Page 107 of The Prime-Time Experiment

Her gaze dropped briefly before lifting back to his.

“So when I met you, I didn’t let myself believe it could last.” Her throat tightened slightly. “The contract made sense to me because it had an ending. That felt safer than believing you might actually want me after it was over.”

She swallowed hard. “I think part of me already believed people could only love me temporarily.” Her voice grew thinner around the edges now, more exposed. “And when things between us became real, I panicked, because I didn’t know how to trust something I was already convinced I’d lose.”

A tear slipped free before she could stop it.

“I’m only just starting to understand that maybe I’m allowed to be loved at all,” she admitted quietly. “That someone can know everything about me and still stay.”

Her breathing shook slightly. “And I’m sorry,” she whispered. “For deciding for you, for leaving before you had the chance to.”

The silence afterwards felt enormous. Declan looked at her like she had just handed him something fragile enough to break in his hands.

His jaw tightened sharply. One hand dragged over the back of his neck, slower this time, his composure visibly slipping around the edges as he tried to breathe through the weight of it.

“I…” The word caught and collapsed before it could become anything usable.

Riley felt the shift instantly. Her shoulders drew inward on instinct, fingers curling faintly against her lap as something old and automatic tried to take hold. Retreat, distance. Fix it before it became harmful.

Declan swore quietly under his breath, the sound rough with frustration. Not at her. At himself. He scrubbed a hand over his jaw, eyes dropping briefly as if he was trying to get control of something that had already gone too far to contain. Then, abruptly, he pushed back from the chair.

Riley’s breath caught. He crossed the space between them in two quick steps and lowered himself in front of her before she could fully process it, dropping to his knees, like the idea of standing any further away from her had become impossible.

“Declan—”

His hands settled carefully over hers, warm and steady despite the tension still visible through him. Up close, she could see it fully now: the tightness in his jaw, the emotion sitting raw behind his eyes, the shine of tears he wasn’t even trying to hide anymore.

He looked devastated for her. “Riles.”

The nickname shattered something open inside her.

Tears spilled over immediately, fast enough that she couldn’t stop them even if she wanted to. Because it wasn’t just the word, it was him. The way he said it like she was still his, like she hadn’t ruined this beyond repair.

Declan’s thumbs brushed shakily across her knuckles. “Hey,” he said softly, voice rough but steady. “I’m not angry at you.”

The words made Riley’s breath catch all over again.

“Jesus, Riley…” he exhaled, sounding wrecked by it. “I’m fucking gutted for you.”

His eyes shone suddenly, emotion breaking visibly through the restraint he’d been trying so hard to hold onto. Riley watched his throat work hard once before he looked back at her fully.

“The way you grew up, what he did to you…” His jaw tightened sharply. “That should never have happened. Not once. Not ever.” Anger flickered briefly across his face before softening back into hurt. “Someone should’ve stepped in.”

A tear slipped free down Riley’s cheek. Declan saw it. His hand lifted instinctively, slow enough to give her time to pull away if she wanted to. When she didn’t, his thumb brushed gently beneath her eye, wiping the tear from her skin with a tenderness that nearly undid her completely.

“But I get it now,” he said more quietly, his hand lingering lightly against her face. “Why you left. Why you ran.” A small shake of his head. “You weren’t weak, Riles. You were surviving.”

Something in her chest cracked wider at that.

“And the fact you just told me all of this…” His voice roughened again. “I know what that cost you.” His eyes burned slightly now too, tears gathering there without him trying to hide them. “I’m not taking that lightly.”

Riley’s tears kept falling unchecked.

“Of course I forgive you,” he said immediately, almost frustrated she’d thought otherwise. His fingers curled more tightly around hers. “You were a kid trying to survive something horrific. I’m never going to hold that against you.”

The words landed somewhere deep enough to leave her almost dizzy. Declan exhaled shakily, emotion sitting openly across his face now.

“But I won’t lie and say losing you didn’t hurt like hell.”