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MARA

I talked to each one of them…gave each one of them a piece of my mind.

And then I forgave them.

I forgave Matias and Edith for never telling me the truth about Wes playing Chase in Telvia. I forgave Javier for leaving Telvia and never coming back until now. And even though I hadn’t spoken to my mother yet, deep in my heart, I knew I was already forgiving her too.

With each person that I forgave, I found my little light grew. The shadows stayed back, hesitant to battle the flame that was slowly building into a hot blaze, and I breathed easier, deeper . But there was still one more person left to forgive.

I stepped up to Wes’s door. He never came down for dinner, and Edith shared that he was preparing for a trip to several towns too far to visit for just the day.

He was leaving and would be gone for three days, and the way things were between us…

I just couldn’t leave it that way. Heeding Javi’s words, I refused to crawl back down into my own internal pit. I was done with that.

It was time to move forward .

I rubbed my hands together and cracked my knuckles as I stared nervously at the polished oak door. With one shuddered breath, I knocked. Waited.

When nothing happened, I decided to try again.

Nothing.

I blew out a breath. Maybe he wasn’t here? I tried once more, and on the third rap, the door opened.

He was already dressed for the night in his gray sweatpants and white t-shirt, hair still loosely tied back in a man bun.

His eyes widened for the briefest of seconds, before I saw his entire body tense.

The mask fell swiftly into place, and I knew it was his way of trying to protect his very broken heart.

“Hey,” I said, feeling everything inside me tingle and vibrate with unease. “Are you busy? Can we talk?”

His eyes flickered…greener tonight. He nodded. “Yeah, of course,” he said as he stepped back and opened the door wide.

I walked inside, and memories of my last visit to his room flushed my cheeks before I finally turned to face him. He closed the door, and I could see how every movement was rigid and strained. But he kept his face completely emotionless as he faced me, never daring to step any closer.

Then we just stared. I watched him, drank the lines of stress on his brow, noticed the slight downward curl of his lips, and sensed the tension and regret pouring off him. His face revealed nothing, but his body told me everything.

“You lied to me,” I finally said. I kept my tone even, firm and unyielding. But I never raised my voice. “You kept the truth from me, Wes, and I don’t want a relationship that rests on lies.”

“I know.” Two syllables. Strong and to the point.

I wrapped my arms around myself, breathing in deeply. “But I lied to you, too. I did all the wrong things for all the right reasons, and it almost cost me my life. ”

He shifted his gaze to the floor.

I closed my eyes, feeling the weight of each word I spoke next. “But it didn’t.” I looked up at him. “I know what you did.”

He stiffened, eyes darting to meet mine.

I pressed forward. “I know you killed your dad to save me, Wes. You paid for my life with your soul.”

He grimaced, folding his arms across his chest.

Javier told me. He didn’t tell me how, but he knew.

When he challenged me and I finally accepted his hand, he told me the truth.

He told me what Wes sacrificed to ensure my safety, and it broke my heart.

Not because a man like Charles Calvernon deserved mercy, but because killing his father forced Wes into a position he never wanted, and it cost him a slice of himself.

I watched as the look of self-loathing swirled in his amber eyes, and I wanted nothing more than to take that from him. He believed himself a monster, I knew it. But he was anything but.

“Amor vincit omnia,” I said.

Wes looked up, his brows knitted together in confusion. “What?”

I said the words again, taking slow, definitive steps with each one, until I was standing right before him. “Amor. Vincit. Omnia. Love conquers all.”

Wes shifted, shoulders rolling back as he dropped his hands to his side. But he didn’t reach for me. He didn’t touch me. He kept the foot that still remained between us.

“And I love you, Wes. I love you more than I ever thought possible. And even though I hate that you lied to me…”

Lines of worry deepened on his brow, and I saw the tension ripple through him once more.

“My love for you is greater than that.” I reached out, placing my palm on his cheek. “I forgive you…and I still choose you .”

Wes broke before my eyes. His whole body shuddered, and I threw myself into his arms, loving the feel of his warmth surrounding me once again.

He kissed my crown, speaking into my hair.

“Fuck, Mara, I’m so sorry. I’m so fucking sorry…

” He pulled back, taking my face in his hands.

“I never wanted to hurt you. I never wanted to betray your trust—”

“I know.” And I did. Was I not worried about telling him the truth for fear of him rejecting me, too?

Wes and I were both so devastatingly broken, complete mirror images of one another in so many ways.

And we were always dancing around our hurts, dodging our pasts.

What we failed to realize was that our wounds—our past —was what allowed us to find one another.

Our past was the beginning of our love story, and there was comfort in knowing that Wes had always been there, since the very beginning.

Always.

“I love you, Mara,” he whispered, looking into my eyes, and I stared back into the amber jewels and molten gold of his. “I’ve always loved you.” And then he kissed me.

The amount of pure, unfiltered joy that filled my core was overwhelming.

I threw myself into him, wrapping my arms around his neck as his arms wrapped around my waist, and I was anxious to taste him.

Frantic to feel him against me, around me.

I nipped his bottom lip, and when they parted in a groan, I swept past—tasting, savoring, relishing the flavors of his mouth.

His tongue caressed my own with desperate sweeps.

I stole his breath with mine, breathing him in, wanting to be closer than was humanly possible.

My hands slid over his shoulders, coming to rest on his collarbone.

I felt as one of his hands traveled up my back, up my neck, and buried itself in my hair, pulling, tipping my head back, exposing the length of my neck.

A whimper escaped me, thrilled by his demand.

I loved him.

I loved Wes Calvernon .

I loved him so much, missed him so much, prayed for him for so many harrowing nights in the dark. And he was here. He was here, in my arms, holding me. And we were going to make it through this. We were going to rise from the ashes of our past together.

Because he loved me…

Because I loved him…

Because of what we’d endured to be here…

Because of who we were when we were together…

I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. It was going to be one hell of a bumpy road because neither one of us was perfect.

We were both beautifully broken, a mess of shattered pieces.

But we were shattered pieces that mattered.

Shattered pieces that when put together, became stronger, more breathtaking, and so much more powerful than we ever were apart.

Because together, nothing could break us.

Together, we were the storm.

Together, our love would conquer all.