A/N: Hope you guys love this chapter as much as I do 😭

TAKING A DEEP breath, I carefully opened the door, my heart racing, and there she was.

My world righted itself once again.

She's curled up on the couch, hidden beneath a soft blanket, with only her long brown waves peeking out from under the covers. Everything seems in order and calm, but the sight of her tearstained face as I step closer made my guts twisted.

Never in my life would I forget this look on her face.

She looked so small, so fragile—and so broken by pain that I could feel it stabbing against my own heart just by looking at her. It took all my control to rein in the emotion to blindly wrap my arms around her and whisk her out of here.

I try to clear the new tightness from my throat as I sat down on the floor, my hands wanting to brush away the tears that were still glistening on her puffy cheeks but I held back. Instead, I gently lifted her from the couch, covers and all, and walked through the door as Owen held it open. He had retrieve her bag and hand it over to Vince.

Ayla didn't move. But once she was in my arms, I felt her body relax, instinctively burying her face against my neck. She remained asleep during the car ride to our apartment, and when we arrived, I lifted her again and carried her into our room. I stripped down to my shorts and pulled her to my side and I let out a sigh of relief when her body snuggles in my embrace.

I maneuver her so she's half-lying atop of me. Her head rests on my chest and my leg wraps around hers. I tilt my head to the side to get a better view of her. The tear tracks on her face and the exhaustion on her brows stops me.

I run my fingers through her hair, stroking it back. She smells of floral and vanilla, the scent makes me want to bury my head in her hair and breathe her in for as long as I can.

Since I first saw her, she's been pulling me in with her seemingly innocent ways. Her simplest, most mundane gestures draw me in like nothing in this world ever did. The way she bites her lip when concentrating. The way she sits with her legs tucked closely together like a good little girl. Or how those adorable cheeks flush when she's angry or turn on. There's this constant need to engrave myself under her skin as deep as she engraved herself under mine.

Ayla whimpers and mumbles something in her sleep. I hate how even her subconscious was filled with pain. A sudden thought of her running away flash through my mind and filled me with so much dread. My pulse speeds up as I try to think of something that would appease her. Everything that would convince her that it was never my intention to hurt her.

I gather her close to me and feel her body trembles.

This will be the last time that I'll see her cry. For the rest of our lives, I will fucking eliminate anything that has the potential to cause her pain. No one in this world deserves her tears. Not even me. I want to be there for her, protect her, full stop. She's mine. Fucking mine. Some would argue that this isn't the right thing, but fuck the right thing.

With those thoughts swimming in my head, I held her for the rest of the night.

**

Something woke me.

Sniffling. Then a muffled whimper.

My eyes flicked open and met her eyes on me—Jesus Christ. Her face. All I saw was pain. Torment. Betrayal. And I hated it. Even her eyes as she looked at me—had lost their vibrance.

A chill wracked down my spine as we both gaze at each other, not moving. She's still in my embrace, her legs still tucked between mine. I could see the tension in her jaw as she fought her tears from falling, but it's useless. It flowed freely down her cheeks, staining the silk sheets below. I reach down and run the pad of my thumb under her swollen eyes, wiping the moisture away. She lets me, but she didn't lean into my touch like she always does.

Fuck me.

Her composure slips and more moisture rushes to her eyes. I swear to God I feel my world has shifted off its axis when she tried to remove herself from my hold. It was the first time I ever felt genuine fear.

I lost her trust. I just prayed to God I didn't lose her.

She tried to glance down, but I hold her chin and forced her to keep eye contact. "I know what's going on in that pretty little mind of yours. I know what you're thinking. Don't," I warned. "It's not what you think. She didn't mean anything to me."

She stares up at me with broken green eyes. That look makes me want to rip my heart out and lay it at her feet.

She closed her eyes, and a tear slipped from between her long dark eyelashes, slowly trickling down her cheek and what she says next hit me like a physical blow, sending a sharp pain through my chest.

"Am I always going to be your other woman?" She breathe the word in such anguish that it comes out as barely more than a weak whisper.

I crashed her in my arms, "Goddamnit, no, baby. No."

With her softness cradled against me and her tears wetting my neck—tears being spilt on my behalf—panic begins to rise within me. There's no controlling the way she makes me feel. It's a juggernaut, wrecking everything in its path.

**

I WAS PREPARED for the worst, ready to face the man with all the little dignity I have left.

I had my first words laid out, a little monologue that was to put an end to this. I thought I'd have to face his smug expression, knowing that I'm partly to blame for this current misery I was in.

So why does he look broken as I feel?

The room was as shadowy and silent as I cried into darkness, feeling the scratch of panicked tears in my throat. The icy fear and humiliation that was unfurling inside my stomach reminds me of how the harsh reality shattered my heart into pieces a few hours ago. Pain grips the centre of my chest. It's deep and affects every layer of my heart. Soon, all those emotions turn into boiling rage.

How dare he?

How fucking dare he?

I tried to escape his embrace once more, feeling my walls cracking. "Let me go."

His shoulders strain with tension even as his face remains a calm façade. "Nothing happened with Valerie."

I stare up at him, appalled at his response. "You're a liar. I heard—"

His mouth slams to mine, cutting off my outburst.

He sucks my lower lip into his mouth and then plunges his tongue inside, taking claim of mine. His hard muscles mould to my softer curves as he ravages my mouth.

It's raw, animalistic, and out-of-control. But I didn't respond. I can only lay there as he sucks the life out of me. The mental images sting and claw its way inside me that I felt like I was going mad. In my mind, he and Valerie had fucked dozens of times after that kiss while I watched in sick, jealous fury. I ripped my mouth from him in disgust, as emotion clogs my throat, tears rushing to my eyes and streaming down my cheeks only to be absorbed by the comforter.

He makes a wounded sound and in a flash, I was rolled onto my back with his body hovering above mine. "Butterfly?" he croaks. "Baby, no..."

I close my eyes to block him out, the salty moisture continuing to scald my cheeks.

"I'll tell you everything but please open your eyes for me, baby," There was an aching note in his voice that moved me more than words ever could. What was worse was the hope I heard in the way he said it, the desperate longing.

I slowly open my eyes to find him watching me with that torment look on his face. He gave a shaky exhale. "Thank you."

Then his gaze turn flat, his voice devoid of emotion, "Valerie and I were engaged once."

I stilled, trembling and I choke back a sob.

"It was more out of convenience planned by our parents." His lips touched my temple, tracing my lower lip with his thumb as if he's still kissing me. "It's nothing compared to what I feel about you."

His fingers caress my cheek and I hate that I loved the way his skin felt on mine. Warm. Familiar. Home. It was as if his touch was my medicine, making everything feel better.

"I guess you could say we dated for a short while. We often ended up going to the same places and it wasn't long before the marriage was brought up. I agreed but I felt nothing else because back then, all I care about is my plan."

"I hate her."

His mouth curved into a sneer. "After what she did today, trust me, I feel nothing but hate towards her."

"She kissed you." I wince, trying to push the images away from my mind.

He shakes his head as he stroke my cheek. "No. I stopped her because she got the chance."

Then he hugged me closer, and I sighed inwardly, my anger easing down slowly.

"I was the logical type, and I thought marrying Valerie would ensure my future and I needed Lorenzo's support to carry out my plans." He moved his attention to my other eye, brushing away my dried tears. "But then I found out about what happened with my sister and I realized your parents weren't the only ones involved. There were a lot more."

He drew me closer. "Valerie had become more clingy then and would often disrupt my plans so I broke it off a few months later." He tilted my chin back, his gaze was soft and warm on my tear-streaked face.

"I think she was hoping that after I accomplished what I needed to do, I'll go back to her. That I'd make a bigger effort to keep her, and perhaps love her. But it's useless because I never did. And I never will." Reaching for my hand, he lifted it to his lips and kissed my fingertips. "What you and I share, every time, from the very first time, is something I value more than anything else in life."

I sucked in a breath, my heart pounding, my eyes burned even as my heart began to beat with a different rhythm. He closed his eyes. His forehead touched mine, nuzzling hard and I breathe in his lushly masculine scent that was his alone.

"I was flung headlong into a life of violence and darkness." he murmured, his lips brushing over my jaw. "But when I met you, you brought me into the light and you let me know that I deserve it."

"Oh, Kade." I sobbed his name, unable to hold back anymore. My God he was killing me, baring his soul to me and I was hanging on every word that I never thought I'd longed to hear from him.

"It's killing me," he rasps. "Every time that I'm without you. Missing you. I feel like my fucking sanity depends on you." He pulls back, and stared intently on my eyes. "So don't, for one second, doubt what I feel for you. I love you."

Tears poured down my face but it wasn't because of pain this time. I was overwhelmed by emotion I couldn't express, comprehending just how much of my life Kade had come to fill.

Swallowing hard, I whispered, "Say that again."

My breath caught at the look on his face.

Raw. Intense. Wild.

"You're everything I've ever wanted, everything I needed. I love you, Butterfly." he whispered before touching his lips to mine, sending a wave of warmth throughout my core and I knew I belong right where I was.