Chapter 21 #3
“Your career matters to me. Your reputation, your happiness, your sanity . I said the right things the first time around, but this time I have shown you. I have put everything on the line for you, Natalie. All my wealth that I have spent years accumulating, everything I have, handed over to you, just to prove I’m in it for the long term.
Do you understand what handing all of that to you means?
I’ve made myself vulnerable. You could ruin me.
I would have to spend years rebuilding everything.
I knew that when I had that contract drawn up.
But you mattered to me, and I was willing to go to any length to prove it to you.
Tell me what more I have to do to earn your trust. What else do you need from me? ”
His hand hovers near mine, not touching. Waiting.
“Nothing,” I finally admit, my chest tightening as the tears fall. “You’ve done enough.”
“You think I’ve been waiting for an out?” he says. “No, sweetheart. I’ve been waiting for you—to let me in.”
The term of endearment is soft, different from the wicked edge of his normally sardonic drawl.
Tears spill down my cheeks hot and fast. “I believe you. I do.”
“I know.” His voice cracks, just the faintest hint of it that breaks me. “But I need you to hear me now. I’m not going anywhere.”
He finally takes my hand, his own warm and strong around mine.
“You think I care about this company more than I care about you?” he asks. “I got this company to get close to you. The money I sank into this place means nothing to me. I can walk away from it all. I’d walk away from everything—except you .”
The dam inside me breaks. Not the loud kind, not dramatic. Just a slow, aching flood of truth.
I believe him.
For the first time since we started this thing—whatever it is—I believe him.
Not because his words are perfect, but because they’re honest. Because he’s here. Because every line on his face tells me he’s been fighting this battle alone and silently, and I’ve been too scared to stand beside him.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I’ve been so scared. Of being left. Of getting hurt. Of being wrong about you.”
He cups my cheek, thumb brushing away a tear. “You’re not wrong.”
I close my eyes, letting the warmth of his touch settle deep in the places I’ve kept locked up.
“I don’t need you to have all the answers,” he murmurs. “But I need you to trust that I’m staying.”
I open my eyes. “Okay.”
He exhales like he’s been holding his breath for months. Then he leans in, pressing his forehead to mine, his hands cradling my face like I’m something fragile and precious.
And for the first time, I let myself believe that I do matter. If not to anyone else, I matter to this man.
When he releases me, I gaze at him.
“Let me give you something else that might convince you.”
“I don’t need?—”
He reaches into his jacket pocket, where I know he keeps the purple scrunchie, and brings out a small ring box.
My heart begins to pound.
“Ethan—No?—”
“I got this made a long time ago.” He opens the box, revealing a beautiful diamond ring. Taking it out of the box, he takes my hand and puts the ring in my palm. “Look inside.”
Hands shaking, I tilt the ring and see the engraving.
‘Natalie Wilder.’
Damn it! Damn it, damn it, damn it!
It’s like he’s ripping my heart open, forcing his way inside. I knew about the ring. His mother mentioned it, but I had myself convinced it wasn’t so, that she was wrong.
“I’m not proposing to you.” He sounds amused. “Don’t worry. Not yet. This ring will go on your finger, but only once you’re ready.”
“I knew,” I admit.
He raises a brow in question.
“About the ring. Your mother told me. I just didn’t—I didn’t want to believe her.
Just like I didn’t want to believe that this mattered that much to you.
” I reach into his jacket and withdraw the scrunchie.
“Just like I have tried, over and over, to convince myself that all the gestures you do, everything, it’s just—that I’m reading too much into it.
Even when I promised myself I’d try, I guess it was a hollow promise. ”
My voice quivers, and I try to steady it.
“I know you need time, Natalie?—”
“I have had the time.” I swallow. “I know. I know you love me. And the reason I’ve been running all this time is because I know how I feel about you. Admitting it to myself made me feel vulnerable. It was so much easier to push you away, to pretend it was just an act.”
My eyes are wet when I look up at him. “I don’t want you to leave, Ethan. I don’t think my heart would survive you leaving.”
His eyes fill with emotion, and he pulls me into his arms. “I’m not going anywhere.”
His breath is hot against my ear.
“Never. You’ll never escape me again.”
Relief spreads to the farthest corners of my soul at his words. To be loved like this, to be wanted like this…
I bury my face in his neck, wishing I could stop crying, wishing he could hold me like this forever.
But my heart is overflowing, and for the first time in a very long time, I feel safe and loved.