A Secretive Deal with My Billionaire Boss (by Gregory Ellington) novel Chapter 457

Alexander

I pulled her against my chest, holding her tight while she cried. Her tears soaked into my skin, hot and accusatory. I deserved every one of them.

"I'm sorry," I said again. "I'm so sorry, baby. I'd take it all back if I could. Every stupid decision. Every moment I didn't fight for us."

"You can't take it back." She fisted her hands in my skin. "It already happened."

"I know. But I can do better now. I can be better." I stroked her hair, trying to soothe her. "I can be the man you and Ethan deserve. The father he needs. The partner you should have had from the start."

"How do I know you won't leave us again?" Her voice was muffled against my chest. "How do I know you won't wake up one day and decide this is too hard or too complicated?"

"Because I won't." I tilted her face up, wishing I could see her eyes clearly. "I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me now. Both of you."

"That's not a real answer."

"It's the only answer I have." I brushed my thumb across her cheekbone, feeling the dampness of tears. "I can't prove it with words. I can only show you through my actions. Through being here every single day. Through choosing you and Ethan over everything else."

She sniffled. "You promise?"

"I promise. Cross my heart and hope to die."

"That's so dramatic."

"You like drama." I kissed her forehead. "You were just watching that terrible romantic movie and got invested in the dramatic rain scene."

She laughed, the sound watery but genuine. "Shut up. I hate that I love it." She pressed her face back against my chest. "I hate that I still want you after everything. That I can't just move on and find someone normal who doesn't come with all this baggage."

"But you do want me."

"Unfortunately."

I smiled in the darkness. "Say it properly."

"Say what?"

"That you want me. That you love me too." I stroked her back in slow circles. "I laid it all out there. Your turn."

"That's not fair."

"Life's not fair. Say it anyway."

She was quiet for so long, I thought she might refuse. Then her voice came, soft and honest. "I love you. I've loved you since before I even realized what it meant. And I hate it because you hurt me so badly, but I can't stop."

Something in my chest cracked open. "Madison."

"Don't." She pushed against me slightly. "Don't say anything romantic or sweet right now. I'm still mad at you."

"You just said you love me."

"I can love you and be mad at you simultaneously. Women are multifaceted like that."

I laughed, the sound coming from deep in my chest. "Multifaceted. Got it."

"Mock me, and I'll knee you in the balls."

"Noted. No mocking the multifaceted woman."

She huffed but settled back against me, her body relaxing into mine. We lay there in silence for a while, just breathing together in the darkness. Her hand over my heart, my arms around her, our legs tangled together under the covers.

"Alexander?"

"Yeah?"

"What happens now?" Her voice was small. "With us. With everything."

"Now we figure it out together." I kissed the top of her head. "We take it one day at a time. I prove to you that I'm not going anywhere. You let yourself trust me again. We raise our son and build a life together."

"Just like that?"

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