Page 98 of Scars and Crowns

"I've stepped around fallen leaves . . . " I shake my head at myself. " . . . because some ridiculous part of me thought you wouldn't like me crushing them."

She laughs. Softly. Brokenly. It is the most beautiful sound I've ever heard. "I've lived entire days . . . " I swallow hard. " . . . seeing the world through your eyes." My lips stretches into a smile. "Even when you weren't there."

"I'd think . . . " Her smile grows. " . . . Daisy would love this sunset."

"She'd laugh at that child."

"She'd stop to pet that dog."

"She'd buy those books."

"I have spent seven years . . . " My throat tightens painfully. " . . . having conversations with you that only existed inside my own head." She presses her lips together. Trying not to cry. Failing beautifully. "I waited for you." The admission leaves me almost as quietly as breathing. "I told myself I wasn't."

"I convinced myself I'd moved on. I buried myself in work. In duty. In responsibilities. I accepted every burden that came with this crown."

"But every birthday . . . " I laugh once. " . . . I wondered where you were."

"Every festival . . . " My throat tightens."I wondered whether someone remembered to buy you your favourite sweets."

"Every time it rained . . . I hoped you weren't walking home alone." She breaks. A quiet sob escapes her before she can stop it. I move closer without thinking. Our knees touch now. "You ask me what's left in you worth loving." My hands tighten gently around hers. "Daisy . . . " I shake my head. "There is nothing left."

"Nothing was taken from you that mattered to me."

"I never loved you because you were untouched."

"I never loved you because life was easy."

"I loved that stubborn little girl who climbed trees higher than I could." A smile finds me. "I loved the teenager who stole jalebis and confessed within an hour because she felt guilty." My voice softens. "But this woman . . . " I look at her. Really look. "I love her even more."

"The woman who survived things I still can't imagine."

"The woman who raised our little girl with nothing except her own strength."

"The woman who came back to the place that once broke her heart . . . "

" . . . and somehow filled it with books."

"I don't see someone broken. I see someone impossibly brave. If anything . . . " Emotion catches in my throat. " . . . every year apart only gave me more reasons to love you."

Silence settles around us. Neither of us moves. Neither of us needs to. "I love you." The words come easier now. "I always have. I always will." I smile through eyes that are beginning to burn. "And whatever you choose . . . I will still love you."

"That was never the bargain."

"It never will be."

She doesn't answer. Not immediately. She simply looks at me. Really looks. The way she always has. Like she's searching beneath every word for the truth underneath it. I let her. I've got nothing left to hide. Then . . . She moves. It's almost unbearably slow. One hand holds mine. Her fingertips brush my cheek so lightly I barely feel them at first. My breath catches anyway. She cups my face. The warmth of her palm spreads through me like sunlight after years of winter.

I lean into it before I can stop myself.

God . . . I've wanted this for so long.

Her thumb brushes beneath my eye. Wiping away a tear I hadn't realised had escaped. "Yuvaan . . . " She whispers my name like she's saying it for the first time. Then she closes the distance. Her lips meet mine.

Soft.

Warm.

Tentative for only the smallest heartbeat. The moment I realise this is real . . . That she isn't pulling away . . . Something inside me gives way completely. A broken breath leaves my chest. My other hand rises instinctively to her face. It trembles so badly I have to curl my fingers gently against her jaw just to steady them. I've imagined kissing her more times than I could ever admit. None of those memories . . . None of those dreams . . . Ever came close.