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“You don’t have to force yourself to forgive them. Not right now. Take your time, Mark, feel it all.” I softly kiss his lips, and he responds, pulling me closer. “I’ll be here when you’re ready to move on. Take it from the woman who knows what it’s like to be betrayed. Family is a package of chaos and precious moments of happiness wrapped in mistakes and wrong choices. But it is our family, and we’re going to fix it.”
His honey gaze starts to simmer like flames of love and lust, mixing into the untamed need to reassure each other we are at home. We are safe. We are alive. I can’t look away or break the connection flowing from his soul to mine like two oceans reuniting. I’m drowning from a desperate need to feel his chiseled body on mine, his cock buried deep inside of me until we are unable to resurface and exist without each other.
“Be my forever, Cassandra.”
I gasp as he looks at me like an open book, ready to close this chapter of terror and start a new one written in love.
“Take my heartbeats,” he adds, kissing the sensitive skin on my neck and my pulse skyrockets. “Write our story with me.” His caramel gaze begs me not to deny him this.
“Mark,” I gasp, searching for his demons so I could soothe him, but I find not them but a gulf of love pouring into me.
“Be my wife until the ink fades and my heart stops beating.” He cups my face as I drink the words falling from his lips like a balm to my soul.
I know that for this intoxicating man, I will trample my worst fears and give up my life just for a chance to be filled with happiness. But mostly to infuse his life with love and a sense of belonging he was denied since he was a child.
“If that’s how long we have,” I whisper, kissing his lips and little cuts close to his eyes. “I’ll take every heartbeat you offer.” I touch his heart, letting the solid thuds beat into my palm. “I’ll be yours forever.” I exhale as he steals my breath away with a kiss.
“Why didn’t you tell me about Logan and you?” I ask when we come up for air.
“Because I didn’t want to live in his shadow. Or be loved because you saw him in me. To see you questioning yourself if what you feel for me is real.” He points to his chest. “I questioned this connection enough for us both.”
Even if I understand his logic, it still stings that he didn’t trust me. But it also makes sense why it took this long for him to open up about this. He wanted to build our relationship first.
“Was me working at Fading Ink a coincidence?”
He shakes his head. “No. I drew you in. I watched over you since the day you woke up at the hospital. I knew you were struggling with your in-laws, looking for a way out. So, I gave you a chance to build your life outside their world. I didn’t expect that it would be so hard to deny this pull or not to fall for you,” he admits then locks his searching gaze on me. “Why did you let them do this to you?”
I don’t pretend I don’t know what he’s talking about.
“Guilt. I felt like I’m indebted to them. Logan’s death ruined their family. I wanted to help. Fix it somehow. I knew what they were going through. But it wasn’t the best decision since I was struggling with my own issues. Add identity crisis to the list, and you’ll get why it took me so long to see through the bullshit and break free.”
“I thought as much,” Mark mutters.
“You didn’t tell me you had heart problems . . .”
“I was diagnosed with heart failure disease in my teens. Even if the Cades gave me the best care money could buy, my condition worsened over the years. I was placed on the heart transplant list. To be honest, I didn’t think I’d live long enough to get it. But then one night everything changed. I lost my brother but got his heart.”
I swallow my emotions, not able to speak.
“You know what the hardest part of owning someone else’s life is?”
I shake my head, fighting the tears.
“That everyone expects you to be what they lost. That I have this huge responsibility not to ruin it. As if my own life somehow isn’t mine anymore.”
And he was fighting to be free all his life. Free of his demons. Free of his captor. Free of debts. Free of pain. Free to make his own decisions. Even his business was built to give him the freedom not to depend on anyone. And yet Logan’s heart was able to bind him to the Cades and me. And then you’re bound by the honor. You are bound for life.
“The only way you could fail this second chance is if you live to satisfy someone else’s expectations. You are bound, Mark. But not by chains. Not indebted to sacrifice this life but to own it. Every day, every decision, every piece of happiness or sadness. Everything bad and good and in between. So, don’t waste it.”
“I won’t,” he croaks, eyes sparkling at me. “We won’t,” he vows, bringing my hand to his mouth. And I believe him.
Epilogue
Two years later
~Cassandra~
“Mom, baby brother’s awake.” Leon barges into the study I use to work from home, out of breath, holding a baby monitor. The cries pierce the office, and I jump to my feet, sprinting after him. “Mom, hurry up,” he urges me as he runs ahead of me.
