Shutting my eyes, I refused to look as I shoved the box into the air. “I-I got us rings. Well, they aren’t reallymarriagerings, but I wanted to make it official. I wanted something to c-claim you with, and?—”
“O-Oren,” my name fractured, emotion prevalent in his timbre. “Are you… Is this you… Asking me… To be… Y-Your husband?”
My cheeks were hot, the ability to correct him evaporated. This wasn’t supposed to beit. These were only fill-ins for the actual… Ah,fuck it.
Tears pooled in his eyes, his bottom lip wavering as he looked at me. “Kind of a… weird way to ask, but… Yes, Oren Valens. I would be honored to be your husband and spend the rest of my life learning your quirks.”
In my hurried state to correct the non-proposalproposal, I tripped over one of his shoes, barely catching myself on the edge of the bed before attemptingto brush it off. “God, this… this isn’t going how I pictured it.”
He laughed softly, shifting from where he sat. Wrapping his fingers around my wrist, he tugged me toward him with an ease I didn’t think I’d ever get used to. “You are too clumsy for your own good, and thankfuckyou never were put out on the battlefield, becauseIwould’ve had an aneurysm.”
I rubbed the back of my neck, a sheepish grin forming. “Yeah… I think you would’ve spent all your time preventing me from tripping.”
“Among other things, yes.”
“Among other things?” I repeated, a humored glint forming in my irises.
Lifting the box, I pulled out his ring, a deep black that mirrored the off-white of mine. I’d gotten two, one to imitate the depths of not only our souls, but the color wheel. He was the reason I’d found solace in painting, and these hues symbolized it. Black absorbed while white reflected—each necessary to create a spectrum, a vibrancy only he’d crafted my world to be.
A single tear rolled down his cheek as he glanced at the box in my hand before lifting his caramel stare to find me once more. His palms found the sides of my face, cradling me as he brought me in for a kiss so gentle yet still somehow capable of stealing every drop of air from my lungs.
Leaning into his touch, I brought the ring to his finger and put it on. It was a symbol of everything he’d done for me, and everything I knew he still would. Even if thiswasn’tthe intended plan, he deserved every ounce of happiness this moment brought, because I wanted no one else but him.
We weren’t perfect. Hell, we werefarfrom the definition, but we were perfect for each other.
When two souls are bonded, it’s impossible to keep them from merging completely. He was everything to me, and I hoped one day he would fully escape the nightmares that haunted his dreams. I hoped one day my love would influence him so profoundly he’d forget the horrors of his past. Maybe… Maybe that would never happen, but I would always remain. Always be there as his pillar, his rock, hishusband.
Pulling back, I hadn’t even realized he’d snuck the other ring from its place before his hand found mine, gliding it onto my finger with a gentle grace.
“In all your beauty, in all your rawness, you taught me to no longer fear the broken pieces of myself. To accept them and cradle them in the manner they deserved, in the manner I craved to be held. You taught me what love truly felt like, looked like, and that… That healed every ounce of my soul, all the shattered pieces I never thought I’d be able to put back together.” With a softened smile, he threaded his fingers through my hair. “So yes, Oren Valens, to be with you for the rest of my life would be an honor, and one I will gladly accept in this timeline and any other we so happen to cross paths in.”
A sob broke through, but this was different from any I’d shared in the past. This was a level of happiness I thought I’d never be granted, a happiness I never believed I deserved or would receive in this lifetime. Yet again, Thorne loved to prove me wrong.
With a fluid motion, I wrapped my arms around him, that cry turning into choked laughter. “Always.”
EPILOGUE
SIMON
With the last bit of laughter dying behind the door to Oren and Thorne’s home, it left Liam and me standing outside in the brisk air. “Well,thatwas an interesting house party. Probably the first one I’ve been to where everyone fucking cried at least once, and not out of pleasure.”
Liam lolled his head to the side, his eyes rolling. “Tears were shed, yes, but I’m glad Matt and Thorne worked it out.”
“Me too. The somber look Matt had walking in was enough to crack my heart.” I tugged at my chest, mimicking the scowl he’d walked in with. “Who would’ve said no to that?”
He laughed, a sound I cherished far more than anything else. “You’re fucking ridiculous.”
“Yeah, I am, but that’s what made you fall in love with me. My sass, my ass, and well,allof this.” I gestured to myself, a grin forming on my face as I walked toward the truck that was one accident away from being totaled.
A 1974 Bronco, dressed in a baby blue paint with cream-colored seats. It was by no means a ‘beater,’ and if anything, it turned me the fuck on that he drove it. Especially considering it was a stick shift, and regardless of the fact, he could still use his hands freely.
Wrapping his fingers around the handle, he tugged the door open for me. “Yourass?” he questioned playfully, slapping it as I went to get in. “That didn’t sound verytopof you.”
Plopping into the seat, I rested my hands behind my head, flicking my gaze to him as he shut the door. “It still deserves appreciation, especially for how much you were glancing at it tonight. If you want to talk aboutyourass, I’d rather see it in the air ready for me.”
He glanced up through the open window, raising his brows in challenge. “I don’t know. It sounded a little like you were ready to bottom tonight.”
Before I could reply, he chuckled, moving around the truck. The latch clicked open, and he climbed in, shoving the key into the ignition. Who the fuck still used akeyfor a vehicle?
