Page 219 of Nanny and the Beast

“You’re crying,” he says, wiping my tears away with his thumb.

“I’m scared,” I say. “What if all of this is just a dream? What if it’s all in my head again?”

He cups my cheek, making me look at him.

“It was hell,” he says. “Every second I spent away from you, convincing myself that I didn’t love you, it was hell on earth.”

“It was hell for me too,” I say. “I never want to feel that way again.”

“I’ll never give you a reason to feel that way again,” he tells me.

“Can you promise me something, Klaus?”

“Anything,” he says.

“The next time we have any conflict, I want you to promise you’ll fight with me,” I say.

“I don’t want it to come to that,” he says, looking hesitant.

“No, I want you to fight with me, Klaus,” I say. “Because all of this could have been avoided if we had just talked it out.”

In some ways, the two of us are too similar. It’s easy for us to let ourselves be consumed by passion, but we’re still guarded when it comes to our hearts.

“We almost lost this beautiful relationship because of a misunderstanding,” I continue.“If you told me that Adam was at the club that night, I would have understood why you had to say those things about me. I just don’t want something like that to happen again. I don’t want us jumping to conclusions without knowing the full truth.”

The rise and fall of his chest tells me that he’s still worried about something. There are still things that weigh heavily on his mind.

“There are things I need to tell you, Emma,” he says. “You deserve to know the truth.”

He walks away from me and sits on the edge of the bed. I watch him for a moment.

It feels like there’s a string tied between our hearts. And it tugs at me now, telling me to go to him. I walk toward him, stopping between his spread thighs.

He looks up at me.

It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve had his eyes on me. Every time he looks at me like this, it feels like the very first time. I get butterflies every time.

“Whatever it is, I’m not going to judge you for it,” I say.

“I’ve done some bad things in my life, Emma,” he says. “Terrible things. I’ve tortured men for days. I’ve killed people. I?—”

“It’s all okay, Klaus,” I say, running my fingers through his hair. “It’s okay.”

“No, I want you to listen,” he says. “I’m a flawed man. I’m broken in so many ways. I don’t know how to show love or compassion. Even when I feel those things, I don’t always know how to express it.”

“Not everyone shows love the same way, Klaus,” I say, tugging on his hair softly until he looks up at me.

“Yes, but my actions have consequences, Emma,” he says. “If I had done things differently, none of this would have happened. Instead of being a strong man, I let my demons get the best of me. I was cold to my own family. I locked myself in my office instead of being there for the children. I didn’t do enough. I wasn’t enough.”

“Stop that,” I say.

He’s breaking my heart with every word.

“And most of all, I’m afraid that I won’t be enough for you,” he says. “What’s going to happen when my demons return, Emma?What if I end up going back to my old ways?”

“You asked me to be your wife,” I say. “We’re going to be a family, Klaus.No matter what happens, you won’t ever have to go through things on your own ever again. I’ll be here for you, just like I know you’ll be here for me.”

I made so many assumptions about Klaus, but he’s just a man who’s misunderstood.

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