35. Chapter 35
Chapter 35
-Kace-
I knew what I was telling Annabella was not fun to hear. But I had met men like Zac before. The validation he got from others or even from the woman he was playing with was so vital to him that losing that was just not an option.
Annabella may have been sent to me, but no one expected us to make it work. No one thought we could be a couple or be happy together, and I knew it ruined Zac’s plans that we were.
“Am I really his booster?” she mumbled.
“Unfortunately. You’re the way he gets validation,” I explained.
“He is such an ass, and I didn’t even know it!”
Annabella placed her hands over her eyes, and I could see how hard this was for her to accept. I reached out, placing my hand on her hip, hoping to offer her some comfort. It was not like I could just stand up and hug her.
“I'm not crying!” she told me, lowering her hands, but her eyes were red.
“Of course not.” I placed my other hand on her waist, then turned her to me and brought her a little closer. “Why would you ever cry over such an idiot?”
“Exactly,” she said, but she sniffled, clearly very upset, and I felt bad about that. I pulled her closer, and she slipped down onto my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck and burying her face in the crock of my neck. I felt warm all over, glad she was finding some comfort in me. I kept holding her until she pulled back, looking a little better. “Why me?”
The way she asked me just broke my heart. I didn’t know I could feel this way. Anna almost begged me with her eyes for an answer as to why Zac had acted this way, and not just Zac. Her entire family and the people around her, but if there was something awful about all humans, it was that we tended to follow the majority.
“Sometimes people are just cruel,” I whispered, stroking my hand down her back.
Anna was playing with the buttons in my shirt, clearly not sure what to say, but then she stroked her hand a little lower, placing it over where the big scars were from my accident. She had already seen them, but we hadn’t really discussed it. I wondered if she felt repulsed by them.
“It was a motorcycle accident, right?” she asked.
“It was. The car drove right into me,” I explained.
“Shit…”
“And I was the idiot who didn’t have enough protective gear on. At least my face was saved,” I chuckled, making her smile a little while she continued to run her fingers along my chest, as if she were touching the scars directly. I had them on most of my body. “A lot of bones were shattered and organs damaged. I didn’t need a transplant, but it was close. Luckily, I was able to come back from it all. My spine took a hit as well. I was bedridden for weeks, ordered not to move as they waited for me to recover, so they could figure out how extensive the damage was. Even after weeks, I had trouble moving my legs, but I received a lot of physical therapy, which eventually restored my ability to walk a little.”
“Wow…” she whispered almost absentmindedly, making me wonder what she was feeling in the moment.
“Do they scare you?” I asked her.
“No, I just wonder all the ways it could have gone so much worse for you,” she whispered.
“Okay then…”
She laughed, shaking her head, and it made me smile.
“No! It’s not like I wish it could have gone worse. It’s just interesting. It’s something we can’t control at all. In those moments, we are truly powerless. You could have landed in a different way that wasn’t even that different from your original position and shattered your ribs, punctured your lungs, and died on the spot,” she pointed out.
“I could have,” I agreed.
“It’s a scary thought, and then who would I have married?”
“I see. So you are glad that you married me, or are you still waiting for someone else?”
She shook her head. “No, I'm quite happy with the match so far.”
“So far?”
She smiled and leaned closer, kissing my cheek. I turned my head, then kissed her lips and heard her moan, but I wouldn’t make any moves tonight. She had been through enough for one night. So I pulled back and told her to get ready for bed.
I would go to the bathroom afterward. Things went faster when I could walk around, but she couldn’t quite see that. When I was done and had removed my clothes, I got in bed with Anna, who seemed exhausted. I could understand if she was. I reached out, stroking my hand down her hair, and she moved closer to me. I held my arms open, and she came to snuggle against me.
“I think you should permanently move into this room,” I told her.
She looked shocked. “Are you sure?”
“Are you not?” I asked.
She smiled sweetly, then she nodded. “I think it would be a good idea to try, and I stay mostly here at the moment.”
“We can just keep a little clothing in the other room, but I want the majority here,” I stated.
“I can agree with that,” she whispered.
I leaned closer and kissed her, and she smiled so happily when I pulled back.
“Don’t think too much about tonight,” I told her.
“It’s hard not to.”
“I know, but he doesn’t deserve to take up so much space inside you. I should be the only one to claim that space,” I whispered huskily, hearing the soft laughter that escaped her as she understood my double meaning.
“I think we can work that out,” she whispered.
“Yeah?” I inquired.
“Definitely.”