My heart aches for his beautiful soul.
“If you saw yourself through my eyes, you would understand how amazing you are, Marlen.”
“Not after what I did to you,” he insists.
“No, you don’t understand. I don’t care about that. You made a mistake. You believed in your brother. There isn’t anything wrong with that. Besides, whatever happened in the beginning, all of that crazy… weird… stuff… It all led us to this moment. If you didn’t kidnap me, I would never have met you,” I say, laughing at how crazy the world really is.
Marlen grins, shaking his head. “You see the good in everything, don’t you?”
“I see the good in you. You’re…” I hesitate, but only for a moment. “You’re everything I’ve ever wanted. I love you.”
I watch his eyes as he hears the words.
His pupils dilate. His lips part as he stares at me in wonder.
“You love me?” he whispers, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me closer.
“I love you, and I want to be with you,” I tell him.
“That’s probably the best news I’ve ever heard in my life, Stef. Because I love you, and I want to be with you. Always.”
We’re smiling when we kiss. Our teeth bump together, and we both start laughing. My heart soars with happiness. I’m finally free to be with the man I love, and best of all, he loves me too.
Chapter 25 - Marlen
Standing in front of the mirror in my sweatpants, I admire the long scar along my side, just above my hip bone. It’s an identical, yet much larger version of the one on the other side.
It’s a wide, jagged streak in my flesh that’s healed pink and raised.
I feel Stef step up being me, her hands sliding around my waist and across my stomach as she hugs me.
I take her wrists and pull her tighter onto me. Her face presses into my back, and she giggles.
“Hi, beautiful. Did you sleep well?” I ask, reaching behind myself to hold her.
“Thanks to you, I was too exhausted to do anything but sleep,” she giggles again.
She moves her hand, letting her fingers play over the raised edges of my scar.
Then she peeks out from behind me and looks into the mirror. “It’s healing so fast,” she muses.
“I have good genes,” I agree.
She grins at my reflection in the mirror. “You have very good genes,” she says, mischievously letting her hand drop and cupping it over my cock.
I clench my jaw as blood flows to the area.
“Do you want coffee?” she asks, stepping away from me.
“Hey, wait, where are you going, you can’t leave me here like this!” I groan in horror. But she’s already out of the door and down the passage. “You’re such a tease!” I shout after her.
Her laughter rings through the hallway back into the room, and a massive smile stretches over my face.
“Get dressed, we have a family meeting today. We’re meeting everyone at Jaroslav’s place,” she calls up, reminding me.
“Shit,” I mutter. “I forgot.”
This meeting is really important. I haven’t seen or spoken to her brother’s since the day she was almost taken from me. I know they’re angry and worried I can’t keep her safe. I know they’re worried that she made the wrong choice staying with me, and I’m one hundred percent certain they’re going to try and convince her to return home with them now that I’m healed.
