Chapter 83
The Vow They Chose
“Yes?” I drag my eyes away from the ring and back toward his face.
His hand holding onto mine trembles, and I know it has nothing to do with the rain. I give him a reassuring squeeze. He mumbles something that sounds like here goes nothing, and my chest caves in on itself at his display of vulnerability.
“Ya'aburnee1. As in you bury me. A rough translation for the way I want to leave this world before you because I can’t imagine having to go through a single day without you in it. If this last week was a preview of that kind of life, then I can assure you it isn’t a life worth living. You’re my wife and my best friend. The future mother of my children and the one place that truly feels like home. You’re the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with, not because you signed a contract, but because you love me enough to stay without one.
“I want to be the kind of man who is worthy of a woman like you—if it’s even possible. I promise to work every damn day to make sure you don’t regret marrying someone as miserable as me. Because when I’m with you, I’m not miserable at all. You make me happy in a way that makes me afraid to blink just in case it all disappears.” The vulnerability of his words tugs at every single one of my heartstrings.
“I’ll give you anything you want—anything at all—so long as you give me a chance to make you as happy as you make me. A dog. A family. A home. I want it all. These are my The Unwritten Clause, take it or leave it because I’m not open to negotiations.”
“Only you could make a proposal sound like a business acquisition and get away with it.”
“Marry me.” He orders with a smile that could make me agree to just about anything.
“I am married to you.” My tears mix with raindrops, and I’m not sure where one begins and the other ends.
“Marry me for real this time. No contract. No inheritance. No expectations other than for you to love me despite all the reasons you probably shouldn’t.”
He doesn’t say anything else as he looks up at me. Emotions flicker across his face like a mood ring, switching from happiness to fear. The heavy rain slowly turns to a light sprinkle as I stare at him.
To marry him again means to trust him with my heart, knowing he can break it. It means giving him a fair chance to learn from his mistakes and become a better man in light of them. Marriage isn’t easy but neither is life, and I can’t imagine doing either without Adrian. Luckily, I don’t have to.
“Yes.” The response comes out as a whisper, so I speak firmer, “Yes. I want to marry you.”
My legs tremble from the smile on his face as he slides the new ring up my finger. The diamonds surround the green gemstone like sun rays, shining as the sun finally beams down on us.
“Those were the most excruciating thirty seconds of my life.”
I laugh. “Serves you right after everything you put me through.”
He stands and pulls me into his arms. His lips slam against mine, stealing my ability to breathe as he kisses me with every ounce of love in him. Adrian’s embrace feels like coming home. My toes tingle and my chest warms, and I get all excited as his lips press softly against mine in a silent apology.
Our kiss goes on for what feels like hours. By the time we break apart, both of us are soaked to the bone although the rain has officially stopped.
The way he looks at me sends another shiver down my spine. I take a step back, knowing what a look like that means.
I clear my throat. “Are you going to tell me what we’re doing out here in the middle of nowhere?”
“Showing you our new home.”
“Our new what?” I gape at the house. I use the term loosely, seeing as the place looks like it has been abandoned for years.
“Let me show you something.” He clutches onto my hand as we circle around the back of the house.
“No. Freaking. Way.” I blink.
He smiles. “Do you like it?”
I take a step toward a stunning greenhouse. Unlike the house behind us, the greenhouse looks like someone recently came to take care of it. The spotless glass shines, giving me a good idea of the empty space inside.
I would need to buy hundreds of plants to fill it. Maybe even a thousand.
Adrian pulls me against his chest so he can lay his chin on my shoulder. “I thought about letting you pick a place, but when my real estate agent sent me this listing, I knew it was the one. I drove out the same day to check it out and put an offer on it.”
“Why?” I croak.
“Because there is nothing I want more than to turn a house into a home with you.”
Adrian needs to come with a warning sign because I’m susceptible to swooning whenever he is around.
“It’s beautiful.”
His arms tighten around me. “Want to check it out?”
“Can we?”
He grins as he steps away from me and opens the door. I spend the next five minutes exploring the place, cataloging just how much space I would have.
“I think I’m in heaven.” I trail a finger across an empty table waiting to be covered with pots.
“So I take it that you like it?” His confident voice doesn’t match the hesitant look in his eyes.
He’s nervous.
Anxious Adrian is my favorite Adrian because it’s the version of him no one else knows about. He tries so hard to hide it from everyone else, but around me, he doesn’t mind dropping his guard. It makes my chest all warm and tingly to know he trusts me enough to share that part of himself. Because to someone like him who grew up thinking emotions were weaknesses, it probably means so much more than I could ever imagine.
I walk over to him and wrap my hands around his neck. “I love it so much.”
“Good. Because if my proposal didn’t work, this was my next best option to convince you to marry me.”
I smack his wet chest. “You can’t buy people’s love like that.”
His eyes twinkle. “I don’t want other people’s love. I want yours.”
“You already have it.”
He blinks.
I stand on the tips of my toes so my lips hover over his. “Daisuki.” I press my mouth against his, and he releases a shuddery breath. “Szeretlek.” He groans as I deepen the kiss, only to pull away breathless not a minute later. “Ich liebe dich.” I repeat the same three words he whispered to me back when he made love to me.
His eyes shut as if he is experiencing a sensory overload.
“I love you,” I finish in English, just to get my message across because I most likely ruined the pronunciation of all the words.
“Say it again.” His darkening eyes linger on my mouth.
“I. Love. You.”
He kisses the top of my forehead. The pain etched into his face guts me, knowing he spent thirty-six years of his life believing he was unlovable—all because of his shitty, abusive father.
I cup his cheek. “I will always love you. Today. Tomorrow. Forever.”
“You say that now…” His voice drifts off as his eyes dart away.
My chest clenches. “And I’ll say it every day until you finally believe it.”
“It could take forever.”
I trace his wedding band with the tip of my finger. “It’s a good thing all we have is time.”
1 Arabic: “You bury me.”