35. Annalise
35
ANNALISE
W hen I saw him, I felt my entire being getting shattered because of the many feelings that engulfed me. He looked at me in a way he never did, and this time, I felt our hearts beating for each other.
I ran towards him, wrapping my arms around his body, and the moment he hugged me back with his warmth, I felt the tears falling down my face. They rolled down my cheeks and met at the middle of my chin.
He was here. He came for me. He saved me from this place.
“Oh, God,” he murmured between my hair strands.
His fingers found their way to my lower back and the next moment, he raised me from the ground and started spinning. I wrapped my hands around his neck and placed a kiss on his soft skin.
I didn’t know how much I needed him until now. This was the first time I felt I could properly breathe. He was everything I needed to love living the life I had.
“I knew you would come for me,” I said, opening my eyelids to see around us.
I could only see Ender’s mansion and all I remembered was the last twenty four hours I lived. But the past didn’t matter anymore. I was safe now in Maksen’s hands and that was all I needed.
“Let’s go back home,” he whispered, placing me on my feet again.
I looked him in the eyes as my hands fell on his shoulders. “I am at home.”
He gave me the most kind smile he had, running his thumb over my lower lip, then placed a gentle kiss on my lips. I needed more of him.
“We are at home wherever we are together,” he murmured over my lips, then kissed me again.
The tears didn’t stop rolling on my face and I knew he could taste them as he kissed me. But he didn’t care. He devoured my lips in a way that made me feel like I was able to fly high in the sky.
My stomach twirled when his tongue caressed mine.
My blood boiled when his fingers dug into my skin.
My heart beat faster knowing the man I loved was kissing me.
“I’ll never let anything like this happen again, Annalise,” he whispered over my lips and gave me another kiss.
“It’s not your fault this happened,” I said, taking a quick break to catch my breath. “As you said in the beginning, there are many people out there who would love to hurt me just to get revenge on my father.”
His jaw clenched, but he didn’t say anything. He just kissed my forehead and led me to his car. I jumped in the seat after he opened the door for me, then I waited patiently for him to drive us away from this place.
He took me out of here and I was safe for now, but I felt it in my bones. This wasn’t the end, it was just the beginning.