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“That’s understandable,” I whispered. “She left you—her kid, Seb. That’s inexcusable.”
He brushed his thumb along my skin, and I took it as what it was—a silent thank you for understanding that and not making excuses for her.
“Dad took his aggression out on me. But instead of me cowering down and taking it like my mom, I got angry. He and I were too much alike, and the older I got, the more that rage bubbled to the surface. I got bigger so I could fight back. And when we fought, it was ugly. Both of us blacked out, not remembering shit afterward. We only had the blood and bruises and broken bones to show for the fight.”
I swallowed thickly, brushing my hands over his dirty t-shirt, right over his chest. I wanted to take his pain and trauma and make it my own so he wouldn’t have to suffer anymore. This was killing me. He’d done nothing to deserve that.
“I haven’t blacked out in a long time. Not since Adler took me in and gave me a place to heal and forced me into therapy. Not since I found that safe place. But seeing that fucker put his hands on you—I was okay until you looked sick. Until you looked fucking horrified.” He rested his forehead on mine, his gray eyes boring into my green ones. “Even now, I don’t feel bad about it, Athena,” he whispered, his voice trembling, like he was afraid what my reaction to those words might be.
I cupped his neck with both hands, my thumbs brushing over his strong jaw. “I love you, Seb,” I whispered. He closed his eyes for a moment, breathing in deeply like he was inhaling my words into his being. “I love every piece of you. And I don’t care how often you have to ride off to get yourself together. You do what you need to. You just remember that I am always here waiting on you to come back home.”
A ragged breath ripped from his lungs. His eyes opened, locking on mine. “I don’t fucking deserve you.”
I brushed my lips to his. “You deserve every good thing in the world, Seb. Everything.”
He brushed his nose with mine and closed his eyes as I wrapped my arms around him, holding him tight to me. I would never be able to take away his pain or the horror of his childhood. But I could make sure his future was happy and warm, filled with sunshine and laughter.
And I would do that until the end of my days.
epilogue
Seb
Within a couple of weeks of me being back home, I was practically living with Athena. When we weren’t working, we were spending every waking moment with each other. Eventually, she told me to just get my shit and move into her apartment. And that was that for our living situation. I didn’t even bother putting up an argument since I hated being away from her.
She was blossoming in her new role as Cecily’s assistant. She handled the pressure like a fucking champ, and I seriously could not be more proud of the woman she was becoming and growing into. Even her grandparents were so proud of her, they braved the strip club and brought her a cake to work, where they inevitably met me.
Thankfully, I won them over, though I didn’t do much besides what I normally did, which was mostly just dote on and take care of Athena.
“You sure you’re ready to do this?” Athena asked me, her fingers twining with mine once she was out of my truck and the passenger door was shut behind her.
I nodded and squeezed her hand, silently letting her know that I was more than okay with this. I wanted her to be my wife. It hadn’t taken me long to convince her, really. Mostly, I just had to assure her that I was ready for this kind of commitment. So what if we’d only known each other six months? The moment I’d laid my eyes on her in that club, I knew she would become my everything.
And she had.
After setting my truck keys and our folder of paperwork into the bin inside of the courthouse, I walked through the metal detector, and then Athena quickly followed behind me.
“Where do we go for our marriage certificate?” Athena asked the balding security officer. She always did this—ask people for directions or information when we were together. It left me in my comfort zone. I was a true introvert, but Athena? She loved to talk.
“Right down that hall there,” the officer pointed. “Last door on your left, hun,” he told her with a kind smile. “Congratulations, you two.”
I nodded once at him in respect. Athena beamed and latched onto my hand again once I had my keys and our documents back in my possession. She pulled me to a stop outside of the room we needed, and I immediately turned to face her, arching an eyebrow at her perfect face.
