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Annoyance battles with anger and fear as I watch her, stunned by this turn of events. My heart rate slows as a sense of betrayal wraps around me. But I begin moving toward her, afraid he’ll suddenly move and shoot her.
“Emma!” she screams, tears rolling down her face.
An older lady appears, along with another guy who I recognize from seeing him with William on campus. He puts his hands in the air as I point my gun at him.
“Whoa, man, don’t shoot. I just want to check on him.” He nods toward William.
I nod for him to proceed, keeping my gun trained on him as I hear the older lady crying.
“Can I check on him, too?” Her voice is soft and pleading.
I glance quickly at her, then at the guy, who is now squatted beside William. I nod at her, keeping the gun on the guy and William. Irelynn slowly stands, letting Emma take her place.
As Irelynn faces me, tears flow down her cheeks. “Please, Max, William saved my life. Don’t shoot him anymore. I t-think h-he’s still alive.” Her lips tremble and her chin quivers. Her big brown eyes plead with me as she draws closer.
Her hand reaches out, wrapping around my arm. “I love you, Max. Only you. But I’m asking you not to kill William.”
My eyes move to his prone body, blood seeping out around him.
I hear the sirens in the distance as she holds onto my arm, squeezing tighter, and my eyes lock with hers.
I stare at her for what seems like an eternity; the gun shaking in my hand. Those big, brown eyes I’ve dreamed of for so long are beseeching me to spare him.
Beneath the force of my betrayal lies the power of my love for her. It all boils down to two choices: Do I love and trust her enough to listen to her and spare him? Or do I shoot him and walk away from her, my heart and soul destroyed by this woman?
Slowly, I nod, lowering the gun in my hand.
She exhales and I give her a slow smile that builds, knowing I’m making the right decision. I’m listening to my heart and it’s telling me that while she feels some sort of friendship and gratitude toward him, she’s in love with me.
And she proves it when she falls against me, clinging to me so tightly I wince as she presses against my wounds, her apple cinnamon smell mixed with a different brand of shampoo as I wrap my arms around her.
“I love you, Max. Thank you for trusting me.”
I lower my head into her hair, my eyes on William.
Part of me feels pity because he loves her, and she’ll never love him.
The other part worries he’s going to come after her again.
“I love you, beautiful. And I trust you with my life.” I pull slightly back, studying her face that is alight with love and devotion to me. “But I need you to do one thing right now.”
Her eyebrows raise and she cocks her head slightly. “What do you want me to do?”
I pause, my hand that isn’t holding the gun sliding to her face, cupping her cheek. “Agree to marry me. Even without knowing my past, which I promise I will tell you as soon as I get you the fuck outta here. But right here, right now, tell me you want to spend the rest of your life with me.”
Her smile grows, and she sees everything I’m not saying when she answers. “I love you and trust you with all of me, Max. You are it for me. The love I’ve always wanted but never thought I’d have. The man I want to spend every single day of the rest of my life with.”
She pauses, her breath hitching, as more tears slide down her cheeks, some onto my thumb that still cups her face. “Even without knowing your past, which won’t make a difference to me, I can give you an immediate answer: Hell yes, I’ll marry you.”
Our mouths crash together as the pieces of my broken heart rise from their shattered remains, clicking and locking into place like pieces of a puzzle, fusing together and making me whole again.
All the weight I’ve carried for so long disappears, as I vow to love her so fully and completely. It will be as though my heart was never broken before.
We pull back slightly, our gazes locked together. “I promise to tell you everything that I’ve been holding back, all my stupid secrets and fears, knowing you will still love me as much as you do right now,” she says with a smile that lights up my world.
“Probably more so.” I laugh, my arms locking around her.
As the emergency personnel rush inside the house, my gaze remains on her. “I love you with all of me, Irelynn Rose. And I promise to tell you all my secrets, without fear that you’ll leave me.”
