, that won’t happen,” I say, taking his hands. “Look at me, look into my eyes. It didn’t happen.”

He strokes my cheek, fear lurking in his gaze. “It could have,” he mutters. “It almost did.”

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