Later, wrapped around each other in the dark, I trace idle patterns on his chest.
"Thank you," I murmur.
“For the sex?” He smiles slyly. "Or for punching your ex-husband?"
I kiss him gently. "For defending me."
"I'm choosing you," he says firmly. "Every time. Forever."
I kiss him over his heart. "Forever sounds perfect."
We fall asleep tangled together, and my last thought before sleep takes me is that I'm not afraid anymore. Not of Enzo, not of being too much, not of wanting things.
Because I stood up to my abuser and lived through it. Because Silas sees all of me and chooses me anyway. Because I finally understand that the problem was never me.
It was always him.
And now he's gone. In his place is a quiet, serious man who treats me like the Queen of Sheba. He loves me. I love him. And that’s all she wrote.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Silas
Scout's been quiet since we got home from the arena. She's curled up on the couch with her laptop, working on something that has her brow furrowed in concentration. I've been watching her for the past twenty minutes, trying to figure out what's wrong.
"Okay," I finally say. "What's going on?"
She looks up, startled. "What?"
"You've been weird all day. Talk to me."
Her fingers still on the keyboard. She chews her bottom lip, that tell she has when she's trying to figure out how to say something difficult.
"I've been thinking about the mobility studio," she says finally.
"Yeah? Juliet said she's ready to move forward with the proposal. You excited?"
"I am. But..." She closes the laptop and sets it aside. "Juliet mentioned you offered to help fund it."
"I did. Is that a problem?"
"Kind of." She pulls her knees up to her chest, looking small and uncertain. "Silas, I don't want you paying foreverything. The studio, this condo, groceries, dinners out. I know you say it's fine, but it makes me uncomfortable."
"Why?" I move to sit beside her. "I can afford it, Scout. It's not a big deal."
"It is to me." Her voice gets firmer. "Enzo took care of everything too. He paid for the apartment, the car, everything I needed. And it felt nice at first. But then it became this thing where I owed him. Then I couldn't leave because I didn't have my own money or my own place or my own anything."
Understanding hits me like a body check. "You think I'm doing the same thing."
"I don't think you're doing it on purpose. But the pattern's the same, Silas. You're taking care of me and I'm letting you and eventually I'll wake up and realize I'm trapped again."
"You're not trapped." I reach for her hand. "Scout, look at me."
She does, those green eyes full of worry and something that looks like fear.
"Enzo made you dependent on him," I say. "That's not what this is. You have your own job, your own income. You could leave tomorrow if you wanted to."
"Could I? I'm living in your condo rent-free. You pay for everything."
