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"I was ashamed of how badly I hurt you," Ianora sobbed. "And scared that Johnathan would find out that you were the one I wanted to be with. He is the only one I could ever imagine being capable of hurting you.Killingyou. It seemed far less painful to observe you from afar and risk getting married off to another man in the process than come back to you and bring Johnathan's wrath with me."
"I would have fought tooth and nail to keep you by my side," Castor growled. "I would have died happily decades ago if only I had known then that you loved me. Instead, my hate for you, my longing, it's become this twisted disaster, this curse that holds onto my heart and body—my home."
"It's all my fault," Ianora said. "I know that now. If I could take it all back...if I could go back to that day and stay with you instead..."
He held her tighter, then brought his mouth down to hers. She moaned into his mouth, their lips fitting together perfectly, like two pieces of a whole. She kissed him back desperately, accepting the kiss as their shared apology to each other for all the hardship they'd caused one another over the years.
"Say nothing more of it," Castor said, "because you're here now, and I love you more for the woman you are now. We still have eternity ahead of us, my love, I'll make sure of that."
He wiped Ianora's tears away with his thumbs. "I...I love you too, Castor. With my whole heart. But what about Johnathan? I saw him at the party. He knows I'm here with you. It's only a matter of time until he comes for me."
"Let him come. We'll be ready. He'll never lay a hand on you again so long as I'm nearby. Do you trust me?"
Looking into Castor's dark gray eyes, she saw the hint of glacial blue they'd once been. A hint of the man beneath the monster. Seeing the pure love in his eyes, the drive and anger, she knew without a doubt that she loved him more than anything in the world.
"I trust you," she said at last. "With my heart and soul."
Ianora's heart raced faster than ever before. Now that Castor knew the truth behind why she had run away from him, perhaps they could move past this painful chapter and into a new one, one filled with love.
So long as the past didn't come back to devour them whole.
Chapter 18 - Castor
Days passed: uneventful, lazy, and yet every second was beautiful because he spent them with Ianora, the love of his life.
How he wished they could have spent thousands of days just like this with Ianora sooner, but alas, it was not meant to be. He would simply have to savor every moment they had together and hope it would be enough.
In the days that came and went, they went on moonlit strolls, and lay in bed together, whispering tales of the past while enjoying each other's bodies. He told her everything about the decades they had been apart and about his life, his friends, his isolated descent into madness. It was liberating to finally tell someone the whole truth about himself instead of just the parts he wanted them to know.
And Ianora listened with rapt attention, never judging or looking at him differently, no matter how dark some of his stories were. She accepted him for who he was and loved him all the more for it.
Ianora, too, told him everything, the good and the bad.
His anger at her subsided as he learned more about what had happened to her after she left him. The abuse she endured from Johnathan...it made Castor's blood boil. No woman, no matter who they were, deserved to be treated like that.
But Ianora was strong. She had fought through the pain and come out the other side a survivor.
Castor vowed to himself that he would do whatever it took to keep her happy and safe for the rest of their days together. He would move Heaven and Earth if it meant keeping her by his side and making her smile.
There were still moments when he would catch her looking at him with a sad sort of longing, as if she were worried he would disappear at any moment and this would all turn out to be a dream. But then she would blink, and the look would be gone, replaced by a happy smile.
He did his best to avoid talking about Johnathan or the curse, not wanting to upset her needlessly. But one day, she brought it up herself as they were lying in bed together after making love.
"I know you're worried about Johnathan," she said, "but you don't need to be. I trust you."
Her words filled him with a warmth and strength he had thought lost to him long ago. With Ianora by his side, he felt like he could take on the world again.
"That means the world to me. But until we know for sure that Johnathan is gone...I won't rest, even if it means tearing the world apart to finish him off."
And Ianora simply smiled and pulled him closer, her lips brushing against his in a featherlight kiss. "How about we stop worrying about destroying the world for five minutes and enjoy the time we've carved out together instead?"
Castor flipped her over in bed, hovering over her as his hands greedily slid down her sides. "I'll gladly spare a few minutes for the love of my life, but I can't promise more than that."
They made love frantically and slowly, roughly, and softly, and nothing they did was enough. They needed more of each other, more time. But Castor would take whatever time he could get with her now and make up for what they'd lost.
They laughed, they danced, they made love beneath the stars. All was right in the world so long as they were together.
But as Ianora already knew, Johnathan knew she was here with him now.
