Page 605 - Fourth Wing
P. 605
once. I never will.”
She walks over to the window and looks down, then slowly turns back to
me. “It’s not even that you kept this from me. I get it. It’s the ease with
which you did it. The ease with which I let you into my heart and didn’t get
the same in return.” She shakes her head, and I see it there, the love, but it’s
masked behind defenses I foolishly forced her to build.
I love her. Of course I love her. But if I tell her now, she’ll think I’m
saying it for all the wrong reasons, and honestly, she’d be right.
I’m not going to lose the only woman I’ve ever fallen for without a fight.
“You’re right. I kept secrets,” I admit, pressing forward again, taking step
after step until I’m less than a foot from her. I palm the glass on both sides
of her head, loosely caging her in, but we both know she could walk away if
she wanted. But she doesn’t move. “It took me a long time to trust you, a
long time to realize I fell for you.”
Someone knocks. I ignore it.
“Don’t say that.” She lifts her chin, but I don’t miss the way she glances
at my mouth.
“I fell for you.” I lower my head and look straight into her gorgeous eyes.
She might be rightfully pissed, but she sure as Malek isn’t fickle. “And you
know what? You might not trust me anymore, but you still love me.”
Her lips part, but she doesn’t deny it. “I gave you my trust for free once,
and once is all you get.” She masks the hurt with a quick blink.
Never again. Those eyes will never reflect hurt I’ve inflicted ever again.
“I fucked up by not telling you sooner, and I won’t even try to justify my
reasons. But now I’m trusting you with my life—with everyone’s lives.”
I’ve risked it all by just bringing her here instead of taking her body back to
Basgiath. “I’ll tell you anything you want to know and everything you
don’t. I’ll spend every single day of my life earning back your trust.”
I’d forgotten what it felt like to be loved, really, truly loved—it’d been so
many years since Dad died. And Mom… Not going there. But then Violet
