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CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

ALLY

The knock at the door is hard and insistent.

I freeze.

Smalls looks up from the book he’s reading, his jaw tightening. I already know who it is before he even moves.

My stomach twists as he sets the book down and stands, giving me one last look before heading towards the door.

I clutch the blanket tighter around my body, my heart hammering against my ribs. I should’ve known this wouldn’t last forever.

That he would come for me.

That Rhys would come for me.

The door swings open, and the tension in the air shifts immediately. I can’t see Rhys from where I’m sitting, but I can feel him. The weight of his presence, the anger, the frustration. The determination .

“Where is she?”

His voice is rough, strained.

Smalls doesn’t answer right away. “You need to calm down.”

A bitter laugh. “That’s not going to happen.”

Smalls exhales through his nose. “You should at least?—”

“I don’t need a lecture, Smalls. I need her .”

The words hit me like a freight train.

Before I can second-guess it, I stand, the blanket slipping from my shoulders. My legs feel unsteady as I walk towards the door, my breath caught somewhere between fear and anticipation.

When I step into view, Rhys’s eyes lock onto mine immediately.

And everything else disappears.

His expression is unreadable, but his chest rises and falls sharply. His hands clenched into fists at his sides. He looks like he hasn’t slept in a week. His dark eyes flick over me, taking in every inch as if confirming that I’m real. That I’m here.

That I haven’t disappeared completely.

“You left.”

His voice isn’t loud, but the words cut through me like a blade.

I swallow hard. “I had to.”

He steps forward, his jaw tight. “ Why? ”

I wrap my arms around myself, my voice small. “Because I didn’t want to hold you back.”

His laugh is hollow, sharp. “Hold me back? Jesus, Ally. Do you have any idea what you’ve done to me?”

Guilt claws up my throat. “Rhys?—”

“No,” he cuts me off, his voice rough. “You don’t get to do that. You don’t get to run and act like you did this for me . You left because you were scared, not because you didn’t want to be a burden to me.” He throws my words back at me.

Tears burn my eyes, but I fight them back. “I didn’t want you to feel stuck with me.”

His nostrils flare, his hands trembling. “ Stuck? That’s what you think this is?”

I look away, my stomach twisting. “I don’t want to be a burden, Rhys. You deserve someone who?—”

“ Don’t. ”

His voice is sharp, desperate. “Don’t you dare stand there and tell me what I deserve. I’ve wanted you for years, and when I could finally have you, you left.”

Silence stretches between us, thick with everything we haven’t said.

Rhys takes a step closer, his voice quieter now but just as intense. “I deserve you , Ally. I’ve always deserved you. And you sure as hell deserve me.”

My breath shudders, my heart aching. “I don’t know how to do this.”

“Then let me show you.”

Tears spill down my cheeks. “I’m scared.” It’s true; I’ve never had a relationship. I’ve always been the girl who takes what she wants and then leaves the next morning. I find myself at a loss when it comes to being with him.

His expression softens, but his grip on my arms tightens. “I know . But you don’t have to do this alone.”

I let out a shaky breath. “I don’t want to keep running.”

His hands slide to my face, his thumbs brushing away my tears. “Then stop.”

The next breath I take is shaky, my walls crumbling around me. And then, before I can talk myself out of it, I throw myself into his arms.

Rhys catches me instantly, holding me like he’s afraid I’ll disappear again. His face buries into my neck, his breathing heavy, his hands gripping me so tightly it almost hurts.

But I don’t care.

Because for the first time in a week, I feel like I can finally breathe again.

Smalls clears his throat from the doorway. “I’m just gonna… give you guys a minute.”

Rhys doesn’t even lift his head. “Good call.”

Smalls snorts and disappears down the hall, leaving us alone, clinging to each other like we’ll never let go again.

And then Rhys moves.

His hands slide down my arms, gripping my wrists, pulling me flush against him. The heat between us ignites like a spark to petrol, the desperation bleeding into something else entirely. His lips crash against mine, fierce, unrelenting. A soft gasp escapes me, but he swallows it, his fingers tangling in my hair as if he’s afraid I’ll slip away again.

I clutch at his shoulders, my heart hammering as I melt into him. There’s nothing slow about this, nothing gentle—it’s all-consuming. His lips move with purpose, his body pressing me backward into the small hallway until my back hits the wall.

Rhys tears his mouth from mine, his forehead pressing against mine as we both catch our breath. His hands skim down my sides, lingering on my hips, his grip tightening like he needs to feel every inch of me.

“You’re mine,” he rasps, his voice hoarse, wrecked. “You’ve always been mine.”

My breath shudders. “Rhys?—”

But he doesn’t let me finish. His lips are back on mine, his fingers gripping my waist as he lifts me, carrying me towards the small bedroom at the end of the hall. I barely register the door closing behind us before we’re tangled together, falling onto the bed in a mess of limbs and whispered promises.

Every fear, every doubt, every lingering hesitation fades beneath the weight of him, the warmth of his skin, the way he worships me with his hands, his lips, his body.

This isn’t just about needing each other. It’s about proving something—about anchoring ourselves back to the one thing that has always been real.

Us.

And this time, I’m not letting go.