The following morning, I woke up with him gone. After arriving last night at almost around midnight, we were both beyond exhausted. We both fell into a deep coma the moment we entered my bedroom where the pristine bed awaited us.

Thinking back, I realized we were inseparable for the past few days. And I’d never been happier. Content with undiluted bliss. We were cocooned in our own world, basking in each other.

But that was all in the past…so here we were, back to the present, to my unfortunate reality. I was bitterly reminded that in this life, happiness and completion didn’t apply. After years of riddled pain, dejection, and being alone, I knew a happy ending with Jared would be too good to be true.

Even then, there was a speck within me, within my soul, steadfastly flickering brightly amidst the darkness and insecurities shrouding my mind. A fleck of hope, commanding me to not give up.

Lounging in bed, I stayed a while, pondering before I sighed and went to shower after thirty minutes without hearing from him. I faintly remembered waking up to him kissing me on the forehead before leaving, promising he’d be back before I got out of bed.

That was three hours ago.

Jared had been gone without a call or message from him. That only meant one thing—he couldn't resist her. What did I truly expect? Rose was and would always be the woman who owned him—body, heart, and soul. Again, how could I compete with that? Apart from sex, I had nothing much to offer him. After all, didn’t Jared deem me as a ‘little girl’ at one point in time? I supposed I wasn’t sophisticated enough to satiate him.

If he went back to her, well, I’d always have Japan to remember him by. But I wouldn’t hold him back. Nor did I consider begging. We’d been there before, and it was a route I passionately refused to take again. So, I would let him go, set my love free to be happy with her.

My eyes welled with tears as I turned the shower dial on. I’d been so blinded by my own selfishness I’d forgotten about Rose’s mighty effect on him.

My chest ached as I diligently scrubbed my body. Evident marks of Jared’s biting marred my skin. His semen still spurted out of my slit. I lost count how often he came inside me. After the fifth time, I stopped taking note.

Even though he couldn’t seem to get enough of me, at the end of the day, this was all physical. Just good old sex. No more, no less.

The shower’s steam did little to calm and lift my spirits and unsteady heart. Finishing up, I haphazardly wrapped my body in a white fluffy towel before getting out of the walk-in shower. I was so engrossed with my own thoughts I didn’t spot Jared leaning against the marbled counter, arms on his chest, deeply pondering.

My breath caught in my throat as my heart rapidly accelerated. As I eyed him tentatively, his stance brought little to ease my anxiety. His forlorn countenance spoke out loud. The man didn’t bear good news.

It merely took one look at him and I knew just then that Jared was about to leave me again. The ache gnawed deeper into my heart. But this time, I was quite prepared for this damning exchange. “So, I guess that's short-lived. If you're taking the time to tell me you're walking away again, save your breath, Jared. No need to ween me off. I’m a big girl. Fear not, I won’t hold you back. You can freely go now.” Without throwing him another lingering gaze, I steeled my resolve as I went past him, heading towards my closet to change. But then Jared forcefully yanked me back, pulling me into his arms, holding me down.

His head sought the nook of my neck, breathing me in before expelling a strangled breath. “I’m not going anywhere without you, kitten.”

All tension in my body evaporated in a heartbeat. The urge to cry was extraordinary, but instead of spilling tears, I clung onto him, sending a small silent prayer to not take him away from me, too.

We remained thus, quite frozen as we comforted each other with our warmth. No words were spoken, but based on our rapid heart rates, I knew he felt just as I did.

After a good minute or two, I slowly pulled away a little so I could see his gorgeous face. His eyes shone brightly. A different mixture of emotions ran deep within his soul. Stark and vivid. Undefended and profound. “What's with the sad face, my love?”

He shook his head before sighing and kissing my forehead. “She didn't make it easy. She went off. She went utterly ballistic, hurling insults, throwing things at me before she threatened to kill herself...That’s why I took forever to get back—I had to have someone watch over her for a while. The doctor and his appointed nurses will be taking turns for suicide watch. I feel utterly terrible, but I can’t stay with her. I need you, Gisele. You’ve ingrained yourself in my life. Letting you go is unfathomable to me. I need to be with you desperately.”

Jesus…Rose went crazy when Jared broke it off with her? I understood the hurt. I was in the same boat not long ago, but to go to such an extent? I couldn’t even dare try to comprehend her kind of reasoning. But each person processed pain differently. Her journey differed from mine. Each story different, singularly setting us on a unique path to embark. Mine might be more painful than hers. And I supposed, as time went on, I simply got used to it. Life experiences toughened one’s resolve. My armor, though cracked and chipped, was impenetrable.

My thumbs brushed over his eyebrows, hoping to ease his furrowed brows into submission. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. I’m sure it wasn’t easy. But are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?”

He shrugged before lifting his arm, baring thin superficial wounds. “Just a few scratches. Not a big deal.”

My stomach lurched at the sight of his blood. “Jesus! Let me get a first aid kit.” I tried to untangle his steel band of arms, but he wouldn’t let me move. “Let me just take care of that. Then we can carry on holding each other, okay?”

“I need to hold on for a little longer. Is that so much to ask, kitten?”

I shook my head, swallowing the lump in my throat. “No, of course not.” What happened out there? I wanted to ask. He seemed somewhat traumatized by Rose’s rejection of a break-up. Needing to comfort him, my hands rubbed his back.

“I have a confession to make.” I found myself saying, needing to free the truth before it slipped out of my mind.

“What?”

“It’s about Wyatt.”

He groaned, sounding beyond shattered. “Save it for another time. I beg of you.”

“It’s not that bad. It’s just that I knew I promised before…maybe it doesn’t matter since we weren’t anything then—maybe, I don’t know? But after my birthday, Wyatt came back with me and slept the night here. Nothing happened; however, it wasn’t for his lack of trying. I just wanted to tell you that…is all.”

He hastily pulled me close to his face. Cerulean blues bore into mine before his serious face broke into a massive grin, disconcerting me.

“You didn’t have sex with him?”

I timidly nodded, biting my bottom lip, unsure of his weird upbeat demeanor. “Yes, you heard me right the first time. How could I after what we just shared?”

He let out a boisterous laugh before picking up my body and hoisting it over his shoulder then smacking the right cheek with avid gusto. Dropping me on the bed, Jared’s happy face hovered above me as he yanked the towel off of my body.

“You ought to be punished for putting me through hell, woman!” He chuckled as his fingers slipped into my folds, ready to give me a punishing, back-breaking multitude of earth-shattering orgasms.

This was his way of punishment—no reprieve until my body and mind wholeheartedly surrendered to him.

I was his. Undeniably and irrevocably his.