Page 99 of Between Love & Ruin

She hums in my hold, her voice still a little distant.

“My grandfather used to say that it was a Wolfe trait. That we could see right through people.”

She stiffens slightly, and I smile, tightening my hold on her waist.

“So you know when you get lost in your head or when you hide from me, I can see right through it.”

“I am not—” she starts, and I prop my head on my hand and take a good look at her, letting my eyes roam over that face I fell in love with a long time ago. Before knowing if we could be together or not.

“You don’t have to tell me,” I tell her, knowing she will guilt-trip herself into telling me what is eating her alive, and I would hate that.

I would hate myself for making her do that.

“But you know I would never, ever want you to go through anything alone. I love you, and I love you with everything you have. Your doubts, your insecurities, your overthinking—the good and the bad. I hate to see you shut yourself out like this.”

I grab her chin and bring her eyes level to mine, the ones that always make me feel everything all at once.

The ones that have managed to heal me with just one look.

“I am just—” she starts, and I give her the space to open up. “I think my feelings are a little out of place. Everything is happening too fast, and I don’t mind it at all. I am just scared of all of this going away just as quickly as it came.”

She sighs, running her fingers on my face, her touch light and tentative. It’s funny how my body responds to even the lightest of her touches.

The way my heart just springs to life when her skin meets mine.

“I just need to ask you something, and I want you to tell me the truth, no matter how hard or ugly.”

I nod, not knowing where she’s going with this.

She licks her lips, once and then twice, as if trying to find the courage to speak.

“Do you—are we somehow connected by our past? Is there something that I should know?”

My heart stutters in my chest. Where did that come from?

Did Myra say something again? God, I never should have let her be involved in this matter. I should have fired her the moment she crossed the boundaries I laid out.

I don’t fucking care that I looked after her, that I treated her like a sister when all she has been trying to do is drive the only purpose, the only reason why I am alive—truly alive— away from me.

“I know that we have some similarities in our lives. Both of us grew up with little to no memory of our parents. God, it’s almost funny that they died the same tragic death. But is there something more to us that I should know?”

I have never been nervous in my life. Never been afraid of anything. But the moment the mention of our parents leaves her lips, my breath lodges in my throat.

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” I tell her. Of course, I can’t tell her the truth.

Especially when I have no clue how she will react. Not when she is so vulnerable, so volatile already.

I never intended to hide the truth from her, but I wanted us to build our foundation so strong that no amount of intrusion could topple it.

But I didn’t know people I trusted would come and attack me this way.

“Are you sure? Dominic, I have never laid my heart bare to someone as I have with you. I feel like it’s almost scary how much I love you, how much I trust you, and how safe I feel with you. I have never been this transparent with anyone as I have been with you. So, please, don’t hide anything from me.”

A stray tear slips past her eye, shattering my heart into pieces.

God, I hate the sight of her tears.

“I know what this means to you, Sienna,” I cup her cheek, forcing her to look at me, to know that I won’t do anything to hurt her. “I promise you, baby, I would never, ever lie to you. I would never hurt you.”