Page 113 of Liberating Bells
“No, it’s not,” I say, shaking my head. My heart hurts from the weight of her words. Comparing me to her ex-fiancé hurts. But she’s right. She’s definitely right.
Izabel rubs my shoulder through my shirt and takes a deep breath. “You are the king of my heart, Ryan Miller. But we are ateam. This ring you gave me means we work together. We make decisions together.”
I pick up my head and meet her eyes, letting out a shaky sigh. “When did you become so strong?”
“I’m not strong.” She chuckles, brushing off my compliment.
I reach for her hand and tangle our fingers together. “You are. You are one of the strongest women I’ve met.”
Her eyes are soft as they trace over my face. “I owe a lot of it to you, honestly. But I need to hear that you understand what I’m saying.”
“I do, Bells. I’m sorry.”
Her lips pull up at the corners, and she leans forward, giving me a kiss. “I love you. Promise me that, moving forward, we’ll always make decisions together.”
I cup her jaw with my other hand, pulling her to me in another kiss. “I promise.”
She leans away and gives me a hard stare. “Okay, then. I’ll go testify, and then we’ll just be done with this whole mess.”
“Can I come with you?” I ask her hesitantly. “At the very least, I don’t want you to be alone.”
“Of course. Honestly, it will make me feel better knowing you’re there anyway,” she admits.
I bite my tongue to keep myself from saying anything. Izabel made her point very clear. We’re in this together. I’m not going to put her in the same situation she was in with Mark. That’s the last thing I want to do.
I let my eyes trace over her, but I don’t say anything. I really hit the jackpot with her. My mom was joking yesterday about me saying I’d marry her from the very start of our relationship. I knew, though, even then.
I’d be a fool to do anything to jeopardize that. So I let her words sink into me. Sometimes I get lost in the urge to protect her. That’s just who I am by nature. But she’s right. She doesn’tneed me toprotecther. Izabel isn’t some porcelain doll that I can set up in a china cabinet. She needs my support, my trust.
“When is it?”
Izabel picks up the official letter and checks the date. “A month from now.”
I close my eyes and sigh. “I’ll put it on the calendar.”
She gives me a grateful squeeze of the hand. “Thank you.”
I wrap an arm around Izabel again and bring her closer to me. “You’re welcome,” I concede with a breath. “Maybe this will be the closure you need to fully move on.”
“God, I hope so,” Bells admits against me. “I’m so ready to be done with him.”
“Well, then let’s just get this over with and send the bastard to jail.”
A laugh bubbles out of Izabel, and she sits up, meeting her gaze with mine. “That’s the best idea I’ve ever heard.”
41
IZABEL
"Bells?"Ryan's hesitant voice snaps me out of my thoughts. We're standing on the sidewalk in front of the Cedar Ridge courthouse. It's a beautiful day, fluffy white clouds dotting the clear blue sky. A perfect day to put my nightmares to rest.
I was staring at the courthouse, thinking through everything the lawyer and I talked about over these last few weeks. I just wanted to get this whole thing over and done with.
The process of going through a court hearing and having to face Mark again was exhausting. Now that we’re standing in front of this building, knowing we’re about to hear what’s going to be the final decision, makes my stomach churn with nerves.
Ryan comes up behind me, resting his large hand on the small of my back. The warmth from his hand seeps into my skin, and I let out a shaky breath before turning my gaze to him. He's wearing a suit that does wonders for his physique. The white button-down shirt hugs his broad shoulders, and the suit jacket emphasizes his back and waist. His eyes roam my face, checking to see if I'm okay. We're not even in there yet, and Ryan's as on edge as I am right now.
He tried his best to distract me all morning. We went on a nice walk through our neighborhood, and he even took me to anearly lunch at my favorite café, but I think he and I both knew that nothing was going to take my mind off this afternoon.
