Chapter Twenty-Eight
Daniel stood there, caught off guard by Edith’s question.
Her wide, searching eyes held him in place, her face pale beneath the bruises from her father’s strike.
The sharp purple and blue marks on her cheek were still fresh.
She looked up at him expectantly, her brow furrowed with pain and confusion.
She was asking for more than an answer—she was asking for security, for protection from the man who still had power over her life.
He exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck as he gathered his thoughts. The cabin felt smaller, the air thick with the tension between them. He couldn’t keep this bottled up any longer.
“Edith…” he began, his voice low and rough. “I don’t know if I’m enough for you. I’m not sure I’ll ever be. I’m too used to being alone. Too set in my ways.”
He watched as her gaze dropped, her shoulders slumping slightly, the energy draining from her.
She had been fighting for so long—against her father, against the fear that clung to her—and now she had to fight against his hesitation, too.
He could see it in her eyes: she was exhausted.
If every day of her life had been like this before she came to live with him, then no wonder she had been so sick, so frail.
The bruise on her cheek seemed to darken as the silence stretched between them, and guilt twisted inside him. He should have protected her better, should have prevented William from hurting her. But marrying her? That was something else entirely.
He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, running a hand over his face. “I’ve been on my own for so long that I don’t even know how to be with someone else. I don’t know if I can be what you need… what you deserve.”
The last words caught in his throat, but he forced them out. They were raw, heavy, but true. He had never imagined a life where he was responsible for someone else’s heart, someone else’s future. The idea terrified him.
“I’ve been alone for so long, Edith,” he continued, his voice strained.
“I’m used to it. I know how to survive like that.
But being with you… it’s different. It’s not just about me anymore.
And I’m scared. I’m scared I’ll fail you.
I’m scared I’ll hurt you or let you down in ways I can’t even imagine yet. ”
Edith looked up again, her tear-filled eyes searching his face. The desperation in them hit him hard. She wasn’t just asking him to marry her because she loved him—she was asking because she needed protection. Could it be both, though? Could she really care for him the way that he cared for her?
“Daniel, you’re not alone anymore,” she said gently, her voice trembling but full of determination. “And you don’t have to be perfect. I don’t need you to be perfect.”
Daniel shook his head, looking down at the floor. “But you deserve someone who is,” he muttered. “You deserve someone who can give you everything you need. A real family. I don’t know if I can do that.”
“Daniel—” Edith breathed, but he interjected.
“I never thought about being a husband. And I sure as heck never thought about being a father. I’ve lost too much. I’ve made too many mistakes. I don’t even know if I could be a good father… or if I even deserve to try.”
She took a tentative step closer, her hands trembling slightly as she reached out to him. “Daniel,” she said softly, her voice steady. “You’re not the only one who’s been hurt. You’re not the only one who’s scared.”
He looked up at her, his expression conflicted, as if he didn’t know whether to believe her or retreat further into the walls he had built. Edith took another step closer, closing the distance between them. She looked up at him.
“We’re more alike than you think,” she whispered, her gaze locking with his.
“I’ve spent my whole life feeling like I wasn’t enough.
Like I was nothing more than a burden to everyone around me.
My father… he made me feel small, like I wasn’t worth anything.
But being here with you, I’m starting to see that maybe—just maybe—I deserve more. ”
Daniel’s breath caught in his throat as her words hit him like a wave. He hadn’t expected her to open up like this, hadn’t realized how deeply her wounds ran. He had been so focused on his own brokenness, his own scars, that he hadn’t seen hers.
“You’re not damaged, Edith,” he muttered, shaking his head. “You’re stronger than I’ll ever be.”
She smiled sadly, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “Maybe I am strong, but I’m also damaged. Just like you.” Her voice cracked. “We’ve both been hurt. We’ve both been through things that have broken us, but that doesn’t mean we can’t heal.”
Daniel swallowed hard, his chest tightening at the vulnerability in her words. He wanted to protect her, to shelter her from the pain he carried, but Edith wasn’t asking for that. She wasn’t asking for perfection or promises he wasn’t sure he could keep. She was asking for him.
And she wasn’t backing down.
“We can heal together, Daniel,” she continued, her voice soft but filled with quiet strength. “You don’t have to do this alone. I don’t have to do this alone. We can figure it out, one step at a time.”
She reached up then, her fingers trembling as they hovered near his face.
Daniel’s breath hitched, and for a moment, he thought about pulling away.
But he didn’t. He stood still, his heart pounding in his chest as Edith’s fingers gently touched his scarred cheek, tracing the rough, jagged lines with a tenderness that made his throat tighten.
Her touch was so gentle, so careful, like she wasn’t just touching his scars—she was accepting them. Accepting him.
“These don’t scare me,” she whispered, her voice barely above a breath as her fingers continued to brush over the scars that marked his face. “They don’t change how I see you. They don’t make you less of a man. They make you human. And I love you for all of it.”
Daniel’s chest tightened painfully, the walls he had built so carefully around his heart crumbling with every word she spoke, with every tender touch of her fingers.
He didn’t know how to respond, didn’t know if he even had the words to convey what he felt in that moment.
All the fear, all the doubt, everything that had held him back for so long—it was all unraveling.
She did truly care for him, not just for the protection he offered her.
“Edith,” he rasped, his voice rough with emotion. He reached up, his hand gently covering hers where it rested against his cheek. He could feel her warmth, her strength, and it terrified him just as much as it comforted him. “I don’t know if I deserve you.”
Tears welled in Edith’s eyes, but she didn’t pull away. She stood her ground, her heart wide open. “Then let me decide what you deserve,” she whispered, her voice soft but firm. “Because I choose you, Daniel. Scars and all.”
Before he could think, before he could second-guess it, Daniel leaned down, his hand gently cupping her cheek as he closed the distance between them and kissed her.
This kiss wasn’t rushed, wasn’t born out of desperation like the others.
It was slower, more certain, as if in that moment, all his doubts and fears were pushed aside, and all that remained was the connection between them.
Edith kissed him back, her hands resting gently on his chest, the warmth of her touch grounding him. For the first time in so long, Daniel felt something other than the weight of his past—he felt hope.
When they finally pulled apart, he didn’t move far. His forehead rested against hers, their breaths mingling in the quiet of the room.
“I’m scared,” he whispered, his voice rough with emotion. The admission was like a release, the words spilling out before he could stop them. “I don’t know if I can be what you need, Edith. I don’t know if I’m strong enough to be the man you deserve.”
Edith’s hand came up to gently cup his face again, her thumb brushing against the rough texture of his scars, but there was no hesitation in her touch. No fear. Her eyes, full of warmth and determination, met his.
“I’m not scared,” she said softly, her voice steady and sure. “Not anymore. I’ve been through so much in my life—so much fear, so much doubt. But this?” She paused, her fingers tracing the line of his jaw. “This is the one thing I’m sure of. You and me.”
Her words hit him hard, like a lifeline in the storm that had been raging inside him for years. Daniel closed his eyes again, letting the truth of her words sink in. She wasn’t running. She wasn’t turning away from him. In fact, she was standing here, fighting for him, for them.
“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my whole life,” she continued, her voice barely above a whisper, but the conviction in her words was undeniable. “I love you, Daniel. And whatever comes next, we’ll face it together. I’m not afraid of what’s out there. Not with you by my side.”
Daniel swallowed hard, emotion thick in his throat.
How had he found someone like her? Someone who could see past the walls he had built and still want to be with him, scars and all?
He didn’t know if he could ever be the man she deserved, but for the first time in a long time, he wanted to try.
He wanted to believe that maybe, just maybe, he was worth fighting for.
“I love you, too,” he whispered, the words slipping out before he could stop them. And it felt right. Finally, it felt right.
Edith smiled softly, her fingers still resting on his cheek, her touch a quiet reassurance.
She didn’t need to say anything else—her presence was enough.
Together, they stood in the quiet cabin, the weight of the world outside its walls pressing in, but for now, in this moment, they were safe. Together.
Daniel swallowed hard, the words forming on his lips before he even had a chance to think them through. “Edith,” he began, his voice softer than he intended, his heart pounding in his chest.
She looked up at him, her eyes wide and curious but filled with a quiet kind of patience. The kind of patience that made him believe, even for just a moment, that maybe this wasn’t a mistake.
“I’m not perfect,” he said, his voice a little rough, the vulnerability making him feel exposed.
“I’ve never been a man who knows how to make promises, and I don’t have much to offer.
” He paused, his throat tightening. “But… if you’d have me, I’d spend the rest of my life trying to be the man you deserve. ”
Her lips parted slightly, her breath catching, but she didn’t speak. Daniel took a step closer, his hand lifting to brush a strand of hair from her face, his thumb lingering just beneath her cheek.
“I know it’s not the right time to ask you this,” he continued, his voice shaking slightly with emotion. “But I love you, Edith. And I want to protect you, not just because I promised I would—but because I can’t imagine a life without you in it.”
He took a deep breath. “Will you marry me?”
The words were out, and the world seemed to stop. He had said them. Finally. His heart pounded in his chest, and he waited, terrified of what she might say but also hopeful. Hopeful in a way he hadn’t been in years. He rushed to add, “It would protect you from your father, and you’d be safe—”
She stopped him, touching his face with a gentle laugh, tears standing in her eyes.
“Yes,” she whispered, her voice trembling with emotion. “Yes, Daniel, I’ll marry you.”