“I know.”
He steps just slightly closer. When I don’t repel, he settles onto the side of the bed, still keeping space between us but removing some of it.
“I get why you were scared,” I say after a moment.
His gaze shifts over me.
“I don’t like what you did,” I continue. “I don’t agree with it. But I get why your brain went there.”
His expression fills with relief.
“That doesn’t make it okay,” I add quickly.
“I know.”
“It just… makes it make sense.”
He nods once. “That’s fair. What happens now?” he asks.
The question hangs there.
I look at him, really look at him again. At the man who broke my trust and is sitting here now owning up to it. Not hiding behind it or trying to gaslight me into ignoring it. He’s just facing it.
“We take it slow,” I say.
His shoulders drop slightly, like he didn’t realize how tense he was until now. “Okay.”
“You don’t get to assume we’re okay,” I continue. “You earn that back.”
“I will.”
“And I decide what that looks like,” I add.
“Yes.” No argument or pushback, just acceptance.
I exhale slowly because that matters and it makes me feel lighter. “I’m not leaving.” It’s a line in the sand but I’m ready to draw it.
His head lifts slightly. “Okay,” he says again, quieter this time.
“But I’m also not pretending nothing happened,” I add.
“I wouldn’t ask you to.”
His eyes flick to the bed, to the space between us. “Can I-” he starts, then hesitates. “Can I lay down with you for a little bit?”
I mull it over. Am I ready for that already? To not just touch him but to lay together?
Something about the way he asked the question, and the fact that he asked, helps me make up my mind.
“…Yeah.”
I pull the blanket back and he slides into that space. I curl right back up against him like we’ve done almost every night that I’ve been in the manor.
“I’m glad you’re safe,” he says after a moment, his breath brushing over my ear.
I huff a quiet breath. “I’m glad you’re honest,” I reply.
Chapter 40
