(Scarlett’s POV)
The silence in Dorian’s car feels heavy, but not ufortable. Lily has fallen asleep in the backseat, her small face peaceful against the window. My ankle throbs with each heartbeat, but the physical pain is nothingpared to the storm raging in my chest.
“You okay?” Dorian’s voice is soft, careful not to wake Lily.
“I’m fine.” The lie rolls off my tongue automatically.
He nces at me, those kind eyes seeing right through my walls. “You <i>don’t </i>have <i>to </i>pretend with me, Scarlett. Not after what just happened back there.”
The concern in his voice almost breaks me. After years of being dismissed, ignored, and treated like my feelings didn’t matter, having someone actually care about my wellbeing feels foreign.
We pull into my driveway, and the familiar sight of my small house–the one I bought with my own money, decorated with my own choices–soothes some of the raw edges inside me.
This is mine. No one can take this away from me.
Dorian helps me inside while I carry a sleepy Lily. The living room feels like a sanctuary after the sterile hospital and that awful confrontation. Everything here speaks of the life I built- photo frames with pictures of Lily and me, throw pillows I chose because I liked the color, books scattered on the coffee table that I actually wanted to read.
“Mama, my tummy hurts,” Lily whimpers as I settle her on the couch.
“It’s just all the excitement, baby. How about some soup and then bed?”
She nods, curling up with her favorite stuffed rabbit.
Dorian moves around my kitchen like he belongs there, opening cabs to find a pot, locating the soup without having <i>to </i>ask. The domesticity of it makes something flutter in my
chest.
“You don’t have to-‘
“I want to.” He looks at me over <b>his </b>shoulder, and something in his expression makes my breath catch.
Twenty minutester, Lily is fed and tucked into bed, leaving Dorian and me alone in my living
< Chapter 39
More Rewards >
room. I’m propped up on the couch with ice on my ankle, and he’s sitting in the armchair
across from me.
“Thank you,” I say quietly. “For today. For everything.”
“You don’t need to thank me.‘
“Yes, I do. You didn’t have to get involved back there. Most people would’ve just walked
away.”
His eyes meet mine, intense and unwavering. “I’m not most people, Scarlett.”
The way
he says my name makes heat pool in my stomach. I’ve <i>been </i><i>so </i><i>focused </i>on protecting myself, on building walls high enough that no one can hurt me again, that I forgot what it felt like to be wanted.
Not needed. Not convenient. Wanted.
“Dorian-”
“I know this isplicated.” He leans forward, elbows on his knees. “I know you have an unclosed history, that there are things you’re not ready to talk about. But I need you to know something.”
My heart pounds as he stands, crossing the small space between us to sit on the edge of the coffee table, close enough that I can smell his cologne.
“What we have, what’s been building between us these past months–it’s real. At least for me.” His voice is rough, vulnerable in a way that makes my chest tight. “And seeing him treat you like that today, seeing him try to im you like you’re some object he can just decide to
take back…”
He runs a hand through his dark hair, frustrated.
“It made me realize I can’t sit on the fence and wait for you to notice me. I can’t keep pretending I don’t want more with you.”
The air in the room shifts, bing charged with an energy that makes me fearful and
uneasy.
“Dorian…” <fn1310> Fresh chapters posted on find{n}ovel</fn1310>
“I <i>know </i>you’re scared. I know you have reasons not to trust men–sessful, powerful men who might just see you as another convenience.” His hand hovers near mine on the couch, not quite touching. “But not all men are like him, Scarlett.”
<Chapter 39
More Rewards >
Tears prick at the corners of my eyes. “How do I know that? How do I know you won’t get tired of me when the novelty wears off?”
“Because I’ve been watching you for months.” His voice drops, bes intimate. “I’ve seen you with Lily when you think no one’s looking–the way you sacrifice for her without making it feel like a burden.”
He finally reaches out, his fingers barely brushing mine.
“I’ve seen you at your most real, most human. Your strength, your aspiration, your dream for your little girl. And that’s when I fell for you. Not for your looks, or your charm. You.”
The tears spill over then, hot tracks down my cheeks. Because <i>no </i>one has ever seen me like that. Jasper married a carefully crafted image–the perfect wife, the dutiful daughter, the woman who never asked for too much.
But Dorian is talking about the messy,plicated, sometimes difficult woman I actually <ol><li>am. </li></ol>
“I’m scared,” I admit.
“I know.” His thumb traces across my knuckles, gentle and sure. “But I’m not going anywhere. I’m here to stay, to chase your doubts away.”
“What are you asking me, Dorian?”
He’s quiet for a moment, studying our joined hands. When he looks up, his eyes are dark,
determined.
“I’m asking for a chance to pursue you. Officially.”
“I…I don’t <i>know</i>. I mean, this is too sudden. I’m not sure I’m ready,” I whisper, lowering my
head.
“You don’t need <i>to </i><i>do </i>anything. Just let me look after you and Lily until you’re ready to ept me, okay?”
“I’m not sure…”
“Please, Scarlett. All I’m asking for is the right to look after you two. Give me a chance to show you my sincerity.”
I take a shaky breath. The choice between the safety of my walls and the possibility of letting someone in again terrify me. I’m not ready to let another man enter my life after what happened with Jasper.
< Chapter 39
More Rewards >
However, I also refuse to allow what happened with Jasper to shape my future. I made a decision to move on from him, and if the answer to that resolution is Dorian…
Then so be it.
“Okay. But I can’t promise you anything.”
“I don’t need you to.” The smile that spreads across his face is radiant, transforming his entire expression. He brings my hand to his lips, pressing a soft kiss <i>to </i>my palm. “I have all the time in the world to win your heart.”
I smile, feeling something I haven’t felt in years.
Hope.
Real, fragile, terrifying hope that maybe this will work. Maybe he is the one.
After ensuring I’m properly settled, he’s about to leave when he turns back, keys jingling in his
hand.
“And Scarlett?”
“Yeah?”
“What happened today–with your ex–husband and that woman–it doesn’t change anything for me. Whatever your past may be, whateverplicationse with being with you, just know <i>you’re </i><i>not </i>alone anymore.”
Not alone anymore.
The words hit like lightning, loud and clear and shocking.
“Dorian-”
He doesn’t give me the chance to respond to his statement. The door closes behind him with a soft click, leaving me alone with the echo of his words and the wild beating of my heart.
Violet Moon
#Vote#!
3