Page 130 of The Plan

A small smile creeps on her face, and she shakes her head softly. “I promise I’ll work on it, Sire.”

I give her a single nod, choosing to believe her. She holds her pinky out to me, and we intertwine our fingers and then kiss our thumbs before pressing them together, sealing the promise.

“Anything else we need to sort out?”

She looks like she’s thinking, then a sad look covers her eyes, and I’d do anything to change the look on her face. “A part of me feels guilty you relapsed.” She looks past me, but I turn her face so her eyes will meet mine, and before I can say anything, she speaks up.

“You called me a lot after the accident, but the one time I answered, I knew you needed me. You said you did, and I had afeeling it was because you were thinking of using again, but I told you I didn’t care. I let you throw away your sobriety out of spite.”

“That wasn’t your fault.”

“Sire—”

“No, Vidia. You said it wasn’t my fault we lost our baby, and now I’m telling you it wasn’t your fault I relapsed.I’mresponsible for my own actions. I chose to get high again. It wasmyfault, not yours.”

“But I—”

“It isn’t up for discussion. It wasn’t your fault.”

She looks into my eyes like she’s trying to believe me.

“Say it.” I slowly let go of her chin, and she repeats after me.

“Like you mean it.” I make sure my words aren’t harsh but encouraging instead. She takes a deep breath and tries again.

“It wasn’t my fault you relapsed.” She nods a few times, like she’s trying to believe herself, and after a beat, I lean forward and place a soft kiss on her forehead.

“So what else do we need to hash out? Because I want you.Allof you.” I take her hand in mine. “I’ll respect it if you don’t want to give us another chance, but not if it’s because of something as silly as you blaming yourself or thinking you don’t deserve me because you deserve everything this life and the next has to offer.”

She smiles but then cringes when something clearly comes to mind. “I told my mom about your plan to use me for her, so she kind of hates you just a bit.”

My mouth gapes open. “Vidia?!” She covers her face, but I pull her hands down. “How am I going to get in her good graces after something like that? Get your ass on the phone and tell her the truth.Now.”

“I did.” I feel my brows furrow, but she goes on. “After the break-in, she knew I was staying here more than next door withHazel, and I told her you and I were getting on better terms…” She looks down at her hands. “She thinks I’m an idiot.”

I tilt her chin up. “You’re not.“ I press my lips against her forehead. “Is there any hope of her liking me again?”

She peeks a glance at me and only shrugs. Well, this a just fucking great. Vidia adores her mom, and I adore Vidia.What the hell am I going to do now?I let out a sigh but then think of something I also need to tell her. “I moved all of your stuff from your old apartment into storage.”

She looks a bit confused, then relieved. “Oh my God. Thank you.” She lets out a breath, and when she holds her chest, I laugh at her. “I was dreading having to go back there for my things.” I knew she wouldn’t be mad, but I was expecting her to be stubborn and say how I should’ve asked first.

“You definitely should’ve asked if I was okay with it.” There it is.I spoke too damn soon.“What if I was moving back in?”

“You weren’t.” I know her, and she was never going back there after the break-in.

“True.” We both laugh and then I quickly shush her when I notice Isa turning in her sleep.

“Okay, this is our fresh start.” She nods a few times, and I can’t stop the smile that creeps on my face.

“So does this mean we’re back together?” I tug on the bottom of her shirt, and she watches me carefully. There’s some sort of internal battle going on in her pretty head, but I give her a chance to gather her thoughts and silently hope she says yes.

“Shouldn’t I work on all the things I promised to work on before—”

“We can work on that and be together.” I pull her hand, bringing her between my legs. “Just say yes.”

“Sire…”

“We’ll take it slow,” I offer, only because I think it’ll make her feel better, and I just want her to be mine. She nods slowly, likeshe likes the idea of that. I immediately pull her closer, but she moves her head to the side before I get to pull her in for the one thing I want.

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