Page 105 of The Edge Of Us

I smiled up at him, tracing his jaw with my fingers. "Wow indeed."

When we came down from it, our bodies tangled in sweat and sheets, he didn't move away. Instead, he tucked me against his chest, his fingers brushing gently through my hair.

"Corine," he said, voice thick with emotion. "I love you."

I froze.

He pulled back slightly, his eyes searching mine. "I love you. And I don't just mean the version of you from tonight, or the one who fights through every day. I mean all of it. The darkness. The fear. The spirals. The scars. I want all of it. All of you."

Tears welled in my eyes before I could stop them. He cupped my face and kissed each tear as it fell.

"I never thought I could love again," I whispered. "Not after Allen. Not after everything that happened. I was so broken, Jasper. I still am. Some days, I feel like I'm just pretending to be okay. And I'm terrified that one day, you'll wake up and realize you don't want to deal with this version of me. That the good moments aren't worth the bad."

He leaned in and kissed me slow. "I'm not going anywhere. Not when you break. Not when you spiral. Not when you scream at the dark and cry in the bathtub. I'll be there. Holding your hand. Passing you the towel. Carrying you out if I have to."

I let out a choked laugh-sob. "That's a heavy promise."

"You carry the weight of the world. Let me carry some of it for you."

I buried my face into his chest. His heartbeat steadied mine.

After a long pause, I whispered, "A part of me will always love Allen."

Jasper nodded slowly. "I know."

"He was my first love. My first real heartbreak. The father of my children. I-" I swallowed hard. "But that part? It's only 0.1%. The rest of my heart-the 99.9%? It's you. It's you and the kids."

Jasper didn't flinch. He kissed my forehead. "Then I'll love that 99.9% with everything I have. And protect the 0.1% too, because it made you who you are."

The dam broke. I cried like I hadn't cried in years. Not because I was falling apart. But because I was finally safe enough to fall apart.

After a while, I asked quietly, "Do you think your parents really meant it? That they liked us?"

He smiled gently. "My mom asked if she could take Kyle to the museum next weekend. That's practically royal approval. And my dad told me he respected you for your resilience. Said he sees strength in you that even most politicians lack."

"He said that?"

"Verbatim. You won them over."

"What about Brittany and Ace?"

Jasper groaned. "Don't get me started. I'm still trying to figure out if I should punch Ace or just pretend I didn't see the way his shirt was untucked when they came back to the table."

I snorted. "Your sister's a grown woman."

"Exactly the problem."

We laughed until we couldn't anymore. Then we lay there in silence, wrapped in the warmth of each other. The kind of silence that felt like a beginning.

Tomorrow, the world would continue. Therapy sessions. Preschool drop-offs. Diaper changes. Work calls. Panic attacks I wouldn't see coming. But tonight?

Tonight, I was loved.

And for the first time in a long, long time-

I believed it.

Chapter 58

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