We nod at each other and eventually, we drift apart. I feel miserable as I’m heading toward the garage to pick up my car. Louis runs after me, but I don’t have the time to hear him out. What on earth could he possibly want? Can’t he see I have more important matters than him? I ignore him, but he stops me by grabbing my shoulder from behind. I instantly shove him against the wall for the second time tonight.
“I just want to know if Elle is okay,” he defends himself, and I loosen my grip on his expensive dress shirt.
“What do you think?” I shout before swallowing my pride and stepping away from him. “Thank you, for what you did for her earlier.” Louis gives me a smile, and I hate myself for thanking him. I have only repugnance for him. He got to play the hero, while I remain the fucking villain.
“I’m sorry, Aaron.” He stares at the ground, zoning out. “When you have a moment, I’d like to talk to you on the track.”
“We have nothing to talk about, Louis.”
“I owe you an apology.”
Is he drunk? He has a defeated expression on his face I’ve never seen before, even on his worst days. The bastard is serious.
“I don’t have time for this.” I storm away, ready to get home to what really matters.
All I care about is her.
I can’t believe Aaron slammed the truth in my mother’s face. His expression was so dark and enraged. And now, I’m certain every one of the elite socialites will know what Stephan did to me. There is no point for him to lie anymore, everyone discovered his true colors. I should feel relieved, but on the contrary, I feel ashamed and weak. Sharing my darkest secret with Aaron was heartbreaking, but hearing the truth out loud from his voice made me realize I hadn’t healed completely of Stephan’s abuse. I wasn’t strong enough. I’m still ashamed and humiliated.
I hear Aaron’s voice calling out to me from the living room. But I don’t answer. Instead, I try to erase my tears, but I know my eyes have reddened since I’ve spent the past hour crying. When he enters my bedroom and sees what a mess I am, his dark expression softens as he kneels in front of me, his hands stroking my cheeks.
“I’m sorry, Elle.” He kisses my forehead, his eyes plunging into my soul. His touch is sweet and caring, contrasting with his feral and forceful expression of earlier. They all know Wolf as a cold, indomitable, all-alpha man. But I know him just as he truly is. Capable of the greatest and the worst. An extreme, only I could ease.
He gave me my closure, I shouldn’t be mad. But he stole it from me. I wasn’t ready to face how weak I am, to face the judgment on my mother’s face. Maybe I wasn’t ready to move on? Maybe I’m still punishing myself for having fallen into Stephan’s trap. To have been his victim. His toy. People will probably ask,Why didn’t you get out sooner?but no one apart from someone who had lived it can understand how manipulation is almost impossible to get away from. Tonight, I realize how blind I was, and it makes me want to punish myself. And so, I hide my emotions the best way I can, by pushing him away.
“You had no right, Aaron! You humiliated me in front of my mother! You showed her how weak I am.” I storm around the room, shame inking into my blood.
“If I hadn’t told her the truth, he would have stayed engraved in you. You can’t keep everything to yourself, Elle.” I stare over at him looking god-like, while I’m just a broken mess. He takes a careful step toward me. “I’m sorry, but it would have eaten you alive if you never spoke up. I know you weren’t ready. I know I acted like an asshole.” His fingers caress mine before he kisses my knuckles. “But sometimes you need someone to help you face your fears. You aren’t alone in this. I’m with you, and you don’t have to feel ashamed. You are wonderful.” He pulls me into his chest, his thumb brushing my back. “I wish I could tell you I regret what I did, but I don’t. Any of it. You’re mine, and I don’t want a part of your soul to belong to him and the atrocity of your past.”
I want to ease into his touch, I want him to make love to me. I need him physically, but I, too, need his whole soul to belong to me. Just like he wants all of mine. Aaron might be right, some truths are too hard to face alone, you need someone to pull you out from your nightmare, just likeEverlasting. But that applies to him, as well. I don’t own his whole soul; it still belongs to his dark past. He’s still hiding many things from me.
“What about you, Aaron?” I press my hands on his hard chest, my eyes looking up at him. “You said, sometimes you need someone to help you face your fears. Why don’t you sleep with me? Why do you leave after I fall asleep?”
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he whispers, reaching for my lips to kiss.
I shake my head, refusing his kiss. I know he’ll try to distract me, but I’m hell-bent. “Why? What are you afraid of? What are your nightmares about?”
“Elle. Don’t.” His jaw tenses as he takes my hands away from his chest.
“I won’t. You know the darkest part of me. You know what Stephan did. I trusted you with something I’m ashamed of. I’ve been worried you’d look at me differently. I lowered myself, sharing the most broken part of me. Tonight, you owe me the same truth.” I raise my voice, imploring him to let me in.
He walks across the room, ignoring me as his back faces me. Both of his hands are on the wall, his head down. My voice is sharp, I won’t let him escape me. “What happened to you, Aaron?”
“You’ll never look at me the same way. I can’t lose you,” he articulates painfully.
I walk toward him and clutch our hands together. He faces me, and I press my body against his. “You’ll never lose me. Nothing can push me away from you. What happened to you? What are you afraid of?”
“Elle, please don’t ask me that.” His eyes beg.
“Sometimes you need someone to face the truth with you. I’m that someone, Aaron. I need you to tell me. For me. For us.”
He tries to get away from me, but my weak body pulls him back on the wall, and he contemplates me with confusion. We both know he’s stronger than I am and can pull away at any moment, yet he doesn’t try to escape me. “I need you to explain to me, Aaron. Don’t run away from me again. I want all of you.”
“You’ll leave. You’ll be disgusted by me.” His voice hard, he stares at me shamefaced.
“I won’t. Let me prove it to you.” I take his face into my palms before kissing him passionately, tenderly, obsessively, letting him know he belongs with me. “I’m yours, Aaron, nothing will change that,” I whisper while our mouths collide. “I need you. If I’m significant, let me help, let me show you.”
Every muscles in his body tense as he breaks our kiss. His eyes meet mine, conflicted between darkness, pain, and fear. I nod, encouraging him, pulling myself in his embrace. When his calloused fingers caress my cheek, my lips, my neck, just as he’s looking at me for the last time, convinced he’ll lose me, I know he’s about to tell me the whole truth.
