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“Caden!” I scream into the crowd as I shove people out of the way.
Someone tries to grab and congratulate me, but I slither out of their hold.
“Caden!” I repeat, running through the crowd. “Wait!”
I run after him outside. It’s pouring with rain, hitting against my hot, sweaty skin. He’s just a tall, dark form barely visible through the curtain of water the sky is dropping on us. Just a shape walking out of my life.
“Caden!” I scream with despair. The heavy drops against the asphalt of the parking lot make it sound like a low whisper. So I run. I sprint to him with the little energy I have left, and when I’m close enough behind him, I say, “I know everything.”
He freezes on the spot. His car is nowhere close, so he can’t escape the situation easily. He turns around, confusion twisting his features.
“What?”
“I know, Caden. Where you were that night.”
He glances away, his jaw locking tightly. In the pouring rain, black hair sticks to his face, long enough to fall into his eyes. His dark green eyes would look black in the night if it weren’t for the yellow lamp post flickering not far from us.
When he looks at me again, he takes me in, his gaze going up and down a few times.
“You should go in, Billie. It’s freezing, and you’re barely wearing anything.”
I’m trembling from the cold, only wearing my gloves, MMA shorts, and sports bra. I’m soaked to the bone, yet I shake my head. “I’m fine.”
He takes a step closer to me, like he can’t stop himself, and I do the same because IknowI can’t stop myself.
Only a few inches away from me, he raises a hand to my chin, tilting my head up so he can look at me comfortably. Rain is falling in my eyes, making me blink up at him. With his other hand, he wipes some blood and water from the corner of my eye.
“Caden,” I say softly. “Ethan told me everything.”
A grin spreads on his lips. The kind that chills me down to my core. He’s trying to detach himself from the situation, and I refuse to let him.
“Can’t trust a friend nowadays,” he says low.
“He did the right thing. I-I’m sorry. For what you’ve been through. What you did for me.”
He ignores my words. Instead, he leans down, dropping a kiss to the skin just below my ear. “You were amazing tonight.”
My lower stomach tightens, his warmth bringing back a need for him I can’t control. When he pulls away and lets go of me, I shiver from his absence.
“I love you, Caden. I wish I’d been there for you like you were for me.” My throat tightens. “I was so focused on myself.” A sob explodes from my throat. “You sacrificed everything for me, and I was tooselfishto see it. But the win, the career…none of it matters if you can’t be by my side. I told Ethan the universe had given me a chance because I didn’t know it was you. I wasn’t wrong…youaremy universe, Caden.”
“I hurt you, Billie. If it helps you to say goodbye, if it helps to hate me so you can move on, then remember all the times I hurt you. The assault. The videos. When I made you crawl in front of my crew. Remember the times I forced you and made you cry. Remember that you had reasons to hate me.”
“No,” I shake my head, fat tears stinging the wounds on my face. “None of that matters if it brought us together. I don’t…I don’t care. I’ve forgiven you for that, and it’s my choice to make, not yours.”
“You know what I think about your choice,” he sneers.
“You said you’d wait until I was ready to love you again. Except you hid all the reasons for which I could love you. You’ve always let everyone see you as a villain. You never let anyone see your sacrifices! I see them now. I seeyou.”
“Heroes get the girl. Villains sacrifice themselves,” he shrugs. “Go find your hero somewhere far away from here, little bee. You deserve it.”
“No.” My voice is so hard his eyebrows rise all the way to his hairline. “Be mine, Caden. Bemyvillain. Take my heart and keep it for yourself. Tell me you still love me, and we will fix this.”
Coming close again, he kisses the corner of my lips.
“You want to know if I still love you?” He chuckles against my skin, like it is a ridiculous question.
I wrap my arms around his waist, making sure he can’t go anywhere this time.
