Chapter 19
DAPHNE
Cheeks stained with tears, I bit my quivering lip to muffle my last few sobs. I didn’t know how long it had been since Apollo brought me to his house, but he was still kneeling in front of me, his brown eyes soft and his hands making small circles on my thighs.
My arms felt heavy, so heavy, my mind a mess of emotions I couldn’t untangle.
What had just happened? Why had Mark taken me? Kidnapped me? I hadn’t done anything to him. If Apollo hadn’t come to save me, what would’ve happened?
A shiver ran down my spine, and I squeezed my eyes closed.
No… No, I don’t want to think about it.
“You’re safe with me,” Apollo murmured.
Tears burned my eyes, and I blinked them away, and by away, I mean that they rolled down my cheeks only for Apollo to catch them. He swiped them away with his thumbs and gently captured my face in his hands.
“I got you,” he mumbled. “I got you. I promise.”
Another sob left my mouth, and I threw my arms around his shoulders and tugged him closer. I hated real-life physical affection. I hated that he kept pushing to show me who he truly was. I hated how I felt about him.
Yet, I didn’t want him to leave. He had saved me.
And that was what made this harder. He wasn’t what I thought he was. I had built him up in my head as this arrogant, selfish piece of shit who only cared about himself, but if he only cared about himself, then he wouldn’t have saved me.
He wouldn’t have torn up Redwood to find me.
He wouldn’t have made a deal with Poison to help him.
He wouldn’t have cared.
“Daphne,” he whispered softly, pulling me out of my thoughts. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
I wiped my face with the edge of the blanket that he wrapped around me, my throat raw and my heart still pounding heavily in my chest. Mark was dead, but I still couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d be back to hurt me.
“If I’m just a challenge to you, why…” I hiccuped. “... why’d you come find me?”
His eyebrows knotted together. “Daph…”
“You heard me. Why’d you come find me?”
“Because I love you.”
I didn’t know why I had to have him say it again, but I… I just couldn’t believe it.
“Because I love you, Daph. I will tell you as many times as you need me to.” He rested his forehead against mine, his lips millimeters from my skin, his eyes closed softly, and his fingers making small, comforting circles. “I love you. I love you. Gods, I love you.”
Another stray tear fell down my cheek. “You’re not what I thought you were.”
“What’d you think I was?”
“Another cocky guy who thinks he can have anything—or anyone—he wants. Someone who I can’t trust, because I don’t want to trust you. I don’t want to trust anyone. I don’t want to be hurt. My family is cursed with bad relationships.”
He took my hands in his larger ones. “I know you don’t want to trust me, but you can. I know I’ve made it hard for you to trust me because of what I said, but I mean what I said to you. I’ll do whatever I can to prove myself to you.”
“This is a lot for me,” I whispered.
“I can be a lot, I know,” he said with a soft smile. “I’ll try to be better.”
“No, it’s not you. It’s me.” Because, really, it was me. “And I’m scared.”
I pulled my head away slightly and reached out before I could stop myself, brushing my fingers across his face. He leaned, almost unconsciously, into my touch, his eyes fluttering closed. “I haven’t felt any kind of love from a woman, from anyone, since my mom died.”
My eyes widened. “Your mom died?”
“In a car accident a few years ago,” he whispered. “A snowstorm.”
Tears filled my eyes again, mirroring him. “Apollo, I–”
“When I saw your car on the side of the road, buried in snow…” He stopped and looked away, tears wavering in his eyes. “I thought that I had lost you too, and I didn’t know what I was going to do. I have only known you for less than a month, but it feels like I’ve known you forever.”
“I’m so sorry,” I said, another sob leaving my mouth. “I shouldn’t have left.”
“Don’t apologize,” he murmured. “It’s my fault for letting that rumor start.”
I opened and closed my mouth a handful of times. “If I give you a chance… if I let myself believe you, will you promise not to hurt me? Please, promise me. I… I don’t think… I don’t want to think…” I trailed off, not even knowing where I was going with this anymore.
He curled his fingers into my thighs. “I killed for you, Daph. I’m not going anywhere.”
My breath caught, and for a moment, something warm filled my body.
Something that I didn’t dare name yet.
“Okay,” I whispered, leaning my forehead against his. “Okay, let’s do this.”
Maybe my family was cursed, but I’d rather break this curse for good, rather than letting it control every part of my life. I’d rather give him a chance and get heartbroken over and over, because this feeling inside my chest…
It was worth fighting for.