Page 145 of Eternal

“But you’re not sorry.”

“Do you wish I was?” I lay my arm across the bench behind her, planting my other hand over hers in her lap. “Would it make it easier for you if I lied and said I regret forcing you into this? Because I promised you the truth, Teal. So I can’t give you that. You didn’t fall for a hero. I’m the monster. And just because I’m willing to slay what’s worse than me in your name, it doesn’t make me good. I’ll always go to extremes for you because that’s how much you mean to me. And this ring is just one more way I’ve proven that.”

“I’m not here to ask you to change, Declan.” She wets her lips. “And if I’m honest, I’m not here for an apology either.”

“Then why are we here?”

“My new doctor is really great.” She glances off. “She’s helping me understand everything with my family. She’s helping me process what my godfather did and giving me coping mechanisms to deal with it. She’s helping me heal.”

“And…” I sense there’s more.

“And she’s giving me some clarity on us.”

“How?” I don’t know if I want the answer, but I need it.

“She thinks you might be unhealthy for me, given everything.”

I shrug. “She’s probably right.”

Teal shakes her head, but she can’t hide the hint of a smile that pops up because she knows what she walked into with me, and deep down, she doesn’t mind.

“She is right.” Teal narrows her eyes, pretending to be defiant. “But that’s just it… Talking to her makes everything clear for the first time in my life. She’s helping me sort through all the chaos in my head, and it makes me want to be better. She makes me want to get rid of all the bad. But when I think about cutting you out, even after everything you’ve done, I can’t.”

“What are you saying?”

“I don’t want to end this.” She sighs, flattening her palm on the paper. “You did this all wrong, but that’s just who you are, Declan. Raised in the same fight-or-flight world that I was. Kicking and screaming because it’s the only way we could be heard. You did this the worst way you could have because, like me, when you care, you can’t think straight. And you hold on hard, no matter how much it hurts those around you.”

“Teal—”

“Just…” she cuts me off, placing her hands over mine. “You did this because you love me. And I love that you’d fight for me like that, even if I also hate you a little for it. But I don’t want you to be sorry. I just want you to make it right.”

“Make it right?”

Teal slips her hands from mine and lifts the paper from her lap, handing it to me. “You can start with this.”

I take it from her, unfolding it to find a printout about a church.

“What is this?”

“Did you really mean it when you said you wanted to stay married to me?” she asks.

“Of course.”

A smile crawls up in the corner of her mouth. “Then let’s do it the right way. Let’s make it real. Official. In Paris.”

I look at the paper, realizing that’s where the church is. “Are you asking me to marry you, Tealene Donovan?”

“Better than you not asking at all.” She rolls her eyes.

I toss the paper aside and grab the sides of her face. “You’re not trying to end it?”

“I’m not.” She smiles. “Although I am curious if your soul can handle entering a church or if the devil will drag you straight to hell the moment you step foot in the door. So maybe this isn’t so much love; it’s a science experiment.”

“Very funny,” I mumble against her lips, kissing her. “For you, I’d risk it.”

“You promise?” She wraps her arms around my shoulders, and I kiss her.

“For you, always.”