Page 94 of His Ruin
I freeze, taking in the woman I destroyed. For a moment, I seeher—the girl I fell in love with all those years ago. She’s broken and scared, trying to cling to the reality I’ve created. I popped her safety bubble the moment I walked through those doors, and it makes me hate myself more than I ever have.
I hold my hands up, keeping my tone gentle. “Okay,“ I whisper. “Okay, Melody.”
She rolls her lips in, the pain pinching her brow as more tears roll down her flushed cheeks. “You…” She croaks. “Youdon’t get to do that. You don’t get to comfort me after everything you’ve done!”
“I know—”
“You don’tknow, Kaden!“ Her voice crescendos, echoing off the walls. “You haveno ideawhat you did to me!”
“I hurt you,” I say, taking a step closer to her.
She backs up, holding her hands out as fear flickers in her gaze.
I stop, nodding. “What I did was unforgivable.”
A sharp, humorless chuckle bubbles from her as she places a hand over her eyes. “You’re sostupid…”
“I know,” I agree. “I never should have left, but I had no choice.”
“No choice…“ She repeats, her jaw working around the words. “You had a choice, Kaden, and you dug your own grave. Now lie in it.”
Something dark curls around me as my face sets. “Only if I can drag you to hell with me.”
Her hand falls to her side as she stares at me with disappointment piercing her. “I’m done with this. I’m happily engaged to a man who chooses me, and a life not defined by what you put me through. I let you go a long time ago. I think it’s time you did the same.”
That darkness claws through me as I close in on her. There’s not a moment for her to process as my hand wraps around her throat, squeezing. “You’re notdonewith me. Not until we fucking die, Melody, and even then, I’ll find you in every god damned lifetime. Over and over again, pretty girl.”
Her eyes flutter, lips parting as she sucks in raggedly.
I lean so close that her scent, honey and vanilla, nearly makes my eyes roll in bliss. I can feel her pulse pounding beneath my fingers, her perfect little heart falling in sync with mine. “I fucked up. Is that what you want to hear, baby?”
“Don’t call me that,” she whispers brokenly.
My other hand brushes her golden hair behind her ear, the softness of her strands embedding into my fibers like a warm memory. Her breath stutters under my grip, and that’s when I realize I’m not doing this to hurt her.
I’m doing this because it’s the closest she’ll allow me to get without fighting me.
I release her, slowly, my palm opening until she gulps in air and stumbles back. She presses a hand to her throat, eyes staring wildly at the floor before rage overtakes her and her cold gaze snaps to mine. “You don’t get to make the decisions here.” She says, her voice raw. “You don’t get to chain me to you just because you’re afraid of losing me.”
Afraid.
The word digs deep, gouging into my subconscious like a knife. I step closer again, but this time, it’s pure gravity tugging me towards her—that invisible connection we’ve always shared is no longer frayed and ripped.
“You think this isfear?” My voice drops into a gravelly rumble. “This isobsession, Melody. It’s knowing that no matter how far you run, you’re still carved into my fucking skin. I see you when I close my eyes. I hear you in utter silence. Ibreathe, and I can still taste you on my tongue.”
Her chest rises and falls quickly, but she doesn’t move. “That’s not love.”
My thumb brushes over her pulse, a gentle touch that doesn’t reflect the raging inside of my mind. “No, little sister,” I murmur. “It’s something far worse.”
The air between us thickens how it used to, electrifying with the connection we’ve always shared. It hums through our veins, making us weak for each other. I lean in until our foreheads nearly touch, and her breath fans my lips. “You want me to say that I fucked up?” I whisper. “Fine. I did. I broke your trust, and I broke you.”
Her lips quiver as a single tear slides down her cheek.
I cup her face, holding her like the precious thing she is. “And I would do anything to undo it,” I finish. “Except pretend I don’t still want you.”
Her hand curls around my wrist, and her warmth spreads through me, feeling as if I’ve finally been touched by Elysian. “Wanting isn’t enough, Kaden.” She whispers.
“No,” I agree. “It isn’t.”
