Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
“This is the bag from that time.” Marcus’ tone was faintly incredulous. “You managed to keep it?”
Everything that has to do with you, Anneke thought, I kept with me, even when I had every reason to throw it all away.
But out loud, she only said lightly, “It’s proven to be a sturdy little thing over the years.”
When they made it to town, another pleasant surprise awaited him, and Marcus’ head snapped towards Anneke. “A festival?”
“Uh huh.” She grinned up at him, asking teasingly, “Excited about all the angsty live readings we’re about to attend?”
But the Italian billionaire only laughed, and reaching for one loose blond lock, Marcus said silkily, “It is pointless to scare an Italian with such a thing, bambina. We do not shun emotions like you Dutch.”
“Hmph!” But she couldn’t fight the grin off her face, knowing that he wasn’t saying anything that wasn’t true.
Their first stop was a makeshift station of a poet-for-hire, with the requisite typewriter in front of him, and a blank paper already slotted in place.
“Want a custom-written haiku?” the younger man asked hopefully.
“Yes, please.” And without looking at Marcus, she said, “I’d like it dedicated to my husband.”
Beside her, said husband stiffened, and she wanted to laugh and cry.
Oh, my love.
This was only the beginning.
And it was.
Several townsfolk came up to them while they were waiting for the poet to complete his haiku, and Anneke introduced Marcus to everyone as her husband. To the billionaire’s credit, he took everything by stride, expressing his thanks when he received greetings of felicitations and good-naturedly acknowledging people’s ribbing when the Beasts article was inevitably brought up.
After, she kept chatting nonstop, not allowing him another word edgewise. She was scared that if she did – he would tell her what she was doing wasn’t working, and she had to let him go.
They had lunch at Alfred’s, just like before, and after she asked him if they could drop by the local museum.
Marcus’ gaze turned inscrutable. “Of course.” It was the place they were supposed to meet over a decade ago. Everything had come full circle now, and he knew it was time.
Both of them were quiet as they took the elevator all the way to the private hall in the fifth floor, and she bit her lip hard when Marcus entered the passcode on her behalf. He remembered. After all these years, he remembered.
That had to mean something.
Didn’t it?
As they started down the hall, she told him a little about the paintings gracing the walls. Some were painted by their ancestors while others gifts were from de Konigh husbands to the women they loved.
When they reached the end of the hallway, she gestured to the door to their left. Swallowing hard, Anneke said unevenly, “That’s where I was waiting for you twelve years ago.” Turning to him, she said wistfully, “If you had shown up back then—-”
Marcus’ jaw clenched. “Don’t.”
Her eyes widened.
“Don’t wish for the impossible.”
“I’m not. But I just can’t help thinking how things would change—-”
“Who I was then is the same person I am now, Anneke.” His voice was harsh. “I’ve been cursed from the start. Dirty—-” He stopped when she started shaking her head vehemently.
“You don’t understand.” Tears clogged her throat, making it harder for Anneke to speak. “I do wish that you had taken me back then—-”
“Anneke.” His voice was ragged.
“Because if you had,” she choked out, “then I could’ve loved you sooner, and I could’ve shared your pain—-”
His arms snapped close around her. “Dio.” His own eyes squeezed closed as the full import of her words struck him, and Dio, how they humbled him. Looking down at her, he cupped her face, and his chest tightened at the way her tears were rolling down her face.
Her tears were for him, but this time he understood it was not out of pity.
This time, he understood it was because -—his dream had come true.
She accepted him inside and out.
And she loved him despite everything.
“I’d never have asked for a divorce,” she whispered painfully, “if I had known—-”
He laughed hoarsely. “I’d never have granted you one. I’d always have figured a way to keep you from winning.”
“And y-yet—-” Her voice wobbled. “Last night, you looked like you were willing to give me up.”
“Only because I didn’t think you could ever accept me, bambina. Only that,” he swore fiercely.
“And n-now?”
His chest heaved just before Marcus asked hoarsely, “Could you forgive me for what I did?”
When she shook her head, his heart stopped, but then she raised herself up on her toes, covering his mouth with hers—-
“You have more than my forgiveness,” she whispered tremulously against his lips. “You have me. All of me. Because I love you—-”
The rest of her words disappeared into his desperate kiss, and she kissed him back just as desperately even as more tears ran down her face.