Page 167 of Undisputed Chaos
She nodded, understanding flickering in her eyes. "But you?" she prompted gently.
I smiled, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "I chose nothing.”
Her eyebrows rose in surprise. “Nothing?”
"Adrian. That’s all. Clean slate, new beginning, no baggage from a past that nearly destroyed me. I was set free.”
She was quiet for a moment, processing this. Then her fingers found my heart, drawing a simple X surrounded by intricate designs of ink.
“So Adrian has no last name,” she said softly. “That somehow fits you.”
"You think so?"
"Mm-hmm." She traced the ink with delicate touches that sent shivers down my spine.
"Mysterious, dangerous, impossible to predict or control. Just like the man I fell in love with."
The word 'love' made the world brighter every time she said it.
Love wasn't something I'd ever expected to experience, let alone inspire in someone as pure as Isla.
But here she was, wrapped in my arms, declaring her love for a monster in designer jeans.
"There's something else," I said, my voice dropping to that intimate register reserved only for her. "About the name thing."
She looked up at me with curious eyes.
"I want to take yours.”
Her eyes widened, and I watched the meaning sink in, not just that I wanted to marry her, but that I wanted to become part of her family rather than the other way around.
"Adrian," she breathed, her voice thick with emotion.
"Hills," I continued, my thumb tracing over her cheekbone. "Adrian Hills. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"
Tears gathered in her eyes, making them shine like captured starlight. "You want my name?"
"I want everything that's yours," I confessed, the honesty brutal and beautiful between us.
"Your name, your family, your future. I want to belong to you as completely as you belong to me."
She was crying now, happy tears that she wiped away with the back of her hand.
"But the free space—it means so much to you. Your fresh start, your independence..."
"Was just the bridge," I interrupted, cupping her face in my hands.
“It was what I needed to become the man worthy of you. But Hills, your name, your legacy, that's what I want to carry forward."
I shifted so we were facing each other completely, her legs tangled with mine, our bodies aligned in perfect symmetry.
The intimacy of the position, the vulnerability in her eyes, the trust she offered me so freely, it all combined to create a moment so perfect it felt sacred.
"I spent my whole life feeling like I was missing pieces," I continued, my forehead resting against hers. "Like I was some broken thing that could never be whole. But you..."
I paused, searching for words adequate to explain what she'd done to me.
“You didn't fix me, angel. You made me realize I was never broken to begin with. Just waiting."
