Her face falls.
“I’m glad I could give you the courage to stand up for yourself. Congratulations.” Releasing her hand, I go to walk away again.
“Don’t you understand?” Her voice cracks. “I’m telling you we can be together now.”
I spin around and face her so quickly that she takes a step back. “Oh, we can? That’s great to know. I’m glad you made that decision for us.”
She flinches before looking down at her feet. “I thought you’d be happy.”
“Happy?” I chuckle. “I was happy for four months when we were together. I was happy three nights ago when you told me you loved me. I would’ve been happy two days ago if you hadn’t tossed me aside at the first sign of trouble like I meant nothing to you.”
“How can you say that? You mean everything to me.”
“Yeah, now that there is nothing at risk. Now that no one is against us. But what happens when the people at your job start mumbling about you sleeping with your ex’s best friend? Or the other parents at the school start side-eyeing you because you’re fucking your son’s uncle? Will you need space and time again then?”
She shakes her head as tears fall from her eyes. My heart breaks at her pain, but I needed her to understand my hurt.
“I’m not some disposable asset that you can pick up and put back down when things are going your way. I love you, Ella. I wasn’t just saying that shit to make you feel good. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you. I’d fight the world to protect you.”
“I know that, Mitchell,” she sobs and shouts.
“And yet you still walked out of my house that day.” Shaking my head, I run a hand down my face. “I understand that I’m a man and I have tough skin. What others think about me doesn’t bother me, so I never saw an issue with us being together. I could even understand the boy’s anger being a problem for you. I was willing to work through that with you. But you didn’t even try. Now you’re here to tell me that because everything is fine, you’ll take me back?” I shake my head. “I may look like a big, burly, tough guy, but I've got feelings too.”
This time when I turn and walk away, I make it all the way to my truck before she speaks again.
“What do I have to do?”
Turning back to face her, I don’t see the whimpering woman from before. Her eyes are bloodshot, and there are tear tracks on her cheeks, but the look in her gaze is different from before. Staring back at me is a woman ready to fight. A woman who is sure of herself and her decisions.
She runs a hand over her cheek roughly to wipe the tears away, her chin lifted slightly.
“I love you,” she says it as if she’s angry. “I’m here with you and I’m not going anywhere. So, what do I have to do?” She holds her hands out at her sides briefly.
I stare at her, taking in her posture and the strength in her eyes. Tugging at my beard, I walk over to her slowly, shoving the bag back up onto my shoulder.
“You’re willing to do anything?”
She licked her lips but didn’t back down. “Yes.”
“You answered that quickly. Are you sure you’re willing to do whatever I ask?”
She stands unshakably in front of me. I stop right in front of her.
“Whatever you ask.” She once again answers boldly.
Taking in the situation, I run through my mind all the shit I could ask of this woman. Look, there wasn’t a real chance in hell I wasn’t taking her back. This entire argument was just because I needed her to understand my pain. But now, my head is filling up rapidly with suggestions for her to win me back. And at the moment, only one stands out.
“Marry me.”
She blinks a few times, clearly stunned by my suggestion. Until this point, I’m not sure if I meant it or not, but it’s out there now.
Her mouth opens and closes before it opens again. With her gaze locked on mine, she finally replied.
“Okay.”
“Okay?” I can’t help the grin that spreads across my face. Shit, I wasn’t expecting that, but I damn sure won’t take it back.
She nods. “Yes. I’ll marry you.”
