Page 134 of Scarred in Silence

“I know.”

A beat of silence stretches between us, easy and wide. Then she turns to face me.

* * *

She’s winded, spun out in the clouds and sunlight—but I can’t keep pretending I’m fine.

Not with the ring in my pocket burning a hole through my soul.

She walks over to the ledge, looking out at the valley like it belongs to her. Like it knows her scars and still wants her. God, I know that feeling.

“Astra.”

She doesn’t hear me at first—too caught in her own head, or maybe the quiet. But when I say her name again, her shoulders stiffen, and she turns to face me.

Something in my expression makes her pause.

“You okay?”

I nod. Then shake my head. “No.”

I step forward.

“I’ve killed men in cold blood without blinking. I’ve built empires and burned down legacies. But I’ve never—” My throat constricts. “I’ve never been this terrified.”

Her brows pull together. “Lucien…”

“I thought I ruined you,” I say. “I dragged you into Hell and kept you there, telling myself I was saving you when all I was doing was keeping you close enough to breathe you in. You were my fucking lifeline, Astra. And I was your prison.”

Her eyes gloss over, shimmering like the frost lining the pine trees.

“You weren’t my prison,” she whispers.

“I was your sentence.”

She doesn’t argue. She just steps closer, wraps her arms around herself.

“I made you bleed just to know you were loyal,” I continue. “I punished you for surviving the only way you knew how. I made you crawl through glass for love.”

She swallows hard.

“I don’t want that for you anymore.” I reach into the pocket of my shorts and pull out the box. Her eyes go wide, breath catching like she’s been shot.

“You deserve something real. Something soft. Something that doesn’t hurt to hold onto.”

I drop to my knees. The ground is damp. My pride crumbles.

“This is the part where I’m supposed to ask if you’ll marry me, but I need you to know something first.”

She’s not breathing.

“You don’t owe me a yes. I will love you even if you don’t want forever. I will follow you, ruin for you, bleed for you. Even if this is all I ever get. I should never have forced this marriage.”

Tears break free down her cheeks. I’ve never seen her cry like this. Not when she came back. Not when she found out what I did. Not even when we buried the last of her nightmares.

“I don’t want you to marry me because you’re loyal,” I whisper. “I want you to marry me because you love me.”

She sinks to her knees in front of me, hands trembling. “I do love you.”