Page 115 of Broken Pieces
I shout, “No! You fucking don’t. He was going to pin everything on you, Aria. It was either save myself or save you.”
“That wasn’t your decision to make! You should have talked to me about it. We would have come out with a plan,” she shouts back.
I let out an exasperated breath, getting up from the chair. “You don’t fucking get it, do you? Don’t worry, I’ll spell it out for you. I love you so much itburns me. There’s nothing in this world that would stop me from protecting you, from saving you. I will gladly sacrifice everything for you, and I’m not going to apologize for it. I will gladly burn a million times over if it means I get to love you for the rest of my days, and that’s the fucking truth.”
It's like this massive burden finally lifts as I speak my truth. So damn liberating. I'm done with pretending to be someone I'm not. She taught me to love intensely, and loving her is the toughest and most exciting thing I've ever experienced. But the thrill of knowing I get to lovesuch a strong woman makes it all worthwhile. Every bit of it. I know she thinks I’m the one that saved her from herself, but she’s dead wrong. She saved me, instead. For the longest time, she didn’t see how fierce and strong she was. Sure, I helped her a little, but that was all her.
She stands from the desk, shouting, “And you don’t get that I love you so much, it fuckinghurts, Damian.Youneed to understand that I too would do anything for you. All my life, I’ve been trying to gather the pieces of my broken life together, not wanting to share them with anyone else because I’m scared to be broken again. I can’t handle one more heartbreak! But for you? I’d give you my all. Because you sneaked into my life, broke down my walls, and made me believe inmyself. Inyou. Inus.And for that and much more,I love you.”
The confession shocks me. I’ve never felt loved. All my life, I’ve been numb to it. Gave up. Never thought it was a possibility. I never thought this all consumable love was possible for me. But she changed my way of thinking; changed me for the better.
I close the distance between us, our lips colliding with this intense, desperate kiss. Gripping the back of her head, I deepen the kiss, our tongues clashing. She responds to the kiss by wrapping her arms around my shoulders, and I revel in the sweet sound of the whimper that escapes her mouth, engulfing it with my own. Gasping for air, we both step back, needing a moment to catch our breath.
“You ready to tell me what the hell you did?” I ask.
“Nope. You'll have to beg a whole lot for me to spill.”
“Sounds like a plan,Red.”
“Don’t call me that,Damie.”
God, I missed this woman.
After Damian’s and I shouting match that ended with a kiss, I left the office where I made him promise me a thousand times that this time around he was going to show up. He promised just as many times. He had to stay in the office with the guys to figure out the next step and what’s going to happen. I decided to just go to Sophia’s, have an impromptu girl's day and just vent.
“I think it’s romantic,” Sophia says after I explained why he did what he did, and the shouting match we had at his lawyer’s office.
“For once, I agree with Sophia. Very book boyfriend material,” Isabella chimes in.
“Okay, but this is real life, guys. This was extremely reckless on his part,” I say, glaring at them.
Isabella raises an eyebrow. “And you taking out a knife and placing it against Alex’s neck wasn’t reckless?”
“Isa,” I hissed.
Sophia gapes at me. “You did what!?”
I cross my arms, stiffening my shoulders. They don’t get it. Sophia, well, it’s Sophia, and has been through enough so she doesn’t understand love makes you do idiotic things, and Isabella has revoked love out of her life, so she understands even less.
“I was willing to do anything for him,” I confess.
“Yes, and he was willing to do everything for you. How can you be mad at that?” Sophia points out.
Well, when someone puts it like that…
I leave Sophia’s apartment a few hours later when I get a text from Damian to go to his condo. The elevator door opens and I’m met with hundreds and hundreds of wildflowers scattered all over the floor and a path of soft yellow candles. Following the trail, I find Damian in the living room sitting down on the floor with blankets, pillows, and a bunch of takeout brown bags.
“What’s this?” I ask, my voice laced with surprise.
Damian gets up from the floor and walks toward me and grabs my hand, guiding me to the blanket. “I know theseare not New York dumplings, but I researcheda lotand these are the best places I found. The meeting with the guys didn’t take that long. I was just doing all of this…” He waves his hand around the apartment.
The apartment is filled with so many candles and wildflowers all around, it’s beautiful.
“Damian—”
He interrupts, “Let me speak first, okay? I have to get this out.” He sighs, “I’m so fucking sorry, okay? I was a complete asshole to you and I have no excuse for that. Well, I was trying to protect you and not ruin your life. But it doesn’t matter, because I fucked up. I didn’t handle the situation well and I hurt you in the process, and I will never forgive myself for that.” He brings me in for a hug, kissing the top of my head. “I love you so much, it kills me that I hurt you. I’m so sorry.”
I hug him back, then take a step back with a nod. “I know you had good intentions. You were just, well, an asshole about it.”
