I didn't want to have this conversation but the look on Hunter's face told me I wasn't going to get out of it. We were finally going to have this talk.

"Hunter." I sighed placing my fork down. "Your parents never liked me. From the moment they laid eyes on me they deemed me unworthy."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You never saw it!" I snapped. "You never saw the looks or the comments made about me. Every single person hated that I was with you and trust me they made that well known." He started to talk but I held a hand up to stop him.

"You never noticed the way all the girls made fun of the way I dressed, the way I looked, even my hair. Everyday I had to hear about how I wasn't good enough to be with you, the star quarterback. The guy who deserved someone better, prettier." I could feel tears wanting to gather in my eyes but I pushed them back.

"Your own parents said the same thing. The moment your mother laid eyes on me she deemed me unworthy of loving her son. I was never good enough in her eyes." Hunter stared at me in disbelief, like he couldn't believe what I was saying.

"I tried Hunter. God I tried so hard to get her to like me. She acted civil whenever you were around but as soon as you turned your back I had to hear how I was 'hindering' your life." My heart was pounding painfully in my chest as I recalled the words.

Hunter reared back as if I slapped him. I hadn't wanted to tell him about his mom. No one wanted to hear about how rude their mother was or the hateful things they've done. In their eyes their mother is an angel. And yes, his mother probably was but back then she wasn't to me.

"But why would she say that?" I could tell he was trying to make sense of all of it.

"Because it was the truth." His head snapped up to meet my eyes. I shook my head sadly. "She was always right I just hadn't realized it."

"Mia."

"She told me I wasn't good enough, everyone around us said it too and I realized too late they were all right. I would never be good enough to be with you Hunter." Tears slid down my face. Once again I pushed aside the words believing I could have a second chance with Hunter, but I couldn't. He couldn't be stuck to someone like me.

"Why the hell are you saying that!" Hunter snapped, standing up forcing his chair to slid backwards. His were flashing angrily as he looked at me.

"Because its true!" I yelled back, standing up as well. "Your mother told me I wouldn't go anywhere with my life and look!" I threw my arms out. "I haven't gone anywhere! I run a small bridal shop that barely scrapes by, I have piled up bills from my mom's cancer treatments that I can barely afford to pay off, I didn't even finish my degree! Yet look at you!" I gestured towards him.

"You are now the best quarterback in the league. You've won three SuperBowls and you are only 27 for crying out loud! You were made to great at what you do. You got your dream."

"What does that even have to do with this?" He snapped, shaking his head at me. "Me playing football has nothing to do with being with you!"

"Yes it does! I would have held you back! I couldn't, I can't, be the one to hold you back from your life. I won't allow it." I angrily swiped at the tears on my face. "I knew if I told you about my mom you would have dropped everything to be here."

"I would have, damn it! You should have told me Mia!"

"And let you leave your FIRST ever Superbowl to be here and do nothing? No. You would have thrown away your career." I shook my head. My whole body was shaking as I talked.

"Did you ever think to ask me?" He asked with venom. I flinched at his tone. "You didn't even think to ask me what I wanted!" Hunter pulled at his hair as he paced.

"I had to do it Hunter. I had to let you go." I cried. And I had to let him go now to. "You can't have me in your life."

"You don't know what the fuck I want or need in my life." He took a step towards me. His eyes were blazing, his hands clenched tightly. "You broke up with me because of what others thought, what you thought was right. Did you ever wonder what I wanted?" I could say nothing as he continued.

"You ripped my heart out of my chest and didn't even look back. You didn't even give me the curtesy to have a say in it. You didn't give me a choice in the matter."

"I waited for you to come after me." I glared. "And you didn't. When I looked back you were on your phone not fazed at all." He clenched his jaw and looked away.

"My sister texted me to tell me her boyfriend cheated on her but I didn't reply. When I looked back up you were gone." His eyes shined with hurt. "You walked away without even trying to hear what I thought." The painful words slipped from my lips.

"Would it have even mattered?" I whispered.

"Yes it would. Because I don't give a flying fuck," He hissed. "what others thought. Our relationship was about us not them. I thought I made it perfectly clear how in love with you I was. Did that my feelings not even matter?" Seeing the tears gather in his own eyes made me cry even harder.

"I didn't want to be a burden on you Hunter."

"Mia." His voice was hoarse as he stepped towards me, stopping inches away. "You could never be a burden on me. From the moment I laid eyes on you, you had my heart. You are all I've ever wanted. Everything I have ever needed."

"But-"

"No." He shook his head stopping me. "The day you walked away from me was the worst day of my life. I do not plan on letting you walk away from me again. I don't care what others say or what you think is best for me. I know what is best for me and that is you."

Hunter gazed down at me, his face wide open showing me everything he felt.

"Mia, you've had my heart for the past five years. I tried to move on but how do you move on when your heart still belongs to someone else? It's never stopped being yours." His hand came up to grip my chin.

"So I am asking you right here, right now, are you going to walk away from me again?"

"What about your parents." I whispered.

"I'll talk to them but it doesn't matter what they think. This is between us. Are you going to walk away?" The vulnerability on his face made my entire body ache. I had put him through so much. And he was right, I hadn't stopped to consider how he felt or what he wanted. I had made him feel like he did something wrong to made me break up with him.

I had let peoples word get to me and make a decision that I hadn't wanted to. I let myself believe that the only way for Hunter to success and be truly happy was if I wasn't in the picture. Even if it meant that I was unhappy, as long as he was I would be okay. But in the end it only hurt the both of us.

Now here we are five years later back in each others lives. The option to have a second chance loomed over our heads and all we needed to do was grab it.

Staring up at him and the love that shined in his eyes I knew with all my heart I couldn't let him go again. I couldn't live my life without him in it. Life without him sucked and in just in two days I have felt more happiness than I have in five years. All thanks to Hunter.

We still had a lot to talk about and work through but we could do it. Maybe it wasn't our time back then and we both needed to grow as separate people. Now we both knew what we wanted and it was each other. We had to fall back together in order to realize that.

"I'm not going to walk away." My voice was soft but firm. I already knew my decision the moment I saw him at that restaurant Friday night.

"Are we going to give this another try?" The hope that flared in his eyes made more tears spring to my eyes. I nodded and gave him a watery smile.

Hunter's lips came down and kissed me, while sis hand suddenly reached down and grabbed the back of my thighs, hoisting me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist and threaded my fingers through his hair. He pulled away from the kiss and looked at me with an expression that I always dreamed someone would look at me with.

"I've never stopped loving you Mia Gibson."

"I haven't stopped loving you either Hunter James."

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐍𝐃!!