Page 151 of Keep Me Never
I start to shake, tears welling as I catch sight of the little jar of glowing butterflies lights, and those tears fall without fail.
But…how?
I—
“Hi, Angel.”
My lungs squeeze, and I whip around.
And there he is, standing just inside the door, the expression on his face that of a broken-down man full of fear and desperate for hope.
I don’t understand it. I don’t understand any of this, and when I open my mouth to say that, all that comes out is a broken sob.
My hands come up, my eyes close and then strong arms are around me, hauling me in to a warm chest.
I don’t mean to melt, but every inch of me does and I clutch his shirt, holding on for dear life.
Chase
God, she’s even more beautiful than I remember, if that’s possible, even as she cries.
She grabs on to me like she’s afraid I’ll disappear, her little fingers clutching my T-shirt like a lifeline, and it breaks me. She starts to sob, and I tuck her in tighter.
“It’s okay,” I whisper, fighting back my own emotions, my breath uneven as I struggle to hold it together. But it’s harder now with her crying against me, her familiar scent swirling around me, the warmth of her grounding me after so many weeks without her.
This isn’t how any of this was supposed to go.
I was going to surprise her the day she got home, drive her here and show her. I was going to explain everything, lether know that never, not even for a fleeting second did I not choose her.
Everything I did from the minute I left that restaurant that day wasfor her.
I didn’t expect it to be an easy conversation, considering, but it never crossed my mind that she would…that she would doubt me. But how could she not?
I’ve kept secrets that affect our relationship, hiding the truth about my future at AU, or lack thereof, I guess I should say.
Of course she’d have reason to question me. Questionus.
But I never left her. I messaged and called while she was away so she knew that I was here, waiting for her to come back to me.
I never expected her grandfather would tell her the truth about what he did and what he had thought I did, if he even told her the truth about all of it. He said if she knew the deal was off, so I thought that meant I was safe to handle things here, and then when they got back, there would be nothing he could do. The money would be gone, her studio would be fixed, and she would be free. And mine.
How could I be so foolish?
How could I chance that, even for the shortest moment in time, this beautiful woman might be forced to doubt my love for her?
She lifts her head, those blue eyes shining as they lock with mine, and the words pour out of me before I can even think twice.
“I didn’t leave you,” I rush, taking her face in my hands with the gentlest of touch. “I would never, ever leave you. I would die on your doorstep, just waiting for you to let me in if you decided you didn’t want me one day, but I would never fucking leave you. For no one. Fornothing. I need you to understand that. You can question any and every move I make in my life, I will welcome it, but please, nevereverquestion my love.”
Tears stream down her cheeks, her lips trembling. “I—I’mjust so confused,” she whispers. “What happened, Chase? What am I missing?”
“Perhaps I can answer that.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Paige
I hold my breath, heart racing, feeling as though the world has stopped as my grandpa steps into the studio, and the tension in the room doubles.
