Page 89 of Deliah

“How do I know you’re not going to get bored of me?” I whispered, voice trembling. “That I’m not just… another one of your lessons?”

The words caught in my throat. Saying them felt like peeling back my skin.

Damion didn’t flinch. He stepped closer, dropped to his knees in front of me on the pavement, eyes burning into mine.

“Because, Deliah…” he said quietly. “I love you.”

I froze.

He reached for my hand but didn’t take it—just hovered there, waiting, letting me choose.

“I’ve loved you since the moment I laid eyes on you. That night on the pavement in the city, when you were all attitude and fire and chaos.” He smiled gently, like it was a memory he carried in his chest. “I knew then. Even if I didn’t say it.”

Tears filled my eyes, but I couldn’t look away.

“I love everything about you,” he said, voice thick with emotion. “Your eyes. The way you challenge me. That laugh that drives me insane. The way you care so deeply, even when you pretend you don’t. I love all of it, every messy, beautiful inch of you.”

I looked down, but he reached out and gently lifted my chin, guiding my eyes back to his.

“I will never hurt you, Deliah. I swear to you on everything I have—I would fight the fucking world for you.”

My chest cracked open. His words didn’t just hit—they buried themselves inside me.

“Please,” he whispered, thumb brushing a tear off my cheek. “Please come home. Just give me one last shot. I’ll earn every second of your trust, I promise.”

And in that moment, with my heart splitting in two and my head still pounding, I looked up at him—and I believed him. Every word. Every promise.

I leaned in and kissed him, slow and steady. There was no rush, no fire—just something softer. Truer. It felt like breathing for the first time in hours. Like our souls had been waiting for that exact moment to find their way back to each other. When I finally pulled back, his arms wrapped around me with such care, I crumbled all over again. The kind of crying that comes from relief. From safety. From the terrifying realisation that you almost lost something you never really had the words for. He just held me there, letting me fall apart in his chest, kissing the top of my head over and over until the tears slowed.

Then finally, he whispered, “Come on, let’s get you home. You need to rest.”

I let out a soft, tired laugh. “I don’t think I can make it back up to the top.”

He smiled, brushing my hair back from my face. “Don’t worry, baby. I’ve got you. My car’s just up here.”

I blinked at him. “Wait—you followed me the whole way down here?”

He grinned. “Basically, yeah.”

“You stalked me?”

“Deliah, you had just had your head stitched and decided to take off on a solo midnight marathon down a dark hill. I couldn’t exactly let you go wandering into the darkness.”

I snorted. “You’re unbelievable.”

He reached for my hand, lacing our fingers together. “You’ve said that before. Usually when I’m right.”

We walked slowly towards the car, leaning on each other like old souls, bruised but not broken. The silence between us had changed now. It wasn’t heavy anymore. It was peaceful.

Just as we reached the car, he said it again—casually, like it had always been there between us. “I love you, baby. You’re a fucking nightmare… but I love you.”

I laughed through the ache in my chest. “Hey, don’t get smug. You’re still in trouble. You’ve got some serious making up to do.”

He opened the car door, smirking. “I’m looking forward to it.”

And somehow, despite everything, I knew he meant it.

Chapter 29 –