“You’re lying. Why are you lying?” I demanded, clutching the pillow over my aching stomach with my free hand.
“I’m not.” His face was a mask of pain, but his eyes still blazed. “Not anymore. I have no reason to lie. Think about it, Melissa. Think it all through again from after what I just told you. You wanted to know how I did that. How, all of a sudden, I just stopped loving you, when we’d been everything to each other. How I’d walked away without even a second glance.”
I tried to fight the urge to do exactly that. To keep the narrative I had in place, because damn it, the new one was just too fucking sad to bear. But no matter how hard I tried, the puzzle pieces began to slide seamlessly into place.
“You planned it ahead of time, didn’t you?” I whispered dully.
We spent almost every waking hour together except when I was with Ash and he was training. That day, he’d wanted to do something with the boys and didn’t want me to come. So strange. So out of character.
“I did,” he said, tearing his gaze from mine, his strong throat working as he swallowed hard. “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I need you to believe that. And if you never forgive me, I understand. But I couldn’t go another second without you knowing that I never stopped loving you. And every day we were apart, I was broken inside too.”
How strange, the black cloud that had been my constant companion for all these years began to drift away, only to be replaced by another. This one less tumultuous and stormy…blue and bittersweet.
All that time. We’d wasted all that time. All those tears…
“We could’ve talked it through. We could’ve worked it out,” I murmured, shaking my head.
“I know that now. Hell, I’ve known that for the past couple years, but how do you undo something like that? I couldn’t turn back the hands of time, and you were doing so well at school. It seemed like you were happy. What gave me the right to shake that all up again?”
I yanked his hand to my heart and held it there. “This. This gave you the right. Just like it gave me the right to decide what I wanted to do with my future. It was yours, Robbie. And you broke it.”
“I know that. But I would do anything in the world to make it up to you.”
He pulled away and dropped to the floor on both knees. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. My heart thundered as he cracked open the box to reveal a delicate circle made of hammered silver and wood.
“I love you, Melissa. I don’t know if you can ever forgive me, but I’m willing to do whatever it takes, for however long it takes, to find out. I bought this ring today for you. It’s made from bamboo. Because once it's planted it won't stop growing and it takes over everything in its path. Nothing can stop it.” His words were so solemn and sincere, I could hear the truth ringing in them and it made my whole body tremble. “We’re like that. Unstoppable. Two halves of a whole, and I don’t want to live without you for another day. I have enough money for a down payment on a house. I could quit boxing and get a straight job and take care of a place for the both of us so you can focus one hundred percent on school. You won’t have to be broke through your residency, because we can do it together, like a team.”
The waterworks were starting again and I tugged my hand away from his to wipe my face. I still wasn’t okay. It might take days…weeks…hell, maybe I’d never forget how I felt when Robbie broke my heart. But as he knelt before me, love in his eyes, something tripped inside me and I forgave him. The anger and resentment faded away to nothing, leaving behind only love.
Maybe I was being a fool again. Maybe it would all crash and burn. But I would rather crash and burn taking a chance on Robbie than waste another single day apart.
“No,” I said, swinging my legs over the side of the bed and standing.
His jaw clenched and he nodded slowly, rising to his feet. “I understand. I knew it was a long-shot, and--”
“I mean no, I don’t want you to quit boxing.”
He cocked his head to the side and studied me, hope replacing sadness in his eyes. “We’ve been apart for so long. I’d still need to travel and train near constantly. Between that and your residency, we’d--”