Page 35 of Forbidden Billionaire (Titans #7)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Seraphina

My pulse is a wild thing, thrashing as Xavier’s words echo in my skull, a confession that splits me open.

“You’re everything… I love you…” His voice, aching with emotion, lingers in the air of this cramped storage room, a space too small to hold the weight of what he’s just admitted.

The piece of paper trembles in my grip, his slanted handwriting a blur through the tears I can’t blink away. My chest aches, a hollow, searing pain, as if my heart is trying to claw its way out to him, despite the scars he carved there.

I want to scream, to hurl the letter at him, to demand why he thinks words can mend what he shattered three years ago—my career, my trust, my love. His eyes, dark and glistening, hold me captive, pleading, stripped of the predator king’s armor.

I’ve dreamed of this moment, of him on his knees, but not like this, not with my heart thundering and my soul torn between running to him and running away. His phone screen is still lit up with the contract that offers me my own piece of his fortune.

But still, all I can see is the cold dismissal in his gaze. As I’d dropped my badge on my desk and walked out, my heart had shattered into shards.

And still…

I clutch the letter tighter, tracing the edges, afraid to unfold it again, afraid of what his words might do to the walls I’ve built.

I read it once, standing here, my breath catching as he confessed in writing what his voice couldn’t fully covey.

Now, my hands are shaking, and I’m itching to open it again, to see if those words still hold the same power, the same promise.

My throat burns from the sob that’s trapped there, and I hate how much I want to believe him, how much I still love him, despite the betrayal that haunts my dreams.

His cedar-and-leather scent wraps around me, a memory I’ve tried to bury, and it’s too much—this room, his presence, the weight of his love pressing against my entire being.

I lift my gaze, my vision swimming, and his face blurs—hope and regret etched in every line. “I have always been loyal to you. Only you. I…” My voice cracks as the truth spills out, naked and splintered. “I loved you.” I feel exposed, a wound laid bare before the man who’d caused it.

“I don’t deserve you, your love, your loyalty.

And I’m sorry I was blind and stupid.” His voice wavers.

The big, strong predator king is still on one knee, his hands open, offering everything—his heart, his empire, his soul.

“I’ll never forgive myself. But I’ll fight for you, Seraphina.

For us. If you’ll have me.” His eyes are a raging sea, pulling me in, and I’m drowning, terrified of the hope flickering in my chest.

I tighten my grip on the letter as its words sear into my heart.

The girl who loved him urges me to fall into his arms and forgive him. But the woman I’ve become knows trust is a fragile thing, shattered twice by his terrible actions.

The air between us crackles with emotion and tension.

He’s on his knees, humbled, and I feel the shift, the crack in my walls. I want to hate him, to walk away, but my heart aches with the truth—I love him still. And that scares me more than anything.

“I don’t know if I can trust you.” My voice is hoarse as the tears finally spill down my cheeks. “But I want to.” The admission is a leap, a risk, and his breath catches, hope flaring in his gaze.

His eyes, the honesty there, undoes me. He’s looking at me as if I’m his entire world, not his conquest.

He shifts, still on one knee, and reaches into his jacket, pulling out a small velvet box.

My heart misses a bit and then shoves the next dozen together.

My vision narrows as he opens the lid, revealing a ring—a sapphire encircled by diamonds, its deep blue catching the dim light like the color of my eyes.

“Seraphina…” He clears his throat and tries again.

“I’ve offered you your own empire, my apology, my heart.

Now I’m offering you forever. No prenup, no conditions—just us.

You’re the only woman I’ve ever wanted to spend my life with, the only one I’ve ever loved.

” His words are a vow, unguarded, and the ring glimmers like a promise I’m afraid to believe.

My pulse roars, my chest tight with fear and longing.

“Seraphina Hollis. Light of my entire universe. Will you marry me?”