Chapter Thirty-One - Elise
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Elise
There’s no way I heard him correctly because if I did, that means Joshua has officially lost his mind.
“Excuse me?”
“Marry me, Elise.”
Yeah, he’s insane.
I try to scramble off his lap, but his grip on me tightens.
“Let me go!” I struggle against his chest to no avail.
“Just listen to me.”
But I can’t breathe.
Joshua finally loosens his hold with a huff, and I clamber off him.
“Calm down, you—”
“Calm down? You just asked me to marry you, and now you’re telling me to calm down? I know you’re new to relationships, but you’re skipping a few steps. I barely know you.”
He opens his mouth to speak, but I don’t let him. “This is insane, Joshua. You can’t expect me to just—”
“Would you shut up for five seconds and let me explain?”
It’s a tone I know all too well from our fights, and though it doesn’t scare me, it does effectively silence my objections.
“Better. Now, I’m going to explain, and you’re going to listen,” he informs me.
I cross my arms over my chest but nod.
“I am fully aware that this is unorthodox, but to be fair, that’s how things have been for us from the start.”
He has a point.
“You said you want to have it all—your family, your life, and me, right?”
I nod again.
“Then this is the only way. If you and I were to be married, it would act as a sort of…treaty with your father. A union like that would bring our families into an alliance that could benefit everyone. As allies, you’d be free to see your family, and more than that, Mason wouldn’t exactly be a traitor. ”
The words bounce around my head, and I try to make sense of what he’s telling me.
“Elise,” he says, and his tone softens at the conflict in my expression. “This could be really good for our families.”
There it is. The real reason he’s doing all of this.
“So, nothing’s changed.”
“What?”
“You don’t want me.”
Genuine confusion twists his face. “What are you talking about?”
“You only said you were falling in love with me because your original blackmail plan didn’t work. But if I marry you, you get what you want anyway. This was all just another way to use me as a pawn against my father.”
Joshua gapes like I’ve slapped him across the face.
“Are you out of your damn mind?”
The intensity in his tone has me taking a step back, but he’s not having that. Striding toward me, Joshua grips my shoulders before I can get very far.
“Do you honestly believe that?”
I can’t bring myself to do anything but stare wide-eyed into his fiery gaze.
“Dammit, Elise, answer me! Do you honestly believe I’m using you right now?”
“I—I don’t know!”
His lips crash violently against mine, devouring me with every ounce of the aggression his tone carried. My reaction is the same as it always is when his lips meet mine—I give myself to him.
My arms wrap around his neck, and that familiar warmth seeps through my clothes, soothing the very core of my being. The same peace I always feel from his touch eases the uncertainty waging in my heart.
Joshua breaks the kiss. “Tell me you believe it now.”
I’m gasping for breath, unable to do anything but stare helplessly at him.
“Don’t question my feelings for you again, understand?”
My head nods on its own as though my body knows what my mind is still learning—Joshua’s feelings for me are genuine.
“I’m not using you to get to your father. I have no intention of taking the territories that I was originally after. My only intention is to have you.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Joshua lets go of my shoulders and takes my hand, leading me back to the blanket. We sit and he lies me down so my head rests in his lap. His fingers run absentmindedly through my hair, and the gesture calms my still-racing heart.
“If an alliance would benefit both families, then why wasn’t that your original plan?”
“I wasn’t trying to benefit both families. I was trying to benefit my family. I wanted power, not a partnership.” His hand lightly brushes my cheek. “But now I want you, and the only way to do that without starting a war is an alliance.”
“Why marriage? Can’t you just negotiate an agreement?”
His lip turns up. “Your father wants to kill me. After everything that’s happened, he won’t agree to anything I have to offer. Marriage, however, is a union strong enough to persuade him. He’d be forced to legitimately consider making a deal.”
“Are you saying there’s a chance he’ll ignore it and try to kill you anyway?”
“A chance I’m willing to take for you.”
Well, I asked for a way to have it all, and Joshua is offering me just that. So then, why do I feel so conflicted?
“You don’t have to decide right now,” he tells me.
“How long do I have?”
“Well, you promised me a month. At the end of that time, you can choose to go, but if you stay—”
“If I stay, we get married,” I finish, and he nods. “How long have you known it would come to this?”
“Since I asked you to stay,” he admits. “I was waiting for the right time to talk to you about it. And I was waiting for this—”
He reaches into his jacket pocket and I sit up at the same time Joshua pulls out a small box.
My heart leaps in my chest when he opens it to reveal the most beautiful ring I have ever seen.
The round diamond is the size of a pea. Its intricate cuts catch the sun’s light and cast rainbows onto the forest floor.
The band is shining silver, with smaller diamond studs lining it all the way around.
“I know this is a lot to take in, but you should know what’s waiting for you at the end of this month.”
He takes my hand in his, pulling my attention from the stunning ring to his earnest gaze.
I’ve never seen this look on Joshua before, this pure, raw need. Like he’ll burn down cities and slaughter anyone standing in his way—and it would scare me if I wasn’t absolutely positive that every ounce of this intensity is dedicated to wanting me.
“Elise, I am in love with you. You’re not a pawn in a game. You’re the woman I love and the woman I intend to marry.”
“I—I don’t—” The words trip over themselves, but he only smiles, lifting my hand to kiss the very finger where that ring belongs.
“Like I said, you don’t have to decide right now.” He closes the ring box and slips it back into his jacket pocket.
Before I can awkwardly stumble over my words again, he leans in, taking my lips with his.
The kiss is passionate, and I can’t stop the singular thought from playing on repeat in my head.
Joshua Moreno is in love with me.
We’ve been driving for half an hour in complete silence. Our conversation bounces around in my head, and I attempt to make sense of it.
Over the last month, Joshua Moreno has been many things to me—a crush, a captor, even a suitor.
But a husband? I never let my imagination drift far enough into the future to consider whether we might have any long-term connection.
Even the fact that he wanted me to stay after this month never prompted me to contemplate what life with him would be like.
Yet, here I am, seated beside the only man I’ve ever wanted, a ring in his pocket.
We’re pulling into the driveway when Joshua finally speaks. “I have a few things I need to do, but I’ll come find you around dinner time.”
As much as I enjoy being with Joshua, I’m grateful for the space. He’s given me a lot to think about, and I need time to process everything.
Joshua and I enter the house, and he places a breathtaking kiss on my lips before turning in the direction of his office. Not wanting to go to my room quite yet, I make my way to the back porch and take a seat on the couch.
I replay our conversation over and over again. Could Joshua truly go from being my captor to my husband?
Do I even want that?
The sun moves across the sky as I lose myself in my thoughts, but I’m interrupted by the opening of the back door.
“Hey, birthday girl.”
I turn to scowl at Ryder. “You knew what he was going to ask me, didn’t you?”
He sighs, coming to sit beside me. “Yes.”
“A warning would’ve been nice.”
“Do you honestly believe it would’ve been better received from me?”
“No,” I admit. “I feel like every day I’m faced with a new life-changing twist. It’s exhausting.”
He nods.
“Ryder, I don’t know what to do.” It’s surprisingly easy to admit this to him, not because I feel persuaded to, but because I really do view him as a friend.
He leans back, crossing his arms over his broad chest. “Well, you have a month to figure it out.”
“I guess… I just can’t see it, Joshua, as my husband.” The word sounds foreign on my tongue. “This isn’t how I thought getting married would go. I always thought I’d meet a nice guy. We’d go out, he’d meet my family and get my father’s approval, then pop the question. You know, like normal people.”
“We’re not normal people.”
“No kidding.”
“Isn’t this what you wanted? Moreno and your family?”
“Hypothetically, yes. It’s just not what I imagined.”
Ryder shakes his head. “Moreno is no Prince Charming. He’s not a romantic, and he has no interest in giving you a normal life.”
“Not the best sales pitch,” I mutter.
“Let me finish,” he says, and I dramatically gesture for him to go on.
“He’s not going to give you a fairytale, but he’ll give you something better—authenticity.
It won’t be what you imagined, but it’ll be real.
Moreno isn’t perfect, but he’s loyal, and he’ll protect you. He’ll make a good husband.”
Nodding is the only response I can give him.
I think of my family for the hundredth time today and picture what things would be like if my father hadn’t left me to Joshua.
“Ryder?”
“Yes?”
“Don’t ever give up on your daughter like my dad gave up on me.” When I turn to meet his eyes, I’m unashamed by the tears that fill mine.
Let him see how bad it hurts. Let him resolve never to do what my father did.
My friend gives me a rare, genuine smile. “I won’t.”
No sooner has the back door opened than I hear Donovan’s silvery voice. “Hey, we’re all waiting for you!”
Ryder stands, holding out a hand that I take without hesitation. “Come on, your birthday isn’t over yet.”
I smile, not just because my birthday has turned out to be so much better than I could’ve imagined, but because as I walk into the house, it very nearly feels like coming home.