He presses his cheek to mine. “My mom doesn’t understand what true, deep love means. She couldn’t have loved my dad that way if she was willing to throw him away like that. But my dad truly loved her. I can’t believe she’s hurting me and you just like she hurt him.”
“I’m not even going to try to defend her. She might have her reasons, but I don’t care what they are.”
His lips brush my temple. “Despite what I’ve been through all my life, I’m glad I went through it. Because it’s the only way I could have met you.”
“You think we wouldn’t have met any other way?”
“I don’t see how. What do you think? You think people who are meant to be together will eventually find their way to each other?”
“Well, I do believe in fate and destiny and all that. I do believe every single person has a soulmate. I used to claim that even though everyone might have a soulmate, some people might never meet them. But now I truly believe in my heart that if people are meant to be together, nature or God or whatever will help them find their way to each other. Because the world would be too broken and too sad if they didn’t.”
“That’s why the second-chance romance trope exists, right?” he says, his eyes smiling. “Or the enemies-to-lovers one. You know, because enemies would never find their way to each other unless they were thrust into each other’s lives.”
“What about the forbidden romance trope?” I ask.
“Uh oh. Is that us?”
I laugh. “Yes, that’s indeed us!”
“How does the forbidden romance trope usually end?”
“Well…”
“Do they have happily ever afters?”
I lean in closer to him and rest my head on his chest. “It doesn’t matter how other stories end. Ours will end with a happily ever after. I just know it. I feel it in my heart.”
“I feel it in my heart, too.”
We remain in each other’s arms for a long time. It feels like hours, but it can’t be because we have to get back way before curfew. But every second spent with Damian feels like an eternity. We share more of ourselves with each other, what lies in our hearts and the hopes and dreams we have for the future. Damian admits he didn’t have a lot of hopes and dreams for the future, but now that I’m in his life, there are endless possibilities. He doesn’t feel like his hands are tied anymore by his mom. For the first time since he moved back in with her, he feels free.
“I wasn’t excited for life when I was a young kid because I hated my life here,” he tells me. “But that changed when I moved in with my dad. I finally felt like a normal kid. I finally felt like I had a place in the world. But all that changed after my dad died. Now because of you, I finally feel like I have my life back. I mean, I’m still nervous and worried for what lies in the future, but I’m very excited as well. Mostly, I’m excited to see where life takes the two of us.”
I smile and lock my arms around his neck, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. “Don’t make fun, but I was up all night imagining our future.”
“Why would I make fun? What did you picture?”
“I imagined us buying this cute little house near an area with gorgeous woods. It’s the perfect place for you to work on your artwork because there’s so much nature for inspiration, but it’s close enough to civilization for my job at the hospital as a nurse or PA.”
He smiles as he gets a faraway look on his face. “I like the picture. How many kids do we have?”
I slap his arm. “I didn’t thinkthatfar into the future!”
He chuckles.
“The only thing that mattered was that we were happy,” I tell him. “And of course we needed a few extra bedrooms for the gang.”
“Oh, definitely,” he says. “What’s a happy life without our friends?”
“They miss you, too,” I tell him.
“I know. They tell me so every time I ask them to deliver a message to you. I really miss them, too. Not only did my mom take you away from me, but she took away my new friends. I barely had a chance to get to know them well enough, but I know we would have hit it off.” He shakes his head with a frown. “It’s ridiculous how she’s treating us like we’re little kids. We’re almost adults.”
“I know.” I stroke his head. “Let’s not talk about her anymore, okay? It just upsets you, and I hate seeing you upset.”
He nods as he caresses my cheek. “Thanks for caring about me, Sophie. I’ve never felt this loved since before my dad died.”
We bring our mouths together and kiss in a passionate and fervent manner. He holds me close to his body as though he wants to protect me from the world, from anyone who wants to hurt me or snatch away my happiness. This kiss is so different from the ones we shared in the past because it’s making up for all the ones we couldn’t have, and for the future ones that will be denied to us. And we’re also making a promise to each other. That no matter what happens, we’ll fight to be together. Even if that means we might have to sneak around for the next year and a half, or if she kicks me out of the school. We’ll find our way back to each other. Just like the heroes and heroines in my books do. Because when you meet the person you’re supposed to be with? You don’t stop fighting for him.
