Page 64 of Between Love & Ruin

“I was so tired of him constantly throwing accusations at me, but I didn’t think he would be so cruel to me in public. I just—I thought he would have some faith in me. In our relationship—or whatever it had become. Turns out he just cared about me being his trophy girlfriend or something.”

She turns to look at me. Her eyes softened at my face.

“I couldn’t take it anymore. I just broke up with him on the spot.”

I don’t show it on my face, but that sentence alone has made me the happiest man on earth.

“You can smile, Dominic,” she says, a hint of a smile on her face. “I know this news makes you ecstatic.”

I chuckle, heat warming up my cheeks.

“You can’t blame a guy for being happy,” I admit because she sees right through me anyway. “I know it must have been hard for you, but I won’t lie, I am happy you broke up with him. Not because I might have a chance. But because I know he was sucking the life out of you.”

“I am proud of you,” I say with a smile.

I cup her cheek, and her breath hitches, and I do my best not to grin at the reaction. I know she wants me. But I would never take a step forward until she comes to me.

No matter how long it takes.

* * *

“I hate that you had to go through all this because of me,” I add, and I don’t think she realizes, but her hand is resting on my lap, and she has slowly moved closer to me. “I don’t know who it was who sent those pictures or the one who invaded our privacy earlier, but I promise you I will handle it all. You don’t have to go through anything alone as long as I exist.”

“Dom,” she says, holding both my hands in hers, and the level of peace that I get in the moment can’t even be matched with anything else in this world. Not when I win a deal. Not when my company does great numbers.

Just Sienna holding my hands in hers like it always belonged there.

“I—” She licks her lips, looking down, and I lift her chin with my fingers, urging her to look at me. Now that nothing is holding her or me back, I want her to constantly look at me. “I like you. A lot. I don’t know how or when it all started, but you have made me feel seen and cared for in a way no one ever has. I didn’t even like you in the beginning—you were too cocky for my liking.”

I can’t help but chuckle at that, and a smile warms up on her face, brightening her eyes and lighting up her whole face.

“But the more time we spent time together, the more I longed to be near you. But you have to know I have a lot of baggage with me. With my past ending so soon, my head is a mess. I would never do anything half-hearted, you know. So, if you were thinking that we would—”

“I would never do anything you’re not comfortable with, Sienna,” I cut her off. She looks so soft right now. So small and so adorable. I know she is confused. I know she thinks I will leave, and I can’t even blame her. Everyone in her life has left her at some point.

But what she doesn’t know is that I am physically incapable of leaving her alone.

“I love you, Sienna.”

I finally say the words that I have longed to say for a really long time. Her eyes widen, her face turning red, and I can see the tears spring back into her eyes, but I hold onto her face. The way her whole face fits in my hands is too adorable, just proving that she was made for me and I was made only and only for her.

“This isn’t exactly how I planned to confess my feelings, but it’s more important that you know. I love you. I loved you even when I didn’t know if you would ever feel the same way. I loved you even when there was no certainty that you would come back to me.”

Her eyes search my face, and I smile at her. She is the only one I would look at this way.

“So, what I’m trying to say, Sienna Hayes,” I mimic her words, and a teasing smile touches her lips, “is that I’m not going anywhere. It doesn’t matter if it takes you a month, two months, or even years to be ready to fully be with me. I’ll wait for you, however long it takes. Even if it takes the rest of my life, I’ll wait for you.”

“You know why?”

She shakes her head in a ‘no’, her teeth gnawing at her lower lip to the point it bleeds slightly.

“It’s because I have only ever loved you, cara mia. I belong to you, and I don’t plan on changing that ever.”

I lean down to press a firm kiss on her cheeks, and the way she pulls me closer is enough to tell me that she wants me in the same way I want her.

And that’s enough for me to last me a lifetime.

Sienna Hayes