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The moment stretches, heavy with unspoken words, with the weight of everything we’ve left unsaid. But for now, it’s enough. For now, we’re here, together, the past and future forgotten in the warmth of the present.
His lips brush mine, soft and tender, a promise of more to come. And as the room falls silent, I know this is just the beginning.
48
Chapter 39
Zasha
Her skin is still warm against mine.
The soft rustle of sheets is the only sound in the room, our breathing now slow and steady, laced with the afterglow of what just passed between us. Mara is curled into my side, her head on my chest, fingers tracing slow circles over my ribs. I hold her like I’ve waited three goddamn years to do it—because I have.
And still, a small part of me can’t believe she’s here. That I’m not waking up in another nightmare where I find out she’s still gone. Still unreachable.
But she’s here. And I need her to know everything.
I shift gently, pressing a kiss to her temple before sliding out from under the sheets. She watches me without saying a word, propped up on her elbow now, eyes heavy but curious.
I walk to the drawer in the far corner of my room—the one I’ve avoided for too long and open it. My fingers hover for a moment before I pull it open. Inside lies a small velvet box and a plain gold ring. The sight punches something deep in my chest. I take both out, close the drawer with my hip, and walk back to her.
Mara sits upright when she sees what I’m holding. Her brows pinch slightly. “What’s that?”
I sit at the edge of the bed, facing her.
“I was going to give this to you three years ago,” I say, holding up the box. “That night. Before everything went to hell. I’d planned to take you to dinner… tell you how I really felt. About us. About what I wanted.”
I pop the lid open. Inside, nestled in the velvet, lies the diamond bracelet. Silver links woven with thin rows of shimmering white stones—simple, elegant, feminine. Exactly like her.
She covers her mouth, stunned. “Zasha…”
“I ordered it days, weeks before. Knew immediately I saw it that it was yours,” I say quietly. “I wanted that night to be the start of something real.”
I take her wrist gently and fasten it on her.
The clasp clicks shut with finality.
Her breath shudders, but her fingers remain still under mine. She stares at the bracelet, then lifts her eyes to meet mine. “It is stunning.”
“I kept this in that drawer like a fucking time capsule,” I murmur. “I couldn’t bring myself to throw it away… and I couldn’t give it to anyone else. It was always yours.”
She touches the diamonds like she’s trying to feel if they’re real.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispers.
There’s a long silence. I let her sit with it. Let the air thicken around us, not rushing this moment.
Then, I reach over and pick up the second item.
The gold band.
Her wedding ring.
Her eyes widen, and she swallows hard.
“I kept this too,” I say, turning it over in my fingers. “You slipped it off the day you left.”
She looks down, shame flickering through her expression. Her voice is hushed when she finally speaks. “I didn’t want to go with it because when we were married, I always saw it as a symbol that I was finally yours. Even when I was scared of what I felt for you, it was the only thing that made me feel like I belonged here.”